Behavior Specialist

Position

Purpose:

The Behavioral Specialist is responsible for providing crisis support and direction to individual residents during crisis on a one-on-one basis while motivating resident to engage in pro-social and healthy developmental activities daily, in accordance with program guidelines and expectations.

• Facilitates and oversees the GAP-R Levels System and behavioral structure; completes comprehensive behavioral contracts with residents as needed.
• Provides one-on-one intervention and support for residents in need of behavioral or emotional crisis support and assists the residents to re-engage into the therapeutic program milieu.
• Utilizes proactive approach to avert crisis situations and provides behavior management and crisis intervention as required; assists resident to work through crisis situations.
• Provides crisis intervention and de-escalation tactics for GAP-R residents to ensure their overall safety and well-being while in an active crisis state
• Teaches residents to utilize adaptive, pro-social skills and responses through modeling and direct intervention.
• Works as part of the Treatment Team to implement the individual treatment plan of each resident; attends Individual Treatment Plan meetings.
• Serves as on-call staff during emergency situations and calls additional back up staff when necessary.
• Completes appropriate documentation (i.e. program log entries, monthly team reports, incident reports, and weekly progress reports) in a timely fashion.
• Implements all COMAR requirements and program policies and procedures.

• Acts as liaison with outside agencies including schools, social services systems, judicial systems and other organizations as necessary; advocates for the needs of residents.
• Provides training for staff and assistance in behavior and crisis management.
• Other duties as assigned.

• College degree (BA or BS) with at least 18 months of related experience, preferably with adolescents involved in public systems or congregate care facilities.
• Strong commitment to teamwork and to serving difficult, vulnerable youth and their families.
• Broad working knowledge relative to the needs of emotionally disturbed, victimized, learning disabled, delinquent adolescents and their family systems.
• Knowledge of adolescent development and engagement strategies.
• Demonstrates cross-cultural competencies.
• An attitude compatible with goals and purposes of the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF).
• Commitment to teamwork, collaboration, and the Agency’s mission to progressively serve vulnerable families and youth.

While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee is required to talk and hear. The employee is often required to sit and use their hands and fingers to handle or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with arms and hands, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. Vision abilities required by this job require close vision working with a computer monitor.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts and vehicles. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate. While performing the responsibilities of the employee’s job, these work environment characteristics are representative of the environment the employee will encounter. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

$55,000 - $60,000