Children's Autism Specialist

Overview

The Autism Support Broker (“ASB”) works with families of individuals with an autism diagnosis to help them build a team, communicate with various service providers, research, and acquire additional funding and support systems and build a self-directed network. Through a collaborative team effort, the ASB helps facilitate communication and relationships through multiple disciplines of service providers. The ASB also ensures proper standards and regulations are adhered to as set forth by the funding sources.

Ensures programs meet the quality standards and provide value to the public.

The essential job duties/responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to the information listed below:

• Meets with families in their homes a minimum of once a month, and often more frequently to meet the needs of the family. Will schedule and attend quarterly progress review meetings for each waiver participant on their caseload
• Meets at least monthly with DDS Autism Clinical Manager and/or other relevant DDS staff to review individual cases.
• Remains available, accessible, and flexible to respond to and meet family needs on a regular basis; is flexible to meet the needs of families on their caseload including weeknights and weekend days as needed; may also need to be available by phone, text, or other forms of communication on flexible hours.
• Facilitates the development of the child’s person-centered Autism Support Plan and participates in the development and implementation of the Autism Plan of Care, including entering and maintaining data in the consumer databases used by DDS.
• Supports the family in developing a budget based on the Autism Support Plan and Plan of Care.
• Assists the family to review on a monthly basis the waiver participant’s budget with support from the Fiscal Employer/Agent (FEA) website and the monthly reports it produces.
• Assists the family in the identification of a wide range of potential service providers using the web-based provider list, by helping families identify individuals in their own network of supports and conducting ongoing outreach to service providers.
• Assists the family in the selection of service providers. In this process, he or she must remain a neutral party and refrain from recommending or referring families to their own agency for services; must maintain a firewall between themselves and the services their parent organization/agency offers to avoid conflict of interest.
• Assists the family to work with the FEA to recruit, screen, hire, train, schedule, monitor, and pay support workers.
• Assists the family in accessing services and setting up these services in accordance with the parameters of the Autism Waiver Program.
• Maintains required documentation in the DDS system of record.
• Facilitates community access and inclusion to other state and local resources (e.g., Mass Health, private insurance ABA, Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative {CBHI} services, housing, nutrition, other sources of funding, and local resources for support), etc.
• Maintains professional relationships and boundaries with families and other providers.
• Notifies the Autism Clinical Manager via cell phone within 2 to 3 hours in the event that an emergency occurs when the Support Broker is in the home or during the provision of Waiver services. For major incidents, as appropriate, the Support Broker will contact local emergency personnel, and/or the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
• Complies with responsibilities as mandated reporters when situations that meet these standards occur.
• Reports critical incidents and other related incidents in the DDS systems provided.
• Facilitates the transition to the DDS Area Office or other DDS programs.
• Maintains an appropriate interface with other state agencies including DCF and Mass Health.
• Directs and manages the activities of program staff. Hire staff appropriate to the position. Utilizes staff appropriately with the goal of optimizing effort and achieving operational and financial goals.
• Ensures that the intake of prospective persons served is completed in a timely, professional manner; arrange and perform intake procedures, conduct…