Resident Care Specialist

Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs; Tecumseh (OK); On-site; USD 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on bonus $5,000

Continuous service bonus $6,000

Shift differential $2.50/hour

Job summary

Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs seeks a Resident Care Specialist to provide care, custody and security for adjudicated youth at Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. The role involves surveillance, documentation, and intervention to manage behavior in a 24-hour facility.

Qualifications include a high school diploma (or equivalent); RCS II requires college hours or security experience. State benefits and shift work are provided; on-call duties and travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Must be at least 21 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• RCS II requires 30 college hours or one year security experience.
• 24-hour facility; willingness to work any shift; overtime may be required.
• Willing to travel; valid Oklahoma driver’s license; background checks; on-call 24/7.

Responsibilities

• Provide security and supervision to adjudicated residents.
• Record health symptoms, behavior, and activities.
• Intervene to manage aggression using approved techniques.
• Conduct counts and enforce rules; monitor activities across surveillance.
• Transport youth to placements; GPS monitoring and documentation.
• Complete incident reports and maintain written logs.

Skills

Security methods

Crisis intervention

First aid

Report writing

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Education

High school diploma

30 semester hours

One year security experience

Tools

GPS monitoring

Radio communication

Job description

Location

This position is located at Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh, Oklahoma.

Job Overview

The Office of Juvenile Affairs is seeking a Resident Care Specialist to provide care, custody, and security for at-risk youth at Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. The agency is focused on recognizing strengths, promoting resilience, and building a future-oriented mindset in both staff and residents. Previous security experience working with juveniles in a residential care and treatment facility is a plus.

Bonuses & Pay Differentials

• $5,000 Sign On Bonus available
• $6,000 Continuous Service Bonus available
• Shift Differential - Earn an additional $2.50/hour

• Earn an additional $2.50/hour when working 2nd or 3rd shift, Monday-Friday
• Earn an additional $2.50/hour when working any shift on Saturday or Sunday
• Shift differential applies to hours actually worked

Basic Purpose

Positions in this job family are involved in providing direct care, supervision and security, transportation, and role modeling to adjudicated youth in the custody of the juvenile justice system. This will include providing paraprofessional guidance and counseling to residents, interventions to control aggressive behaviors, documentation of behaviors and activities, and monitoring and moderation of resident behavior.

Education and Experience

RCS I

All direct-care staff shall be at least 21 years of age and possess a high school diploma or its equivalent.

RCS II

Requirements at this level consist of those identified at Level I and the completion of thirty semester hours from an accredited college or university, or one year of security experience.

Work Schedule & Shift Work

Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center is a 24-hour facility. This position is subject to shift work and applicants must be willing to work any shift as needed to provide coverage. Overtime may be required if necessary to maintain the facility.

1st Shift: 7:00am to 3:00pm

2nd Shift: 3:00pm to 11:00pm

3rd Shift: 11:00pm to 7:00am

Typical Functions

• Provides security and supervision to adjudicated residents in a variety of situations and activities.
• Performs routine duties in care, custody, education, and treatment of residents; observes, records, and reports health symptoms, behavior, and activity of residents.
• Manages aggressive and non-aggressive behavior through verbal and physical intervention using prescribed and approved techniques; quickly responds to physical assaults, riots, and other emergency situations.
• Conducts count of residents and enforces institutional rules and regulations; observes resident and staff activities on multiple surveillance monitor screens.
• Provides paraprofessional counseling and instruction to residents by directing their daily activities, maintaining order, providing support, and helping them develop and achieve personal goals; serves on a treatment team to review residents’ progress, treatment and educational plans; serves as a group leader by reviewing and assessing the adjustment and functioning of a group of residents.
• Inspects the facility's living areas and work locations to ensure health and safety standards are being met, conducts searches for unauthorized objects, materials, and contraband; maintains security in an assigned area or post; controls movement of residents to and from living quarters for activities and off-campus appointments; maintains order and discipline during programs, meals, and recreation periods by utilizing empathic verbal communication skills.
• Patrols facility grounds, juvenile living quarters and work areas on an assigned shift while observing the activities and movements of residents; checks authorized persons in or out of buildings and grounds area while assuring unauthorized persons are denied access.
• Checks the physical security of the facility, including doors, windows, and lighting.
• Completes written and/or typed reports on a variety of incidents and residents' behaviors; sends and receives verbal transmissions over a hand-held radio; maintains a written log of daily facility activities; communicates by telephone with emergency responder agencies in crisis situations.
• Provide safe and secure transport services for OJA custody youth to and from placement, juvenile detention centers, court hearings, and various other appointments such as medical, dental and mental health evaluations.
• Will have responsibility for GPS monitoring, tracking, inventory and documentation in assigned areas.
• Other high risk transportation duties as assigned and specified through the Performance Management Process (PMP).
• Assists other OJA employees as needed/other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Competencies

Knowledge, skills and abilities required at this level include knowledge of security methods; of basic human physical and psychological needs; of basic first aid methods; of crisis intervention techniques; of simple health and safety precautions; of behavioral problems typically found in delinquent residents; of methods and practices of household management; of environments and events that impact the problems of youth in custody; and of state statutes and agency policies concerning care of residents in secure facilities. Ability is required to interact with juveniles; to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others; to follow written and oral instructions; to gather facts and effectively communicate those facts in reports; to positively interact with residents of various racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds; to remain alert and act quickly and appropriately in emergency situations; to physically and appropriately handle escapees and violent or unruly juvenile residents; and to exercise good judgment in the evaluation of situations and in making decisions.

Benefits

• Generous state paid benefit allowance to help cover insurance premiums
• A wide choice of insurance plans with no pre-existing condition exclusions or limitations
• Flexible spending accounts for health care expenses and/or dependent care
• Retirement Savings Plan with a generous match
• 15 days of vacation and 15 days of sick leave the first year for full-time employees
• 11 paid holidays a year
• Student loan repayment options
• Employee discounts with a variety of companies and vendors
• Longevity bonus for years of service

Special Requirements

Applicants must be willing and able to perform all job-related travel normally associated with this position, possess a valid Oklahoma driver’s license at the time of appointment and be willing to be on-call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The Office of Juvenile Affairs has determined that some positions in this job family are safety sensitive as defined by 63 O.S. § 427.8.

Must be able to pass background check, fingerprints, and drug screening.

A trial period of 12 months will be required.

Because this is a safety sensitive position as defined by 63 O.S. § 427.8 (K)(1)(i)(2) due to providing direct childcare, applicants testing positive for marijuana will not be hired even when in possession of a valid medical marijuana license.

Equal Opportunity Employment

The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.