Direct Care Staff (Part Time)

Office Location: St. Peter – St. Joseph Children’s Home – Social Services 59520
City and State: San Antonio, TX
Location Type: Social Services
Position Type: Para-Professional

Job Summary

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.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Effectively communicate to the shelter supervisor the needs of the children in their care.

Maintaining a nurturing, therapeutic and safe environment by:

  • Establishing a consistent daily routine.
  • Providing appropriate supervision at all times; monitoring environment and mass media (movies, TV, radio, written materials) for appropriate content.
  • Assigning age appropriate chores.
  • Plan and execute appropriate activities to decrease boredom and restlessness. Request necessary supplies for special occasions and/or special activities;
  • 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:

  • Obtaining and helping children maintain clean, adequate, appropriate and nice clothing and other personal items;
  • 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.
  • 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)

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • Submit to a state and federal background check, Child abuse and neglect registry check, and Tuberculosis Screening.
  • Provide proof of valid Texas Driver’s License.
  • Must be willing and available to work after hours, nights, weekends and holidays to handle emergencies as needed.
  • Bilingual in English and Spanish is preferred.
  • Must be at least 21 years of age

Education and/or Experience

  • Two years of college and/or a minimum of one-year experience in residential child care preferred.
  • Experience with abused/neglected children and their families and/or experience in separation, attachment and permanency issues is preferred.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, walk and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; use hands to finger, handle, feel; and reach with hands or arms.

The Direct Care Staff must be able to physically and mentally endure long periods of interaction with individual and groups of children; this may include but is not limited to free play, emotionally draining conversations; continuous severe behavior problems requiring one-to-one supervision; severe oppositional/defiant behavior, etc.

In addition, the employee may be required to restrain (physically hold a child who is in danger of hurting themselves or others). Child Care Staff may be required to carry a child weighing no more than 25-30 pounds.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Given the nature of working with abused and neglected children, the work environment can be somewhat stressful and emotionally challenging.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

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 reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job description or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change (e.g., emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, etc.)