Youth Counselor - Marion

Who are we?

At Four Oaks, we believe that every child needs the opportunity to succeed. It's more than our mission - it's the passion that permeates everything we do. Four Oaks has grown to become one of the state's largest agencies devoted to child welfare, education, juvenile justice and behavioral health. We recognize that children and families come to us from a variety of circumstances, which makes it important for us to reach kids and families where they are right now. For that reason, we provide prevention, intervention and treatment programs and services. As a valued team member, you are eligible for:

• Competitive wages at a minimum of $16.00 hr
• Medical, dental & vision insurance
• 401k Retirement plan
• Growth & Advancement opportunities
• Excellent paid leave time package
• 7 paid holidays
• Business casual work environment
• Educational discounts
• Fitness Center Discounts

What you will do?

As a Residential Youth Worker you will perform direct care duties and responsibilities in programming for juvenile males, ages 14 to 17 years old who struggle with emotional self regulation, anger outbursts, accepting decisions of authority and have a history of being in trouble with the law.


Direct Care Responsibilities - These can include but, are not limited to the following:

• Ensuring the welfare & safety, supervision and security of clients, co-workers and programming.
• Conducting discussions, processing and actively role modeling pro-social decision making & behaviors.
• Engaging in behavioral management in order to keep clients from harming themselves or others.
• Completing efficient and effective communication and documentation on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
• Providing social skills and life skills development while practicing and role modeling on a daily basis.
• Transporting to and from medical, dental, vision and school appointments.

Essential Functions & Duties : The following are typical for this position, but are not all inclusive and other duties may be required and assigned.

• Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs and stand for prolonged periods of time.
• Must be able to squat, kneel to the ground and return to standing position without assistance,
• Able to use effective de-escalation techniques.
• Able to engage in appropriate behavioral management practices to include physical restraint.
• Responsible and accountable for providing a safe and secure environment.
• Directly supervises the security of all juveniles, assisting with their behavioral, emotional, medical and programming needs.
• Responsible for coordinating activities at different levels within the facility.
• Interacts with juveniles to assess the impact of services received; monitors progress; assesses the need for additional services and/or behavioral interventions.
• Will engage with the juveniles on a one to one basis in skill building and counseling situations, as well as facilitating group skill building.
• Will assist the juveniles in recognizing and maintaining good personal hygiene skills.
• Will assist with and supervise the daily cleanup and maintenance of the program.
• Will document daily interactions and activities changeover and daily logs.

What you need:

To qualify you must be at least 21 years of age and possess a High School Diploma or GED. A Bachelor's Degree in a Human Services, Criminal Justice or a related field of study is preferred, but not required. Additional requirements include:

• Desire to help kids succeed.
• Prior experience working with children in a mental health setting preferred.
• Strong communication and problem solving abilities.
• Basic computer skills in a MS Office environment.