Youth Support Specialist (Permanent)

NYS Office of Children and Family Services; Town of Rush (NY); On-site; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

The NYS Office of Children and Family Services is seeking a Youth Support Specialist to supervise court-placed youth aged 12-20 in secure, limited-secure, and non-secure facilities. You will work as part of a treatment-focused team to ensure safety, promote well-being, and support education and transition goals.

You will engage with youth from diverse backgrounds, apply harm-reduction strategies, and may require shift work, weekends, and travel to appointments as described in the role.

Qualifications

• Two years full-time direct care experience in the care and programming of youth aged 6-21.
• High school graduation or equivalency diploma with one year of youth care experience.
• Associate’s degree with six months youth care experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in any field.
• Direct care experience with youth involved in the juvenile justice system or residential settings.

Responsibilities

• Supervise court-placed youth aged 12-20 across OCFS facilities and ensure physical security and emotional safety.
• Participate as a member of a youth’s support team to address emotional and behavioral needs.
• Engage with youth under stress and apply graduated harm reduction strategies.
• Provide mentorship, support education, work readiness, and community transition goals.
• Supervise recreation and education activities and assist with as-needed assignments.
• Establish professional relationships with youths’ families and loved ones.

Job description

Duties Description

The Youth Support Specialist (YSS) works directly to supervise court-placed youth, age 12-20, who reside at OCFS secure, limited-secure, and/or non-secure residential facilities. YSSs are part of a team that ensures that a facility is physically secure (e.g., responsible for youth movement, key and door control, and conflict resolution) and emotionally safe for both youth and other staff. YSSs help create a professional, healthy, and therapeutic environment. A YSS must:

• Establish a relationship of professionalism, confidence, safety, and trust with youth and other staff from different racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, physical ability, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) and/or socio-economic backgrounds. Supervise and monitor youth, which, depending on a youth’s clinical needs, may include 1-to-1 supervision.
• Actively participate as a member of a youth’s support team. A support team is a treatment-focused group of professional and para-professional staff who work together to address the emotional and behavioral needs and goal of youth.
• Be confident in engaging with people who may be under physical and/or emotional stress.
• Employ graduated harm reduction strategies while supervising youth. This includes correcting, and in some cases, verbally or physically intervening when a youth displays unsafe behaviors toward themselves or other youth and staff. Harm reduction requires that a YSS learn to recognize personal or situational flags that could lead to conflict or harm, provide positive mentorship to youth, and help youth work on their own interpersonal skills and use of self-regulation strategies.
• Take opportunities to improve the well-being of the facility community by being collaborative and informed.
• Supervise and/or assist youth during recreation and education activities, as well as take on various, as-needed assignments.
• Establish and maintain positive, professional, and appropriate relationships with youths’ families and loved ones.
• Assist youth in achieving education, work readiness, and community transition goals.

Additional duties will be discussed in detail during the interview.

Training Requirements

Attend a 2-week Juvenile Justice Basic Training orientation, be proficient in OCFS-approved physical skills and youth restraint techniques (given two times a year for eight hours total), take NYS employee mandated annual trainings, and other annual training refreshers.

• Some intrastate travel may be required (e.g., supervision at youth medical appointments, intramural games, extracurricular activities, or other events).
• The YSS position is physically demanding. A candidate must be prepared to act to ensure the health and safety of youth and staff, which may include use of approved physical restraint techniques.
• The YSS position requires shift, weekend, holidays, and overtime assignments, including mandatory and voluntary overtime.

Minimum Qualifications

Two years full-time direct care experience* in the care and programming of youth from ages 6-21; OR

• A high school graduation or equivalency diploma AND one year of experience* in the care and programming of youth from ages 6-21; OR
• An Associate’s degree AND six months experience* in the care and programming of youth from ages 6-21; OR
• A Bachelor’s degree;
• Direct care experience with youth involved in the juvenile justice system or in an institution, camp, school, community center, youth rehabilitation program, mental health or correctional institution, or residential center.

Appropriate verifiable part-time experience will be accepted on a prorated basis.

Satisfactory completion of the probation period must include possession of a valid motor vehicle operator’s license and the ability to operate a motor vehicle legally in New York State.

Additional Comments

Please specify in your resume how you meet the minimum qualifications (as described above) when responding to this posting. For example, you should provide specific date ranges for qualifying experience, qualifying education or certifications, or the age range of individuals served. Non-specific submissions may be disqualified from further consideration if the information you provide does not meet the minimum qualifications.

The salary range listed reflects the full range for this graded position, factoring in annual performance advances based on satisfactory annual performance reviews. Candidates with no current NYS service will begin at the hiring rate (starting rate of the salary range) listed.

All youth who reside in OCFS facilities, regardless of age, are considered ‘vulnerable persons’ and protected by the NYS Justice Center. The Justice Center works to ensure that no youth is subject to abuse, neglect, or other mistreatment while residing in an OCFS facility.

Civil Service Employees Association, Inc (CSEA) represents the YSS position. The position is subject to all attendant CSEA-OCFS agreements, rules, and opportunities.

Physical/Medical Requirements

Your physical and medical condition will be evaluated to ensure that you are able to satisfactorily perform the duties of this position with or without reasonable accommodation. The physical/medical standards include a medical standards evaluation, and a substance abuse screening.

Background Investigation Requirements

• All prospective employees will be investigated through a Criminal Background Check (CBC), which includes State and federal Criminal History Record Checks. All convictions must be reported; conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, or any falsified or omitted information on the prospective appointee’s employment application, may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment. Each case will be determined on its own merits, consistent with the applicable provisions of State and federal laws, rules, and regulations. Prospective employees will be fingerprinted in order to obtain a record of their criminal history information, and may be required to pay any necessary fees.
• All prospective employees will be screened against the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Prospective employees will be required to pay any necessary fees.
• For Division of Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth (DJJOY) prospective appointees will be checked against the Staff Exclusion List (SEL) maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Prospective employees whose names appear on the SEL as having been found responsible for serious or repeated acts of abuse or neglect will be barred from appointment and may have their names removed from the eligible list(s) for the title(s) if applicable.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is an equal opportunity employer. OCFS does not discriminate based upon age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, military or veteran status, sex, disability (including pregnancy-related conditions), predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We devote special attention to dismantling racial injustice and recognize that diversity in our workforce is critical to fulfilling our mission. We are committed to the diversity of our staff and encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply. In furtherance of Executive Order 31 and OCFS’s mission to have a diverse workforce, all people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. All applicants must be dedicated to working in and sustaining an environment of inclusion that affirms and celebrates the backgrounds, learned, and lived expertise, whole identities, and individual perspectives of our staff. Applicants of all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to self-identify during the application process.