Youth Services Specialist I - Platte Valley YSC - Greeley

 

Most State of Colorado employees are eligible for a great benefit package! Please see the Supplemental Information section below for details!

This position has a residency waiver and will be accepting applications from residents and non-residents of Colorado. This announcement is open to potential candidates who are legal residents of the United States. All legal residents of the United States are eligible to apply and compete. If appointed to a position, applicants from outside of Colorado will be required to relocate to Colorado prior to their start date, at their own expense

Please note: This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies at the location below.

About Division of Youth ServicesThis work unit exists to provide for the direct care, safety, and security of pre-adjudicated or adjudicated youth in the Division of Youth Services custody using a trauma-responsive approach.  The unit exists to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week care and supervision of youth in secure residential placement covering work assignments ranging from Admissions and Control, school and day programming, and detention, assessment, and commitment (long-term treatment) living units.  

The Division of Youth Services (DYS) is committed to hiring individuals who are professionals, team players, and passionate about their desire to help youth.  DYS values candidates who have demonstrated perseverance as a special attribute that can help the youth in our care.  DYS encourages qualified candidates with "lived experience" to apply. 

 We invite you to explore the DYS website and learn about the services provided to youth, families, and local communities in the State of Colorado at: https://www.colorado.gov/cdhs/dys

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We invite you to explore the DYS website and learn about the services provided to youth, families, and local communities in the State of Colorado at: https://www.colorado.gov/cdhs/dys

Why I work for CDHS / DYS 

This announcement may fill day, night, and swing shifts

This position is a direct care/essential role that provides direct and engaging supervision of Youth in DYS State Operated Secure Facilities. Specific duties and expectations are: Safety/Security, Youth Center Programming, Documentation/Recording and Reporting, Training, and Organizational Accountability. Positions may be required to work overtime on a rotating basis, based on business needs.

Safety/Security. Work involves providing direct care, safety, security, and supervision of adjudicated and/or pre-adjudicated youth in a secure setting. Monitor, participate, support, and enforce behavioral management plans for individual youth as directed (e.g. Behavioral Contracts, Individual Growth and Change Plans). Duties include supervision of youth or group of youth, supervision of daily activities, youth orientation, intervention in crisis situations, non-escalation, de-escalation, use of physical response/restraint in emergency situations, debriefing of all incidents, and conducting searches. 

Youth Center Programming. Actively and with positive engagement, implement and follow the Youth Center’s behavioral management program, teach, coach, and redirect youth within the program. Support DYS initiatives and strategies as they relate to youth programming and crisis intervention.

Documentation/Recording and Reporting. Document observations of youth behavior and response to program(s) and document all unit activities and required information in appropriate logs and records systems. Document all youth group activities in appropriate database systems. 

Organizational Accountability. Through all communications and behaviors demonstrate, support, and contribute to a healthy, positive, and respectful cultural climate throughout the Youth Center by adhering to our organizational values of Nonviolence, Open Communication, Social Responsibility, Growth and Change, Social Learning, Democracy, and Emotional Intelligence.  Requirement to adhere to the CDHS Code of Conduct, DYS Compliance Review Standards, and CDHS and DYS policies.  Success will come through the development of healthy, positive relationships supported by creating a trauma responsive environment.

Training. Complete DYS Pre-Service training academy, Youth Center training, and orientation process as a new employee. Some travel may be required.  Complete all assigned online training, and maintain and support the Division’s prevailing behavior management and intervention strategies.  Training will help you learn problem-solving, the development of relationships with youth grounded in solid boundaries, how to teach skills to youth to decrease further risk and need, and a better understanding of trauma, behavioral health, and high-risk behavior.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: 
 
Education and Experience: 
 
High school diploma or General Education Diploma, (GED).
Substitutions: None
 
These positions are not sedentary positions. Employees are typically on their feet during the entire shift.  Youth living quarters are located on multiple levels and employees must frequently climb stairs in the performance of job duties.  Please take into account your physical ability in relation to the essential job duties when applying for job.
 
Employees must also be willing and able to physically intervene with assaultive youth.
 
Preferred Qualifications:

• College education in a behavioral health and or juvenile justice related field.
• Experience working with adjudicated and/or detained youth within a secure residential facility and/or a behavioral health setting;
• Experience facilitating psychoeducational groups; Education/experience working with adolescents who have trauma;
• Experience working with youth in positive leadership roles, such as mentoring and coaching.
• Experience utilizing verbal de-escalation and motivational techniques.
• Relevant years of state service

 

Highly Desirable Competencies 

• Skilled in conflict management. 

• Strong work ethic, integrity and dependability.

• Sound judgment and decision making skills.

• Self control, composure and the ability to manage stressful situations.

•  Ability to verbally communicate clearly and willingness to do so respectfully 

• Ability to identify and act on changes, inappropriate activity, hazards or potential security breaches and verbally communicate pertinent information.  

• Ability to study information and recount events in a written, factual, concise, and legible method. 

Work Environment:
Employees are required to work shift hours. This includes evening, night, weekend and holidays.  Shifts may vary between agencies and may include eight (8) hours, ten (10) hours, or twelve (12) hours in duration.  Mandatory overtime may be required.  Day shift work is not usually available. As a Correctional Youth Security Officer I, your position is considered essential and you may be required to report to work during inclement weather.

Conditions of Employment:

• Be a minimum of 21 years of age, with no felony convictions or history of domestic violence
• Possess and maintain a valid State of Colorado driver's license
• Pass CBI and FBI background investigations
• Shift work
• Travel-travel of youth in state vehicles, travel to assigned trainings and/or alternate work sites
• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position.  Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.
• Included in the background investigation is a current/previous employer check. Your current and previous employers within the last 10 years must be listed on your application even if the job duties are unrelated to Correctional Youth Security Officer I position. Incomplete employer information (address, phone, supervisor name) or omission of former employers may result in application disqualification.
• Continued employment is contingent upon successful completion of the DYS Pre-service Training Academy, Field Training Program (FTO) and mandatory annual training in all subject areas.

Included in the background investigation is a current/previous employer check. Your current and previous employers within the last 10 years must be listed on your application even if the job duties are unrelated to Correctional Youth Security Officer I position. Incomplete employer information (address, phone, supervisor name) or omission of former employers may result in application disqualification.

Appeal Rights: 
 
If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.
 
An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), postmarked in US Mail or hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department’s action.
 
For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board; go to spb.colorado.gov; contact the State Personnel Board for assistance at (303) 866-3300; or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules. 
For additional recruiting questions, please contact  david.eldridge@state.co.us
 
About Us: 
If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services(CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.org plus 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
• BenefitHub state employee discount program
• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions

 
*Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more
information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs.
 
Our Values:
We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans.
Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.
We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.
Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.
We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.
Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.
  
ADAA Accommodations: CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at  cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791.

Salary : $4,697