Direct Care Staff PM - St. PJ's Children's Home

Direct Care Staff Position

Work Days: Vary with 2 consecutive days off

Work Hours: PM 2 pm to 10 pm

Work Location: 919 Mission Rd., San Antonio, TX 78210

The Mission of St. PJ's Children's Home is to be a safe and loving refuge for children in crisis and to accompany them on their journey to healing and wholeness, breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect one child at a time.

The Direct Care Staff is responsible for the daily care and supervision of children in the emergency shelter; ensuring their health, safety and well-being are protected.

Position Responsibilities:

- Maintaining a nurturing, therapeutic and safe environment by:

• Establishing a consistent daily routine.
• Plan and execute appropriate activities to decrease boredom and restlessness. Request necessary supplies for special occasions and/or special activities;
• Assigning age appropriate chores.
• Providing appropriate supervision at all times; monitoring environment and mass media (movies, TV, radio, written materials) for appropriate content.
• Maintaining living areas in a reasonable state of cleanliness and good order.
• Maintain adequate supplies for cleaning and other dorm related items.

- Providing for the children's physical needs by:

• Recognizing signs and symptoms of illness, treating minor ailments and seeking appropriate guidance from the shelter supervisor. Filling prescriptions as needed; administering medications as prescribed by child's physician as well monitoring for side effects.
• Obtaining and helping children maintain clean, adequate, appropriate and nice clothing and other personal items;
• Teaching children personal grooming habits and nutritional values;
• Submitting prompt, accurate documents such as serious incident reports, daily logs, accident reports, restraint reports, etc.
• Submitting repair requests in a timely manner.
• Transporting children when necessary.

- Counseling, teaching and guiding children by:

• Establishing a trusting relationship with mutual respect.
• Listening to children with compassion and concern.
• Using praise and encouragement for positive behavior and consequences (natural or imposed) for inappropriate behavior.
• Providing support and affection for a child when needed.
• Challenging each child through innovative techniques to achieve their maximum potential and develop inner strength.
• Being actively involved in each child's education.
• Being a positive leader in the shelter, at St. PJ's and in the community. Displaying appropriate boundaries and role modeling of adult interactions.
• Providing and developing enrichment activities

- Positively interacting with parents, caseworkers, teachers, therapists and other team members by:

• Recognizing that children need to feel they are a part of a family, peer group and the community.
• Avoiding criticism of children's families and friends.
• Using good judgment in monitoring visits so as not to disrupt children's activities and/or routine.
• Knowing when to refer questions and situations to the shelter supervisor and/or administrator.

-Being a member of the child's team by:

• Offering opinions and suggestions in a professional manner.
• Assisting the shelter supervisor and team leader in logistical and administrative duties related to the shelter.
• Ensuring compliance with Therapeutic Intervention Plan (TIP)
• Actively participate in all quality assurance activities as well as team meetings, to ensure quality care and accurate and informed services by all team members.
• Ensure that all mandatory trainings required of the employee remain current.
• Must be sensitive to the service population's cultural and socioeconomic characteristics.
• Adhering to safety training and protocols on a daily basis, and taking precautionary measure to ensure the safety and well-being of self, others.
• Responsible for protecting the confidentiality of any information or material obtained in the service with the organization to include but not limited to client names and information, services rendered to clients, donors names and gifts, internal and external investigations or results of any investigations, and financial information.
• Adherence to the Code of Conduct and the Faith and Moral is mandatory.
• Every employee is required to take a solution-oriented approach in their interactions and undertakings, as well as being a team member that promotes collaboration and commitment to the Mission and Vision of the organization.
• Attendance and successful completion of a 10- day New Employee Orientation is mandated for the position. The inability to meet this requirement will conclude employment with the Agency.
• Other duties as assigned by Team Leaders, Shelter Supervisor, and Program Director.

Competencies:

De-escalation Ability to sense a potential or occurring crisis or volatile situation and engage in a manner that reduces the intensity or conflict.

Interpersonal Awareness Ability to demonstrate emotional intelligence in various settings and with a diverse population.

Solution Oriented Ability to identify various challenges, think outside the box, be innovative, and formulate possible solutions.

Critical Thinking Ability to actively and skillfully process and generate information and belief using a set of core skills analysis, evaluation, inference, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning.

Teamwork Ability to listen and respond constructively with others fostering collaboration and team success.

Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education
• High School diploma or equivalent.
• Experience
• Minimum of 1 years of child care experience preferred.
• Must be 21 years of age or older.
• License and Credentials
• Reliable transportation
• Valid driver license
• Valid vehicle insurance

Submit to a state and federal background check, Child abuse and neglect registry check, and Tuberculosis screening; Be physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of performing assigned tasks and have the skills necessary to perform essential duties and responsibilities

• Minimum Knowledge and Skills:
• Computer literate with working knowledge of Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Word, Excel) and a variety of online database systems, managing files and records, designing forms and other office procedures and terminology;
• Strong analytical and organization skills and abilities;
• Must be able to read and interpret policy, procedures and standards;
• Must be detail oriented, organized, self-motivated, work well independently and on a team;
• Must have good written and verbal skills;
• Must have good critical thinking and problem solving skills;
• Must be able to remain calm and composed in crisis situations;

Travel Requirements:

Travel requirements for the position includes 50% local and 0% overnight.

Physical Requirements:

The position requires the following physical demands in the frequency noted.

C = Constantly (2/3 or more of the time) O = Occasionally (Up to 1/3 of the time)

F = Frequently (From 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) R = Rarely (less than on hour per week)

Physical Demands Frequency

Lifting up to 50 pounds F

Reach above shoulder height F

Sitting O

Reach below shoulder height F

Walking C

Driving C

Running F

Stooping C

Standing C

Pushing F

Bending waist (forward or sideways) C

Pulling F

Balancing F

Talking C

Squatting F

Hearing C

Climbing O

Crawling O

Repetitive motions F

Other:

Disclaimer:

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate