Behavioral Health Assistant - Institute for Child Development

Location: Vestal, NY Category: Professional & Support Staff Job Type: Full-time Posted On: Fri Nov 1 2024 Job Description:

The Institute for Child Development (ICD) is an organization dedicated to transforming the lives of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their families, and their communities through compassionate partnerships and high-quality, person-centered, evidence-based practice. Our goal is to encourage each individual to reach their potential while appreciating the strengths that neurodivergence brings to our community. Located on the Binghamton University campus and affiliated with the Psychology Department, the ICD has been providing services to children and their families for over 45 years. ICD continues to be a center of excellence for service, training, and community engagement and is also a member of The Council of Autism Service Providers.

The Children's Unit for Treatment and Evaluation (CUTE), a New York State Approved Special Education Program (age 3-11) and NASET School of Excellence is one of ICD's many service programs. Our staff consists of devoted special education teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, board certified behavior analysts, clinical psychologists, physical education teachers, paraprofessional staff, and administrative support staff who work together to meet the needs of the individuals and families we serve. This position will be part of our dynamic team at CUTE providing center-based services to students enrolled in our program by school districts and county health departments throughout the Southern Tier of New York. This position will also serve other ICD programs, including but not limited to the Binghamton Regional Center for ASD, the Child & Adolescent Diagnostic and Consultation Clinic, and other training and education programs and initiatives prioritized by ICD.

Responsibilities:

• Provide assessment and intervention services in support of emotional and behavioral wellbeing in the context of school-based behavioral health support.

• Assist professional staff with implementation of student IEP goals.

• Assist supervisor to evaluate child behavior and performance and revise strategies used for support as indicated.

• Provide proactive behavior management by conducting routine classroom observations and classroom team consultation to assess for developing issues.

• Assist supervisor to assess, develop, implement, and monitor intervention programs for daily living skills, academic learning skills, emotional development and regulation, and social communication. These will occur under the supervision of licensed behavior analysts and BCBAs.

• Collaborate, train, and supervise direct care paraprofessional staff in providing effective behavioral health services to enrolled students with reliance on evidence-based strategies.

• Collaborate with professional and leadership staff as directed by supervisor.

• Conduct and consult on program analyses to determine effectiveness.

• Prepare written reports as needed.

• Participate in regular staff meetings as scheduled, providing guidance and support regarding consistency of actions in the behavioral health realm with regard to ICD's mission and values.

• Provide support, in vivo supervision, and performance feedback to direct care paraprofessional staff, approved practicum trainees/interns, and auxiliary staff as directed by supervisor.

• Help to promote safety, health, nutrition, and social development during all activities.

• Have strong communication skills and the ability to manage supervisory needs in collaboration with other ICD staff.

• Provide support to various initiatives as directed by supervisors as specified for assigned activities.

Duties:

• Provide direct child instruction and care as determined by the facility calendar and assigned activities

• Be available for ad hoc meetings and consultation during work hours as specified by supervisors, which may vary.

• Participate in all habilitative, self-help, and emotional development programs as requested.

• Maintain appropriate cleanliness and organization throughout all training and work spaces of ICD.

• Maintain effective professional relationships and work cooperatively in a team environment.

• Motivate staff and maintain a positive work environment.

• Model implementation for all habilitative, self-help, social and emotional development programs as required.

• Demonstrate excellent organizational, time management, and professional decision-making skills.

• Demonstrate commitment to the development of skills in didactic and experiential teaching, public speaking and presentation skills, and multi-modality instructional supports (in-person and virtual).

• Demonstrate commitment to continuing professional development.

• Demonstrate proficiency in analytical methods.

Level of Supervision

• This position will be supervised by and work closely with the senior leadership and executive team members at ICD. In vivo supervision of performance effectiveness will be provided. In addition, consultation on program development, data evaluation and related responsibilities will be held as needed.

Health and Hygiene Safeguards

• The ICD physical facilities are utilized by individuals from the University and the community; therefore, we cannot guarantee that areas within ICD are allergen free.

• All staff members are required to use vinyl gloves to meet required safety and hygiene standards where applicable.

• All staff members will need to comply with hand-washing/hand-sanitizing protocols, where posted, as part of general operating procedures.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in education, psychology, social work, mental health counseling, or applied behavior analysis.

• Experience working in a special education setting with children who require specific behavioral health support.

• Experience providing services for children diagnosed with autism.

• Familiarity with performance-based instruction and data-based decision-making in education.

• Must be fluent and easily understood in English with very good articulation to accommodate the communication and comprehension needs of the individuals served.

• Must be able to proficiently read, write, and comprehend written text and communicate in written form in English as the primary means of understanding and implementing individualized education plans and providing required documentation.

• Must have normative vision, hearing, strength, and agility in order to meet routine and emergency needs and safety of children and fellow staff. This includes:

• Capability to lift and carry a 50-pound child a minimum distance of 100 feet

• Capability to quickly move from floor sitting position to running to retrieve a child who may run away

Preferred:

• Master's Degree or higher and licensed or license-eligible in field of education in which degree was conferred.

• BCBA or BCaBA in good standing per BACB guidelines or formal training in ABA.

Organizational Policies:

• Must be able to demonstrate, via written exam in English, competency on ICD policies and procedures as presented in staff manuals.

• Exams must be passed, (proficiency 90%), within the first month of employment. Failure to do so results in immediate probation. If the exam is not passed within three attempts, employment may be terminated. Exams will be administered a maximum of 3 times per employee.

• Per State Education Department regulations, all employees are subject to clearance through the State Central Register of Child Abuse / Maltreatment and fingerprint supported criminal history background check.

• Per state Department of Health regulations all employees are subject to clearance through the Justice Center's Staff Exclusion List prior to hiring.

Additional Information:

Salary: $38,000 entry level salary. Negotiable based on experience. Full-time,12-month position. Note: This position is eligible for part-time consideration. Compensation will be prorated based on effort.

Professional Development Support: Conference and training support (up to $800 per individual funding per year at employee request), in-house continuing education trainings and workshops (BACB CEUs, NYSED CTLEs), tuition support for coursework relevant to role, and access to experts in clinical psychology, applied behavior analysis, special education, literacy, and classroom management.

Research Foundation Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity

As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer, The Research Foundation for SUNY will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant's race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy-related conditions, reproductive health decisions, childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender status, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, familial status, citizenship, physical and mental disability, prior arrest or conviction record, genetic characteristics/genetic information, predisposition or carrier status, domestic violence victim status, military status or service, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under federal, state or local law. The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

The Research Foundation for SUNY is a private, not for profit corporation and is a separate employer from SUNY and the State of New York and offers separate compensation and benefit plans.

Binghamton University is a tobacco-free campus.