Full Time Morning Direct Support Professional

YAI is seeking a highly motivated and compassionate Full Time Morning Direct Support Professional to join our team. As a key member of our support staff, you will play a vital role in providing exceptional care and support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Assist individuals in maximizing their strengths, interests, and abilities, upholding their personal rights, and providing emotional support and building positive relationships.
• Support individuals to meet personal goals that characterize quality of life, engage in respectful communications and conversations through person-first language, encourage socializing, and facilitate activities that provide social capital and connections to the community.
• Responsible for the overall supervision, protection, and care of individuals at all times, including maintenance of program guidelines for the protection of individuals, facilitating learning and training in fire safety, and identifying and appropriately escalating signs of an individual's potential harm to self or others.
• Ensure health, wellness, and safety by providing appropriate supervision of the people we support and by managing crisis situations while adhering to applicable policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Provide support in a variety of settings and in accordance with each person's individualized service and behavior support plans, utilizing support skills for people with varying levels of need and demonstrating the OPWDD Core Competencies.
• Ensure implementation of person-centered, individualized plans following levels of supervision and safeguards, including protective oversight (IPOPs), as well as Behavior Support Plans (BSPs), Staff Action and/or Life Plans for all people we support, understanding the intentions and goals of the plans.
• Maintain a clean, safe, and organized therapeutic environment.
• Utilize safe and appropriate handling procedures when working with individuals and implement infection control protocols.
• Assist with a variety of tasks for people we support, as appropriate/authorized, including providing personal care and assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs), ensuring that medication is administered as prescribed, teaching/developing skills, supporting person-centered advocacy, and facilitating ethical decision making.
• Develop an understanding of specialized clinical knowledge for person-specific needs, including supporting adults, challenging behaviors, autism spectrum disorders, and complex medical needs.
• Implement Behavior Support Plans as written by Behavior Intervention Specialists (BIS).
• Collect, record, and summarize data on individuals' observable behavior.
• Observe and report any changes in behavior or other signs and symptoms to clinical and/or leadership teams.
• Serve as a member of a highly effective team, providing feedback and communicating programmatic needs to members of the team and maintaining a solution-oriented approach during conflicts.
• Complete and maintain all necessary trainings and certifications, including specialized trainings based on program and position, to ensure compliance with YAI policies and all applicable rules or regulations.
• Review communication logs daily and make entries of events, progress notes, services, and/or information; collect and enter data as part of daily operations using an electronic health record.
• Review and complete all other required paperwork and documentation to ensure compliance and/or billing completely, accurately, and within appropriate timeframes.
• Use foundational teaching skills and progressive teaching to support individuals.
• Understand behavior as communication and employ person-centered thinking to support positive interactions and prevent further escalation.
• Comply with all Federal, State, Local, and other relevant regulatory agency requirements, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Report maintenance, upkeep, and safety concerns observed at YAI facilities to Program Supervisors or appropriate designees.
• Consult with program leadership, clinical, and other direct support staff to ensure streamlined and top-quality care for individuals and attend and actively participate in team meetings.
• Utilize approved YAI and OPWDD training techniques to respond timely and appropriately to challenging and/or self-injurious behavior, ensuring the health and safety of the people we support, self, and others.
• Provide coverage for other direct support staff as requested, which may include assisting at another YAI or off-site location, based on needs of program and/or individuals supported.
• May participate in the development of treatment plans.
• For certain assignments, may be required to operate YAI motor vehicles to transport individuals to and/or from programs, residences, community, or other locations on a daily basis with appropriate credentials.

• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Ability to meet essential physical demands of position, including frequent walking, sitting, standing, bending, twisting, stooping, kneeling, crouching, pushing, pulling, and reaching with hands and arms; use hands to handle, finger, or feel objects, tools, or controls; assisting with lifting/moving individuals of any weight with assistance of mechanical lifts or other equipment and/or pushing individuals in wheelchairs; lifting and/or moving up to 25 pounds on occasion; having the physical capacity to work with and implement emergency interventions as per the person's Behavior Support Plan if/as needed, including lifting/moving individuals of any weight with or without assistance of equipment and/or other staff.
• Effective written and oral communication skills, including the ability to appropriately document services provided for billing and tracking purposes.
• Enthusiasm for working with people with I/DD, willingness to take initiative, and ability to demonstrate positivity, patience, and empathy and compassion in all interactions.
• Ability and willingness to assist with a variety of supports and ADLs as requested, including regular exposure to and handling of various bodily fluids.
• Basic computer skills, including email, utilizing Workday and related systems (DA, etc.) to complete tasks.
• Must hold or obtain and maintain Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention – Revised (SCIP-R) within one (1) year of appointment.
• Must hold or obtain and maintain additional certifications as required by program assignment and persons supported (for example: Choking – Return Demonstration, Approved Medication Administration Personnel (AMAP), Diabetes Care, CPR, Tube Feeding, etc.) within one (1) year of appointment.
• Ability to develop and maintain professional relationships in alignment with YAI's mission and vision.
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations and work in a high-energy, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work beyond regularly scheduled hours/shift and/or to report to work as scheduled on holidays, in inclement weather, or during other emergencies to maintain minimum coverage requirements of program, unless otherwise authorized.
• For assignments that require transporting persons supported by vehicle, must hold or obtain and maintain valid Driver's License and Van certification (based on position/location/program).

• HS diploma or its educational equivalent.
• Work or life experience supporting people with intellectual/developmental disabilities.