Youth Residential Support Specialist
About the job
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Qualified Addiction Professional certification or ability to obtain it within three years of hire.
- Teaching Family Certification within one year of hire, except for Residential Support Specialists working solely overnight shifts.
- Basic Life Support certification within 45 days of hire.
- First Aid certification within 45 days of hire.
- Current and valid Alaska driver's license.
- Must be at least 21 years of age.
- Ability to engage in moderate physical recreational activities that support recovery.
- Verbal and written communication skills.
- Skill, aptitude, and experience in child and youth care.
- Skills and competence in basic outdoor recreational activities.
- Ability to implement training and participate in consultation services, including receiving and implementing feedback.
- Ability to act as a positive role model and provide appropriate, respectful care, support, structure, and guidance for youth and families.
- Ability to apply basic principles of child development, behavioral health, and crisis intervention.
- Ability to understand indicators of child abuse, neglect, and mandatory reporting laws.
- Ability to understand cultural issues in the treatment process and use cultural differences to enhance treatment.
- Ability to respond sensitively to the needs of emotionally and behaviorally disturbed clients and their families.
- Ability to follow written protocols from medical, supervisory, and clinical personnel.
- Ability to learn, understand, and implement professional boundaries.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality.
- Provide behavioral health interventions and teach skill development, including effective communication, positive social interaction, problem solving, decision making, and anger management, to families, individual clients, and groups according to treatment plans.
- Maintain consistent program and activity structure and provide therapeutic limits.
- Use approved strategies to prevent aggressive behavior and de-escalate volatile situations.
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of co-occurring disorders and the relationship between substance abuse and mental health.
- Use teaching techniques and interventions according to the Teaching Family Model and other common treatment modalities, and engage clients in the treatment process.
- Understand, utilize, teach, and implement motivational systems.
- Plan, supervise, and document daily activities that meet therapeutic goals.
- Monitor clients and provide interventions to ensure safety, immediately informing a supervisor of crises or unsafe situations.
- Document daily progress notes in a timely manner in accordance with agency standards and state and federal regulations.
- Establish and engage in professional collaboration within SEARHC and with relevant community entities.
- Perform other duties as assigned to meet program, clinic, departmental, and organizational goals.
- One year of experience working with emotionally and/or behaviorally disturbed youth.
About the company
Juneau Youth Services provides emergency, residential, and community-based behavioral health care for children, teens, and their families in Alaska. Services are tailored and strengths-based, delivered in home-like, least-restrictive settings where trained caregivers and clinical professionals form therapeutic relationships to support youth development and family functioning. The programs operate under the Teaching Family Model and focus on keeping or reunifying children with their families when appropriate. The organization has about 25 staff and positions itself as the leading youth- and family-focused behavioral health provider in Juneau, aiming to help vulnerable youth succeed and thrive.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Juneau, Alaska
Founded
1961
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Front Street urgent care opened May 31, 2026, expanding walk-in Juneau access.
- Mendenhall Valley compounding pharmacy opened August 2026 after years without one.
- Wrangell plans an 8,000-square-foot medical services building, extending SEARHC's footprint.
What critics are saying
- SEARHC filed an $8 million federal cost lawsuit in March 2024.
- Employees protested PTO cuts in February 2025, signaling retention and labor strain.
- Home health closed in Sitka by September 2025, exposing service fragility and possible contraction.
What makes SEARHC unique
- SEARHC dominates Southeast Alaska care, anchored by Sitka, Juneau, and Klawock.
- Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center opened April 23, 2026, centralizing comprehensive regional services.
- SEARHC combines hospitals, pharmacies, urgent care, behavioral health, and tribal health access.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
Paid Vacation
Parental Leave
Flexible Work Hours