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Texas Juvenile Justice Department is seeking a Senior Juvenile Corrections Officer to oversee a juvenile residential facility, supervising correctional staff and ensuring safety for youth and staff. You will coach and mentor staff, apply trauma-informed techniques, and manage daily operations on shift.
Responsibilities include incident reporting, safety enforcement, and collaboration with teams to support youth treatment plans. Pre-service training and on-call requirements are part of the role.
We are committed to transforming lives and building safter communities by working collaboratively, communicating openly, and upholding the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. Our team models accountability, transparency, and respect, taking proactive steps to ensure the physical and emotional safety of youth, staff, and the community. We strive for excellence through continuous growth, thoughtful decision making, and mission driven collaboration, supporting one another while embracing challenges that lead to meaningful, long-term impact.
Performs highly complex (senior-level) work overseeing correctional staff who provide direct care to juveniles in a correctional residential facility.Work involves overseeing the daily operations of a juvenile residential facility; facilitating youth rehabilitation; supervising youth; and coaching their personal development in accordance with individualized treatment plans.
Provides supervision and direct care for youth in a residential correctional facility and ensures the safety and security of youth and staff.Supports, coaches, and mentors other JCOs to teach appropriate methods and positive ways to work with youth.Works to help youth to achieve progress in learning and applying methods to identify and manage reactions to stress and trauma and react in more socially appropriate ways.Uses appropriate intervention methods in response to behavioral issues that seek to aid in learning and correcting behavior.Maintains a consistent effort to ensure safe environments and employs security measures when youth, staff, or others are in danger.Interacts and engages with youth in ways that both maintain appropriate structure and exercise understanding of brain development in youth with complex trauma.Maintains healthy relationships and boundaries with youth and consistently recognizes progress and good choices made by youth. May plan, assign, and/or supervise the work of others.
Works under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.Works assigned shift; and may be required to work in excess of 40 hours per work week, be on-call, and travel occasionally.
Pre-Service Training Academy Requirement:Newly hired JCOs or rehired JCOs who have been separated more than 18 months will be required to attend the pre-service training academy and complete on-the-job training on a full-time basis.JCOs who have worked for TJJD and return to employment within 18 months of their separation date will not have to attend the pre-service academy and will be placed in full-time status on their date of employment.
Oversees campus movement, coordination between activities, and safety of staff and youth during their shift.
Responds to incidents or activities and uses appropriate intervention methods that seek to aid in learning and correcting behavior.
Prepares serious incident reports; and collaborates with the Serious Incident Administrator (SIA); and reports to the Office of the Inspector General Incident Reporting Center (IRC) critical incidents, serious incidents, and the suspected mistreatment of youth.
Monitors facility for access to means to assist in suicidal behavior.
Observes youth on the facility suicide alert list and all other youth to identify behaviors requiring intervention and a Suicide Assessment (SA).
Collaborates with the Regulation Safety Team (RST) to maintain the physical security of the campus; and ensures compliance with established procedures and standards.
Engages in competency-based training in the techniques and capabilities needed to coach youth under the Texas Model of trauma-informed corrections; and coaches and models appropriate Texas Model techniques and ideals to other JCOs and staff.
Acts as coach and role model to other levels of JCOs to help them learn appropriate methods and interventions, with a strong focus on retention and support for newly hired JCOs in their first year.
Holds youth accountable in ways that fit the level of behavior, seeking to help youth to learn socially acceptable responses and approaches.
Uses good judgment in determining when safety is at risk and higher levels of intervention are required.
Helps youth to identify their responses to stress, fear, and other triggers and works with the youth to learn ways to increase emotional self-regulation skills.
Practices and models appropriate self-regulation skills and is able to remain calm during times of stress and crisis; and helps other JCOs identify and utilize their own self-regulation skills so they are equipped to co-regulate youth.
Gains a basic knowledge of each youth¿s treatment plan and provide support in learning the skills needed to meet those goals.
Coach youth on how to resolve conflict with other youth and staff as appropriate.
Participates in the Youth Service Team and provides input into each youth¿s treatment plan; and is a responsible and supportive team member, who understands that an effective team is composed of reliable people who provide backup and support for their fellow team members and the facility as a whole.
Provides for a predictable schedule for youth that is transparent to them and provides warnings and prompts for all movements and transitions; and exercises independent judgment when the need arises to alter a schedule (while still maintaining transparency and warnings).
Implements and monitors youth activities, programs, and behaviors on an individual and group basis, to ensure healthy youth engagement and to provides appropriate role modeling for all youth.
Observes and keeps staff informed daily of significant behavioral and treatment-related conditions and events known about a youth and/or the group.
Provides services to potentially aggressive/combative youth in a correctional setting with a wide variety of temperaments (volatile, mentally ill, suicidal) and specialized needs (chemically dependent, sexual offenders, emotionally disturbed, etc.).
Physically restrains and secures , if necessary, sometimes aggressive youth and participates in follow up debriefing conversations to assess the relationship and determine alternative strategies to avoid future physical restraints.
Maintains security in buildings, grounds, and other posts; and intervenes during emergencies or altercations to prevent escapes and protect the safety of all youth.
Conducts searches for contraband and health/safety hazards; and performs room, property, pat, and strip searches of youth as required.
Supervises assigned youth during all of their daily activities, including on the dorm, at school, during meals, and other activities; manages all movements between activities; conducts periodic headcounts; ensures youth engage in required activities; and transfers and transports youth, on foot, in vehicles, and other forms of transportation.
Responds appropriately to youth grievances.
Maintains privacy and follows all policies, regulation, and laws in regards to youth records.
Completes and maintains required records, files, and forms in a timely and accurate way.
Performs a variety of related duties not listed, to be determined and assigned as needed.
Performs all duties in compliance with agency safety policies and procedures:
Attends work on a regular and predictable schedule in accordance with agency attendance and leave policies.
Must be at least 21 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent.Two years of full-time wage-earning experience supervising or providing rehabilitation/treatment services to youth or adults in a treatment program, correctional program, or a residential setting (e.g. correctional officer, case manager, counselor, or probation or parole officer).
College degree or coursework.
Note:Any degree, diploma, high school equivalent, or course hours required to meet minimum qualifications must be obtained from an accredited educational institution.
Experience and Education Substitutions:
Requirements: Must be at least 21 years of age.
Applicants with the following will not be considered:
Convicted or received deferred adjudication for any felony.
Convicted or received deferred adjudication for domestic violence involving a family member (including non-spouse partners).
Convicted or received deferred adjudication for official oppression.
Current requirement to register as a sex offender.
Arrested for a disqualifying offense that was not expunged before the statute of limitations expired.
Outstanding warrant.
Applicants with other arrests, deferred adjudications, and convictions may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine suitability for employment.
Pre-employment conditions require acceptable results from mandatory:
pre-employment drug test;
finger printing, criminal records check, and driving record check;
Fitness-for-Duty Assessment which may include both physical and behavior evaluations.
Requirements for Continued Employment:
Obtain and maintain certification in TJJD¿s Use of Force techniques, which requires physical restraint of juveniles .
Obtain and maintain certification in First Aid and CPR.
Failure to maintain required certification will result in termination of employment.
Ability to utilize Texas Model levels of engagement to appropriately intervene with youth.
The following physical demands and working conditions are representative of those encountered when performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing
Ability to see
Ability to hear (with or without aid)
Ability to perform tactile discernment
Identifying colors
Depth perception
Operate motor equipment
Heavy lifting, 45 lbs. & over
Heavy carrying, 45 lbs. & over
Restraining combative youth
Pushing
Pulling
Repeated bending
Reaching above shoulder
Prolonged standing and walking
Walking
Standing
Twisting
Kneeling
Stooping
Dual simultaneous grasping
Climbing ladders
State of Texas Benefits and Retirement Information can be found at https://www.ers.texas.gov .Benefits include: Retirement plan, paid group health & life insurance for employee, paid holidays, paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, longevity pay, educational assistance program, employee assistance program. Optional add-on benefits include: Dental, Vision, Optional Life Insurance, Voluntary AD&DD Insurance, Dependent Health & Life insurance, Health & Dependent care flexible spending accounts, etc. Additionally, certain designated positions are eligible for hazardous duty pay, and career ladder advancements.
In order to receive veteran¿s preference, a copy of your DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), VA disability rating (if applicable), or a DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty) must be attached to your application.
Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls.
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services
Thank you for considering employment with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
SPONSORSHIP
Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship.
Your application must contain complete job histories, which include job titles, name of employer, dates of employment (month & year), name of direct supervisor and phone number, and a description of duties performed, and whether it was full-time or part-time and hours per week.If any of this information is not provided, your application may be rejected as incomplete.
Resumes do not take the place of this required information.
Applicants must be able to pass a Criminal Background Check and any other requirements listed under Minimum Qualifications.
APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED THROUGH WORK IN TEXAS: Work in Texas (WIT) applicants must complete the CAPPS Recruit Prescreening Questionnaire to be considered for the posting.