TJJD Juvenile Correctional Officer Spvr (MCL)

Texas A&M International; Mart (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Texas Juvenile Justice Department in Texas is seeking a senior Juvenile Correctional Officer to oversee correctional staff who provide direct care to youth in a juvenile residential facility. You will supervise daily unit operations, mentor JCOs, ensure safety and security, and coach youth according to treatment plans.

The role may involve on-call hours, travel, and pre-service training requirements. You will train new JCOs, support trauma-informed care practices, and maintain discipline and

Job description

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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.

Job Description

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 unit; supporting and mentoring correctional officers on their unit; ensuring the safety and security of youth and staff; and working directly with youth, coaching their personal development in accordance with their treatment plans.May plan, assign, and/or supervise the work of others. Responsible for the development of the JCOs on the dorm and for ensuring JCOs are trained appropriately on dorm and youth management.

Provides on the job training to new JCOs assigned to their unit. 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.Responds appropriately to youth grievances.May act as Campus Shift Administrator.

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 occasional travel.

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.

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.

Basic understanding of youth¿s mental health and behavioral diagnosis.

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.

Recognizes and provides guidance to youth and correctional staff regarding self-injurious behavior and suicidal risk (ideology, behavior and attempts). Intervenes when observes youth engaging in disruptive, self-injurious and/or suicidal behavior.

Attends mandatory meetings by being an active participant sharing information and learning new skills.

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.

Helps JCOs identify and utilize their own self-regulation skills so they are equipped to co-regulate youth.

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 appropriate 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, medical, social, emotional needs 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/misbehaviors, emotionally disturbed, developmental delays, 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:

• Reports safety hazards and corrects hazards when possible.
• Completes required documentation in the event of an accident/injury within requested timeframes.

Attends work on a regular and predictable schedule in accordance with agency attendance and leave policies.

Minimum Qualifications

Must be at least 21 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent.Two (2) 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).

Preferred Qualifications

College degree or coursework.

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)

Experience and Education Substitutions:

• Completed course hours of undergraduate study may substitute for up to four years of experience on a basis of 30 course hours for one year of experience.
• Pro-rated part-time experience may satisfy the experience requirement.

Note:Any degree, diploma, high school equivalent, or course hours required to meet minimum qualifications must be obtained from an accredited educational institution.

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 behavioral evaluations.

Requirements for Continued Employment:

Obtain and maintain certification in TJJD 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.

• Knowledge of safety and security procedures and practices.
• Knowledge of general counseling and guidance techniques with adolescents.
• Knowledge of facility rules and regulations.
• Knowledge of individual and group behavior.
• Knowledge of child development and the role of the family.
• Knowledge of causes of juvenile delinquency and current methods of juvenile offender treatment.
• Ability to remain calm and regulate one¿s own behavior while helping to serve as a role model for youth who are learning to self-regulate their own behavior.
• Ability to maintain healthy and engaging relationships with youth while maintaining appropriate boundaries important for healthy development.
• Ability to work with youth in an empathetic and understanding manner with sustained positive interactions.
• Ability to communicate effectively with youth to foster youth cooperation in the treatment process.
• Ability to plan and implement youth programs.
• Ability to facilitate group discussions and activities.
• Ability to set limits on youth behaviors when appropriate in a consistent, firm and fair manner.
• Ability to intervene and redirect behavior.
• Ability to appropriately respond to abusive language and behavior in a manner consistent with instructions received in training.
• Ability to remain alert, observant, and physically able to respond appropriately to work situations or emergencies including, but not limited to, physical restraint of youth.
• Ability to learn verbal and physical crisis intervention/de-escalation techniques and emergency treatment procedures.
• Ability to train new staff to the Mental Health Unit.
• Ability to maintain order and discipline.
• Ability to physically restrain youth, when necessary, in a manner consistent with instructions received in training.
• Ability to explain the progress of the youth to their family members and other treatment staff.
• Ability to interpret rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Ability to accept and adapt to changes in assignments, methods, policies, etc.
• Ability to work collaboratively with all stakeholders and maintain a professional, courteous demeanor.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks.
• Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate work assignments; and meet deadlines.
• Ability to process information logically, make decisions, and demonstrate the soundness for those decisions.
• Ability to document observations and incidents and maintain written files and records.
• Ability to transport youth and travel as necessary.

Ability to utilize Texas Model levels of engagement to appropriately intervene with youth.

• Ability to work a variety of shifts, weekends, holidays, and be on-call.
• Ability to work more than 40 hours per workweek, and travel, when required.

Physical Requirements

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.

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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

Pulling

Pushing

Prolonged standing and walking

Walking

Standing

Repeated bending

Reaching above shoulder

Dual simultaneous grasping

Twisting

Kneeling

Stooping

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&D 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.

If you are scheduled for an interview and require any reasonable accommodation in our interview process, please inform the hiring representative who calls you to schedule your interview. Whenever possible, please give the hiring representative sufficient time to consider and respond to your request.

Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Due to the high volume of applications, we do not accept telephone calls.

If you submitted your application through the CAPPS Career Center you may also check the status of your application by accessing your profile and selecting ¿My Job Applications¿ on the three-dot menu in the top right corner.

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.