Youth Counselor

HeartShare Wellness LTD; New York (NY); On-site; USD 25,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

403(B) retirement plans

Paid vacation, sick days, and holidays

EAP

Flexible spending account

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

HeartShare St. Vincent's Services (HSVS) Nuevo Camino program in Sunset Park, NYC, seeks a Youth Counselor to supervise and support unaccompanied minors aged 5-17 in transitional foster care.

You will use trauma-informed approaches, maintain safety, document daily activities, coordinate with case managers, and travel as needed to support reunifications and appointments. The role requires bilingual English/Spanish, a high school diploma, a valid driver's license, and flexibility to work weekends

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Valid driver's license and ability to operate program vehicles when assigned.
• Bilingual English/Spanish required.
• At least 1 year of experience working with children/youth preferred (2 years preferred).
• Ability to work with youth from different backgrounds and provide a safe, supportive environment.
• Strong communication and teamwork.
• Flexibility to work weekends/holidays and on-call.
• Willingness to travel domestically.
• Must complete required agency and program training.
• Vaccination proof prior to start.

Responsibilities

• Maintain supervision ratios (1:1 and 1:8) per policy.
• Provide daily care and support during routines, education hours, meals, and activities.
• Assist in classrooms and support staff during education hours.
• Facilitate individual and group activities promoting engagement and emotional regulation.
• Transport youth to appointments, school activities, and activities as assigned.
• Assist with meal preparation and distribution.
• Complete required documentation on time (logs, incident reports).
• Communicate with Case Managers and other program staff.

Skills

Bilingual English/Spanish

Strong communication skills

Teamwork

Experience with youth

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Driver's license

Job description

HeartShare St. Vincent's Services (HSVS) Nuevo Camino program is dedicated to providing 20 unaccompanied minors, ages 5-17, with a supportive, nurturing environment through transitional foster homes, daily education programming, and supportive services in the Sunset Park section of New York City. The program is rooted in ensuring that service delivery is trauma informed, culturally appropriate, and individualized to support each child's needs and circumstances while ensuring full compliance with HeartShare St. Vincent's Services (HSVS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and Office of Family and Children Services (OCFS) policies and regulations. The Youth Counselor plays a critical role in providing supervision, support, and direction to children in the Transitional Foster Care (TFC) program while promoting safety, growth, and healthy development in a trauma informed and culturally responsive environment.

Essential Functions And Responsibilities Of The Position

• Maintains required supervision ratios, including 1:1 and 1:8 supervision, while monitoring youth activities, location, safety, and overall well-being in accordance with ORR, OCFS, and Nuevo Camino expectations.
• Helps maintain a safe, respectful, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and professional environment that supports the well-being and development of youth.
• Provides daily care and support to youth, including supervision during daily routines, education, recreational activities, meals, and program activities. Assists in classrooms during education hours by supporting classroom routines, supervising youth, encouraging participation, and working with education staff as needed.
• Facilitates individual and group activities that promote youth engagement, social skills, emotional regulation, and adjustment to the program.
• Transports and accompanies youth to appointments, legal services, medical appointments, school activities, recreational activities, sponsor/family visits, transfers, and other approved activities as assigned.
• Assists with meal preparation and distribution, including breakfast, lunch, and snacks, while ensuring youth's needs are met and in ratio.
• Remains up to date with program policies, procedures, schedules, and services while maintaining compliance with ORR and agency regulations.
• Completes required documentation, including daily logs, shift reports, incident reports, transportation documentation, and other program records, accurately and in accordance with required timeframes.
• Communicates effectively with Case Managers, Case Aides, Transportation Staff, Direct Care Supervisors, Leadership, and other program staff regarding youth needs, concerns, and updates.
• Uses trauma-informed and therapeutic de-escalation techniques to support youth during behavioral concerns, crisis situations, and other challenging moments while maintaining safety and following program procedures.
• Attends all required staff meetings, training, supervision sessions, and professional development activities.
• Maintains confidentiality of youth information and follows ORR, agency, HIPAA, and child welfare confidentiality requirements.
• Assists with youth admissions, intakes, orientations, transfers, and discharges by completing required assessments, reviewing documentation, providing support, and following program protocols and procedures.
• Travels with youth as needed, including out-of-state travel, to support reunification, discharge, placement transfers, or other approved program-related movements. Travel may include airlines, trains, buses, or other forms of transportation. Staff must be able to accompany youth during extended travel assignments while maintaining supervision, safety, and compliance with ORR and program requirements.
• Provides support to other program departments and assists with agency needs as required to help maintain quality services and program operations.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned, consistent with the scope, responsibilities, and level of the position, and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and organizational policies.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Must have a valid driver's license and meet agency requirements to operate program vehicles when assigned. required.
• Must be Bilingual English/ Spanish required
• At least 1 year of experience working with children, youth, foster care, school settings, and similar settings preferred (2 years of similar experience overall preferred).
• Ability to work with youth from different backgrounds and provide a safe, supportive, and respectful environment.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work well with youth, families, coworkers, and other professionals.
• Ability to follow program policies, complete required documentation, and meet program expectations.
• Ability to stay calm, patient, and professional when handling challenging situations and behaviors.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and independently when needed.
• Must be flexible with scheduling and available to work assigned shifts, including weekends, holidays, and after-hours coverage (as needed).
• Must participate in a rotating on-call schedule, including one full week of on-call coverage when assigned.
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically as required for youth reunifications, transfers, and program needs, and able to travel with youth as needed throughout the United States.
• Must complete required agency and program training
• HSVS requires all new hires to provide proof of vaccination prior to their start date (employees requiring accommodation for medical or religious reasons should notify Human Resources).

Benefits

At HeartShare we offer a comprehensive benefit package based on full-time/part-time status. You canexpect:

• Rewarding Work in a team environment.
• Paid vacation, sick, personal days, and holidays.
• 403(B) retirement plans with employer contribution.
• Health, dental, vision and life insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Flexible spending account (Dependent Care, Medical, Parking, and Transit).
• Employee Appreciation Programs and Events.
• Tuition Assistance Program.
• Professional Development opportunities.
• Wellhub Discount
• Verizon Wireless Discount.
• BJs Membership discount.
• Discounts on Broadway tickets, movie tickets, theme parks, sporting events, gift certificates & more

HeartShare is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). If you need to request accommodation during the recruiting process, please reach out to [e-mail].

About Heartshare

Who WE ARE:

For over 150 years, Heartshare has been dedicated to championing and empowering New Yorkers society has too often overlooked and underestimated.

To learn more about HeartShare, please visit our website at www.heartshare.org or Follow us on Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Facebook

HeartShare Human Services of New York | Homepage

HeartShare Human Services of New York nurtures and empowers children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.