Assistant Behavior Intervention Specialist

Job Summary 

YAI promotes a person-centered approach by creating supports that cater to the specific needs of each person. Undersupervision of the Program Supervisor, the ABISprovides direct support to individuals with intellectual and developmental (I/DD) disabilities, promoting community integration and inclusion,assistingwith activities of daily living (ADLs) including intimate and personal care, teaching daily and independent living skills, providing individual and group counseling,and performing all other duties of a DSP. Assistant Behavior Intervention Specialists provide clinicalsupport relating tohabilitative, behavioral,and psychiatric needs of persons supported by the team under thedirection and supervision of the Behavior Intervention Specialist (BIS). This is donethrough educating other direct care staff andprogram leadership on habilitative and Behavior Support Plans, supporting clinical assessments and interventions, ensuring consistent and effective data collection,and providing direct feedback.The ABISprovides leadership to the team onshift, directing andassistingdirect care staff in the absence of supervisor and/or assistant supervisor.

Schedule:

• Full-Timeeveningsonly

• Sunday – Thursday 3:00pm – 11:00pm

Compensation:

• $23.10 - $23.10 / hour 

Key/Essential Functions & Responsibilities: 

• Performs all duties of a Direct Support Professional (DSP 1 – 3) as indicated in job descriptions, in addition toABIS duties on a regular basis and/or as requested to ensure the overall supervision,protectionand care ofindividuals in program,assistingin maximizing their strengths, interests and abilities while upholdingtheirpersonalrights andfacilitatingactivities that provide social capital and connections to the community.

• Leads the identification, facilitation,and scheduling of community inclusion activities for assigned programbased on feedback from and needs of persons supported.

• Coordinating resources, securing necessary funds,andensuringthat activities are completed and appropriately documented.

• Supports provision of appropriate, therapeutically documented levels of supervision to ensure and protect thehealth,safety,and well-being of individualsat all timesby ensuring updates and changes to levels ofsupervision for persons we support are regularly communicated to all staff and appropriately documented;may run shift meetings, assigning duties, completing shiftsheetand making recommendations to ensure staffare qualified and able tomaintaincurrent prescribed levels of supervision.

• Understands and uses specialized clinical knowledge of person-specific needs and signs or symptoms ofailments/syndromes including mental health/medical conditions to provide effective supports to individuals,identifyand escalate concerns to leadership,and inform activities,training,or specialized education oraugmentedtrainingsfor staff.

• Stays up to date with current issues, diagnoses,needs,and levels of supervision for the persons supported inassigned program under the supervision of BIS. 

• Works with BIS toidentifyhabilitative, behavioral,and psychiatric needs of the persons supported and toensure all programming and activities relating to clinical interventions are implemented consistently, inaccordance with individualized plans. 

• Provides guidance to program staff, setting theappropriate toneand ensuring that the standards of care arefollowed by modeling excellent counseling skills and interactions with persons supported and through use ofperson-centered philosophy and tools. 

• Implements Behavior Support Plans,demonstratingunderstanding of behavior as communication andemploying person-centered thinking to support positive interactions and prevent further escalation.

• Trains direct care staff individually, on the floor and/or in groups using the EMOE training system to supporteffective implementation of habilitative and behavioral programming by program staff through regularobservations, direct feedback, communicating clinical rationales, and ensuringappropriate datacollectiontechniques.

• Serves as lead trainer for weekend staff and supportsnew staffin developing anddemonstratingthe OPWDDCore Competencies.

• Participates in the development of treatment plans including individualized habilitative plans, collaboratingwith BIS to write services, goals, outcomes and/or supportsin accordance withthe agency philosophy, asdeterminedby assessments of individual needs and learning capabilities.

• Assists BIS with gathering and collecting data required to conduct formal and informal behavioral andhabilitative assessments (written questionnaires, standardized tests, rating scales, baseline data, etc.) byconducting observations and/orsolicitinginformation from other direct support staff, circles of support orother sources, as applicable.

• Monitors collection of data used to assess progress toward habilitative and behavioral goals, ensuring thatnew data sheets are accessible to staff at the beginning of each month and that staff are consistently andaccurately collecting and documenting datain accordance withestablished systems by reviewingdocumentation, retraining staff and following up as needed; mayassistwith design of data collection systemsfor habilitative goals.

• Completes and maintains all required paperwork and documentation for persons supported in appropriateformat(s) and file(s)in accordance withapplicable requirements including compiling, totaling andsummarizing data, writing monthlies describing overall progress and completing person centered materials;reviews and ensures all psychiatric/therapyanecdotalsare complete andappropriateandassistsotherprogram staff with documentation or compiling information or data, as needed or directed.

• Attends and activelyparticipatesin team meetings as a member of the interdisciplinary team (IDT), consultingwith IDT to ensure streamlined and top-quality care and providing feedback or ideas to improve supportsand/or program operations and updates or changes relating to data management, assessments orprogramming requirements.

• Regularlyparticipatesin life plan and other meetings for persons supported and in regional assistant or otherclinical team meetings providing information, contributing toagendasand completing tasks or activitiesresulting from meetings as directed by leadership team (training, assessments, reviews, etc.).

• Serves as lead on weekend and evening shifts or when otherwise requested,monitoringday-to-day programoperations and providing support to staff in the absence of Program Supervisor, Assistant Supervisor and/orBIS. 

• Maintains an awareness of program operations, staff performance and overallcondition/wellness of personssupported through regular interactions and observations and by working together with the leadership team toidentify and directly address, resolve, recommend actions or solutions and/or appropriately escalatingconcerns, signs and symptoms,problemsor other occurrences.

• Completes andmaintainsall necessary trainings and certifications, including specialized trainings based onprogram and to ensure compliance with YAI policies or other applicable rules or regulations and clinicaltrainings as recommended by BIS, effectively applying skills or teaching others.

• Complies with all Federal, State, Local and other relevant regulatory agency requirements, including theHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

• For certain assignments, may berequiredtooperateYAI motor vehicle to transport individuals to and/or fromprograms, residences,communityor other locations on a daily (or other regular) basis with appropriatecredentials.

• Performs all other duties, as assigned

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work,or closely related Human Services discipline and at least six (6)months of experience working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and/orsupporting adults or children with complex social-emotional, mental health,and/or behavior support needs ina group or individual setting (home program, day treatment center, school, ABA environment, etc.); or

• Formal training, including college coursework in psychology, sociology, human behavior, mental health,specialeducation,and/or I/DD and at least two (2) years of experience as described above; or

• At least four (4) years of experience in a direct care role (e.g.DSP) in a YAI program in good standing; and

• Working knowledge of behavioral/psychiatric conditions, including the interplay between I/DD and otherconditions,and ability to effectively gather, document,and accurately communicate related information tostaff, clinicalteam,and/or external providers; and

• Exceptional written and oral communication skills including the ability to professionally, coherently,andobjectively;document services providedandsummarizeprogress for billing and tracking purposes;and toeffectively convey informationregardingindividuals supported across various levels and with externalproviders or circles of support; and

• Ability and willingness to lead, direct,and teach others technical skills and/or knowledge, both on-the-job andthrough formal training in group or individual settings; and

• Must hold foundational certifications for current service setting: Strategies for Crisis Intervention andPrevention – Revised (SCIP-R), CPR (issued by American Red Cross or American Heart Association) andYAIissuedApproved Medication Administration Personnel (AMAP) certification for residential assignments or DayServices Model Mentorship Training for day assignments.

• Current YAI employees changing settings must obtain AMAP (for new residential assignment) or DayServices Model Mentorship Training (for new day assignment) and anyadditionalcertifications asrequired by program assignment and persons supported within three (3) months of appointment

• Newly hired employees must obtain (andmaintain)requiredYAI certifications based on setting andprogram within six (6) months of appointment; and

• Mustmaintainfoundational certifications (as described above) and any required program-specificcertifications; or

• Satisfactory equivalent combination of education,experienceand/or training; however, all newly hiredemployeesmust be at least 18 years old.

• Ability to meet essential physical demands of position including frequent walking, sitting, standing, bending,twisting, stooping, kneeling, crouching, pushing,pullingand reaching with hands and arms; use hands tohandle,fingeror feel objects,toolsor controls;assistingwith lifting/moving individuals of any weight withassistanceof mechanical lifts or other equipment and/or pushing individuals in wheelchairs; lifting and/ormoving up to 25 pounds on occasion; having the physical capacity to work with and implement emergencyinterventions as per the person’s Behavior Support Plan if/as needed, including lifting/moving individuals ofany weight with or withoutassistanceof equipment and/or other staff.

• Ability and willingness toassistwith a variety of supports and ADLs, including regular exposure to andhandlingof various bodily fluids with limited direction andin accordance withdocumented plans.

• Strong clinical skills including the ability to assess and analyze information or drawappropriate conclusions,communicate clinical rationales, effectively compile,compareand aggregate data/information; and interpretinformation.

• Ability to remain calm, act assertively and display professional competence and good judgment in stressfulsituations,including withchallenging individuals or behaviors and work in a high energy,fast-pacedenvironment. 

• Proficiencywith computers and electronic systems including email,utilizingWorkday and/or related systems(DA, etc.) to complete tasks.

• Ability to work on a full-time basis, including at least one regularly scheduled weekend day and to workbeyond regularly scheduled hours/shift and/or to report to work as scheduled on holidays, in inclementweather or during other emergencies tomaintainminimum coverage requirements of program, unlessotherwiseauthorized.

• Ability to travel to regional trainings or meetings at designated YAI locations within assigned region and tolocations withinNYCmetro area on occasion. 

• For assignments that require transporting persons supported by vehicle, must hold or obtain and maintainvalid Driver’s License and Van certification (based on position/location/program).

Preferred Qualification Requirements (desired requirements beyond MQRs above):

• Active pursuit of aMaster’s degree in clinicalor treatment field of psychology, social work, school psychology, or applied psychology

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work or closely related Human Services discipline

• Two (2) or more years of experience working within the field of I/DD

YAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam or disabled veteran.