Frederick County Youth & Coordinator

Overview

Spectrum staff provides support for many aspects of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Their goal is to assist individuals in understanding their WHY. WHY is our purpose, cause, or belief—the driving force behind everything we do. Youth and Employment Coordinators will take tangible action to work towards one or more individual's WHY and help them Live their Best Life with as much independence as possible.

Staff will make a difference in the lives of the individuals they support by building strong relationships, trust, and successful participation in their community. In the Coordinator position, this will be done by facilitating vocational services for youth and adults with disabilities, and by providing meaningful opportunities for individuals to gain employment experience.

As a Youth and Employment Coordinator, you will support our mission through four key activities:

• Forming Relationships:
  Recruit interested individuals and their family members, engage them in a trusted relationship and connect them with potential employers and other community stakeholders by building strong partnerships in the business and nonprofit community.
• Case Management:
  Work with individuals to develop personal life goals to include an emphasis on employment. Use discovery tools and other best practices, to include employment assessments, to assist individuals in identifying meaningful activities to support the discovery of their individual talents and build upon areas of necessary growth for competitive integrated paid employment opportunities. Work with their team to assist individuals with addressing employment barriers such as transportation, benefits counseling, and reasonable accommodations.
• Direct Supports:
  Provide customized services to individuals as needed by providing training and support to individuals exploring careers by facilitating various skill building activities.
• Job Development:
  Work collaboratively with other staff and businesses to seek both subsidized and competitively paid job opportunities for individuals served.

You will assist individuals to participate in the Living Your Best Life service model.

You will conduct an intake and orientation for the employment services program for newly enrolled individuals to determine appropriate services, and to assist individuals to develop appropriate goals for person-centered plans.

You will provide the tools and support individuals need for greater independence, full inclusion, achieving a successful transition, and active participation in their homes and in their communities.

By supporting them to discover individual talents and build upon areas of necessary growth for competitive integrated paid employment opportunities.

• Helping individuals to identify paid and nonpaid volunteer and work experience opportunities.
• Supporting individuals to write and/or update resumes, submit job applications and prepare for job interviews.
• Providing pre-vocational training to include appropriate work attire, time management, and conflict resolution.
• Working with team to assist individuals with addressing employment barriers such as transportation, benefits counseling, and reasonable accommodations.
• Providing on-site and off-site job coaching to support individuals to reach independence within their work setting.
• Working with school personnel and partnering organizations to ensure consistency with joint initiatives.

You will assist individuals to identify individual interests and personal abilities by completion of functional assessments such as the community-based assessment (CBA) to create a Positive Personal Profile and/or Discovery milestones.

You will assist individuals in need of community resources with appropriate referrals as needed.

• Transporting individuals to and from planned destinations that help the individual meet his/her desired outcomes
• Transporting individuals to and from scheduled activities
• Coordinating trips into the community to…