Youth Development Professional: Transition Into Independence

Position Statement:

The Youth Development Professional - TIP (YDP-TIP) plays a crucial role in caring for youth placed in care at Elmcrest, particularly in our transition to independence programs. This position focuses on teaching, coaching, and mentoring youth in practical life skills, employment readiness, education planning, community engagement, and building healthy relationships. The YDP-TIP is charged with providing a safe, secure, and nurturing environment while continually utilizing natural, everyday opportunities to empower youth to build resilience, self-confidence, and the skills necessary for independent living.

Responsibilities:

• Provide direct supervision, support, and guidance to youth in the TIP program.
• Teach and coach life skills, including cooking, budgeting, employment readiness, transportation use, and household management.
• Support youth in setting, pursuing, and achieving personal goals aligned with their transition plans.
• Facilitate workshops or small group activities related to financial literacy, job readiness, or independent living.
• Model positive behaviors and effective problem-solving in daily interactions with youth.
• Ensure compliance with agency policies, QRTP standards, and trauma-informed care practices.
• Maintain accurate documentation of youth progress, daily logs, and incident reports.
• Participate in team meetings, training, and continuous quality improvement efforts.
• Promote youth voice and choice, encouraging self-advocacy and independent decision-making.
• Provide regular documented night checks when working overnight shift.

Qualifications:

Elmcrest’s Core Values & Competencies:

• Honesty: Act with integrity and behave in a manner consistent with our policies, Code of Conduct and any regulatory and ethical guidelines. Utilize practices and techniques professionals train to interact with children, families and co-workers appropriately.
• Willingness to Learn: Open to new experiences and learning new skills and information that can improve professional development, progressive work environments and support the mission of Elmcrest.
• Dedication to Purpose: Display the necessary passion and empathetic abilities to serve the Elmcrest mission. Committed to improving the lives of children and families.
• Social Concern: Value human dignity and have respect for others. Actively seek out diverse approaches and points of view.
• Self-Examination: Systemically observe, analyze and utilize self-reflection to improve actions or results. Listen to constructive feedback and concerns and maintain positive relationships in the workplace.

Competencies:

• Applies a strength-based and supportive approach to youth care.
• Ability to build positive, respectful, and empowering relationships with youth.
• Strong communication, organizational, and teamwork skills.
• Physically able to provide crisis intervention, including physical restraints. 
• Works effectively with internal teams and external community partners.
• Respects and supports the diverse backgrounds and needs of youth.

Required Education and Experience:    

• High school diploma or GED required. Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in human services, Social Work, Psychology, or related field preferred.
• Experience working with adolescents/young adults, ideally in residential or foster care.
• Knowledge of life skills coaching, transition planning, and/or TIP model strongly preferred.
• Valid driver’s license required; ability to transport youth as needed.

Essential Job Qualifications:

• Ability to lift 50 pounds without assistance.
• Able to provide crisis intervention, including physical restraints. Restraints may include resistive force, bending, squatting, kneeling, lying down, and holding the youth to maintain safety.
• Ability to sit, squat, crouch, and stand for elongated periods
• Ability to lift arms overhead in a reaching motion
• Ability to walk up and down stairs several times per day..
• Valid Driver’s license with a driving record acceptable to our insurance carrier; ability to transport youth as needed

Equal Opportunity Statement: Elmcrest Children’s Center prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race, color, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

Accommodations: Elmcrest Children’s Center will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability so that they can perform the essential functions of a job unless doing so causes a direct threat to these individuals or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation or if the accommodation creates an undue hardship to Elmcrest Children’s Center. Contact Human Resources with any questions or requests for accommodation.

At Will Employment: Your employment with Elmcrest Children’s Center is at will. This means your employment is for an indefinite period of time and it is subject to termination by you or Elmcrest Children’s Center, with or without cause, with or without notice, and at any time. Nothing in this job description or in any other policy of Elmcrest Children’s Center shall be interpreted to be in conflict with or to eliminate or modify in any way, the at-will employment status of Elmcrest Children’s Center employees.