Direct Support Specialist (Part time, Third Shift) - Adult Crisis Center

Seven Counties Services; Louisville (KY); On-site; USD 17,000 - 23,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Continued training

Mentoring

Salary and benefits

Job summary

Seven Counties Services in Louisville, KY seeks a part-time Direct Support Professional to assist individuals with daily living activities, community participation, and wellbeing support. The role emphasizes teaching, de-escalation, and collaboration with families and community services.

The position involves transporting clients, caregiving duties, and contributing to safe, respectful care plans under program protocols. Training and mentorship are provided, with a focus on quality and safety.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Ability to communicate with verbal and nonverbal individuals.
• Patience, empathy and strong interpersonal skills.
• Teaching skills.
• Maturity and good judgment.
• Ability to provide nurturing care.

Responsibilities

• Teaches, models, and coaches activities of daily living (ADL) and monitors performance with feedback.
• Teaches psychoeducation classes on recovery and skills.
• Plans and facilitates community-based activities and access to resources.
• Maintains a safe, therapeutic environment with de-escalation techniques.
• Represents SCS to the community and educates about services.
• Collaborates with schools, landlords, families, and transportation providers.

Skills

Patience & empathy

Interpersonal skills

Verbal & nonverbal communication

Teaching skills

Maturity & judgment

Nurturing care

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

1. Teaches, models, and coaches activities of daily living (ADL) (e. g., personal hygiene, housekeeping, meal preparation, money management, educational and vocational goal-setting, nutrition needs); monitors performance of ADL skills and provides therapeutic feedback.
2. Teaches psychoeducation classes on recovery (e. g., medication side effects, ADL, communication skills, stress management strategies).
3. Plans and facilitates community-based activities (e. g., medical appointments, grocery shopping, leisure/recreation/socialization); facilitates access to community resources (e. g., AA/NA meetings, school, job placement).
4. Contributes to safe and therapeutic environment by practicing verbal de-escalation and, as authorized, other behavior management techniques.
5. Serves as “ambassador” of SCS and its clients by integrating clients into the community and educating community members about people with disabilities and about SCS’s services and programming.
6. Collaborates with community systems on behalf of individuals served (e. g., school, landlord, family, transportation provider, employer).
7. Provides transportation (e. g., driving SCS van or personal vehicle), ensuring adherence to standard safety practices (e. g., driver certification, seat belts, child safety seats); teaches and facilitates use of public transportation systems.
8. Provides personal care, as needed (e. g., personal hygiene, toileting, laundry, meal preparation, safe eating techniques).
9. Administers First Aid and CPR, as needed.
10. Supervises self-administered medication, depending on the specific clinical program’s protocols.
11. Identifies assigned clients’ food and/or medication allergies and exercises reasonable care to avoid exposure to allergens.
12. Communicates information relevant to care, treatment, and services, with other SCS staff members and, as authorized, with non‑SCS providers, to ensure appropriate level and quality of care.
13. May take responsibility for specific assignments within the program (e. g., food programs, admissions at Crisis Stabilization Unit).
14. Documents services and care provided by timely completing various forms (e. g., attendance records, daily logs, shift/progress notes, incident reports, time reports in accordance with SCS and regulatory standards).
15. Maintains confidentiality of protected health information, consistent with SCS procedures and state and federal law.
16. Assist with discharge planning as needed.
17. Provide support for additional training needs of direct support staff as needed.
18. Attends and participates in all required staff and service planning meetings and trainings.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Incumbents may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

EDUCATION

High school diploma or equivalent required.

EXPERIENCE

• Zero to one year full-time experience working with individuals who receive services for treatment of a mental health, substance abuse, intellectual disability, or physical health condition.
• Ability to provide nurturing attention and care to individuals with disabilities.
• Ability to communicate with verbal and nonverbal individuals.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Teaching skills.
• Patience and empathy.
• Maturity and judgment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/REQUIREMENTS

• Position involves considerable physical exertion, lifting a maximum of 100 pounds, with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
• May include frequent lifting of patients.
• 18 years of age or older.
• Within the bounds of their respective job descriptions, all staff are expected to exercise principle-centered leadership, focused on customer service responsiveness, with a continuous quality improvement orientation. Additionally, all staff are expected to develop a working knowledge of and follow all policies and procedures related to safety management and other Joint Commission standards.

Time Type: Part time

Seven Counties is the provider of choice for mental and behavior health services in and around the Louisville Metro. Over 1,400 employees work in 25+ locations throughout Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties; making sure that the 31,000 people we serve annually have the best chance of living their best lives.

• continued training
• effective mentoring
• competitive salaries and benefits

In an effort to protect our employees, clients and community, we require the COVID and Influenza vaccinations for all employees.