POSITION SUMMARY & SCOPE

Provides supervision and support as needed to people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of daily living including personal care, domestic skills, home maintenance, money management, use of community businesses and resources, recreation, medical, medications and safety. Participates in the planning process for service users and assists in development of strategies to achieve the plan.

Assists with the maintenance of the work site while keeping up to date on agency information, policies and guidelines. Practices fiscal responsibility to service users and agency. Maintains accurate service user and agency records, follows reporting procedures, and assumes other administrative duties. Promotes safety and wellbeing of self and others and acts as a liaison between internal and external contacts. Maintains professionalism in all aspects of duties and maintains current standing in required courses.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Developmental Services Worker Diploma or equivalent.
• Current First Aid & CPR certificate
• Current CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) certification

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge and understanding of physical disabilities, developmental disabilities and special needs.
• Good organizational skills
• Excellent communication skills: expresses self clearly with correct terminology, grammar, and spelling.
• Excellent computer skills in keyboarding, creating document and files, email, and internet.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Creativity and self-motivation.
• Observation skills.
• Flexibility, physical stamina, empathy, enthusiasm, resourcefulness, creativity, good sense of humour.
• Excellent coping abilities.
• Valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle insured as required by CLFFD.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Maintains person centered planning process:

• Organizes/ attends planning meetings as required.
• Acts as primary worker as required.
• Carries out supports outlined in the plan.
• Maintain records of planning

2. Support service users to participate in affairs and activities of community life as much as they desire:

• Inform about options
• Provide opportunities to experience options
• Support exercise of choice
• Educate about risks/benefits

3. Facilitate support networks.

4. Provides support to service users in all aspects of daily living:

• Supervises or provides direct care as required. This may include, but is not limited to bathing, feeding, toileting, dressing, body checks, mouth care, any other required personal hygiene;
• Assists service users in understanding and exercising their rights in a safe and responsible manner.
• Supervises, assists, or develops meal plans and participates in meal preparation with/for service users (including specialized diets) as required.
• Supervises, assists, or performs household laundry with/for service users.
• Assists service users with managing financial resources in a reasonable manner and maintains accurate records.
• Assists to plan and/or accompany service users on community outings, shopping and medical/specialist appointments as required.
• Supervises or supports service users in maintenance of their home, grounds, and equipment.
• Reports any incident, serious occurrence, medical issue, accident/injury, changes in service users’ status or behaviour, and service users’ concerns or successes.
• Assists to develop protocols and procedures as required. Implements, monitors and follows approved protocols and procedures.

Follows policies and procedures regarding medications:

• Follows the six R’s when dispensing.
• Ensures accurate documentation of dispensed medications.
• Reports medication errors.
• Follows protocols and report PRN use as required.
• Reports any adverse reactions to medications.
• Ensures proper storage of medications including narcotics.
• Orders, discards, inventories and transfers medications as required.
• Double checks accuracy of ordered, inventoried, dispensed and discarded medications and reports discrepancies as required.
• Rectifies medication errors as required. (i.e. contact pharmacy, nurse on-call)

6.Maintains work site, supplies and equipment:

• Reports deficiencies in repair of site, equipment and furnishings, and assists in rectifying these deficiencies.
• Maintains reasonable levels of supplies.
• Ensures that exits and walkways are safe and clear all year.
• Participates in maintaining exterior and yards.
• Treats the service user’s supplies, furnishings and equipment with respect and as per guidelines and instructions.

7. Maintains fiscal responsibility to agency:

• Makes purchases within approved amounts.
• Maintains accurate records on expenditures.
• Recommends potential capital needs.
• Completes petty cash records and other financial duties as required.
• Recognizes and follows direction regarding responsible use of staffing resource dollars.
• Completes duties and assignments within normally expected or specific timeframes.
• Uses agency time for agency-related duties only.

8. Promotes safety and wellbeing of self and others:

• Advocates and encourages service users to speak up for their own rights.
• Conducts fire drills and completes report as required.
• Trains service users in how to respond to fire emergencies.
• Uses safety equipment as provided. (i.e. lifts and rails) ensures that safety equipment is in good working order prior to use.
• Assists team in developing individual and work site safety protocols.
• Monitors and follows all approved individual safety protocols.
• Takes risk management into account when planning any activities.
• Reports safety issues and takes remedial action where possible or as required.
• Maintains a safe working environment as per policies and procedures and Occupational Health & Safety Act.
• Shares safety skills and knowledge with co-workers to provide positive growth of team and service users.

9. Maintains service user records:

• Ensures accuracy.
• Follows guidelines for standardization of service user records.
• Completes daily progress notes and other regular reports as directed.
• Documents and communicates information as it occurs. (i.e. medical appointments, changes in information, changes in services and interventions)
• Completes follow-ups on all documentation by due dates as required.
• Completes filing.

10. Maintains agency records:

• Ensures accuracy.
• Complete logs and checklists as required.
• Complete time sheets accurately.
• Complete other documentation and reports as requested.
• Completes filing.

11. Provide service users and team with objective information for making informed decisions:

• Researches information relevant to service users’ needs.
• Presents information to service users /families in a manner appropriate to the individual.
• Provides service users with possible outcomes for their decisions.
• Acts as liaison between internal and external contacts.
• Makes referrals, collects and prepares data for specialized services as required.
• Prepares for and participates in appointments as required.
• Provides feedback and relevant documentation following appointments.
• Promotes positive family contact.
• Works with team members in the best interest of the service user.
• Presents the service user favourably.
• Represents the agency favourably.

12. Develops and uses interventions:

• Gathers appropriate information for assessment and intervention.
• Intervenes appropriately based on intervention plan.
• Evaluates effectiveness of interventions.
• Recommends/changes interventions on a timely basis.

13. Assumes additional responsibilities:

• Provides orientation for new employees.
• Completes extra duties as assigned.
• Takes initiative where appropriate to complete duties beyond those specifically assigned.

14. Completes required courses, training, and refreshers:

• Explores opportunities for personal and professional development.
• Attends and successfully completes required courses, training, and refreshers.
• Provide certification to appropriate parties or site as directed.

15. Follows agency policies and procedures

• Confirms reading/understanding of specific policies and procedures as directed.
• Utilizes agency records, mail, email and internet services to keep current with day-to- day communications, training, policy and procedures.

16. Professionalism/Values/Ethics

• Reports to work/leaves at scheduled time, or as approved by employer.
• Takes vacation, sick leave, and other leave as specified by policy and procedure.
• Adheres to agency policies with regard to dress code and appearance. Maintains grooming and dresses appropriately for the occasion.
• Follows proper chain of command and reporting mechanisms.
• Communicates verbally and in writing in a respectful manner.
• Adheres to agency confidentiality policy.
• Consistently responds to supervisory comments in a respectful manner.
• Maintains professional relationships with service users. Is aware of own needs and deals with these outside the service user relationship.
• Is aware of own biases and demonstrates a non-judgmental attitude.
• Consistently demonstrates genuine acceptance of others.
• Consistently encourages service user self-determination.
• Consistently acts in the best interest of the service user.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to issues of age, gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, and does not discriminate.
• Develops colleagues through coaching and mentoring.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Work requires shift work which includes nights, weekends, and statutory holidays.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Job entails supervision or completion of household chores such as shopping, cleaning, cooking and light yard work. There is a requirement for frequent turning, transferring of service users, pushing wheelchairs. There may be occasional exposure to service user physical abuse. There may be exposure to infections, diseases, blood and body fluids and human waste.

MENTAL DEMAND

A high degree of mental alertness is required for dealing with service user behaviours and in carrying out behaviour management programs. They must have alertness to service user needs and ensuring care, welfare, safety, and security of all.

IMPACT OF ERRORS

Unsafe or unsanitary work practices could lead to injury of employee or service user. Improper dispensing of medications could lead to serious illness or even death of the service user. Failure to follow recommendations such as food preparation or medical alerts could lead to serious service user medical hazards. Poor interpersonal relations skills could lead to poor staff morale and have a negative effect on public relations of the agency.

CONTACTS

Internal

They will have daily interaction with residential staff and service users along with regular contact with employees from other sites for resourcing and updating of information.

External

There is frequent interaction with other staff, parents, other family members, neighbours, community resources, businesses and agencies.

COMPETENCIES

Advocating for Others (Level 3) – Uses chains of indirect influence while taking two or more steps to influence with each step adapted to the specific audience. Anticipates areas where support or influence will be required and takes steps to add these key individuals to own network. They judge when to seek support or involvement of credible resources while engaging the support of like-minded individuals. They use expert or other third parties to influence while using a combination of logical argument, personal conviction and passion to create a winning case.

Collaboration (Level 3) – Encourages and empowers others through crediting others who have performed well to make them feel strong and important. Demonstrates own commitment to important initiatives by actively contributing to the efforts of a team and by recognizing the contributions of other team members. Can be quick to provide guidance and support to new team members to help them learn and assists in encouraging their efforts when they become discouraged.

Creative Problem Solving & Decision Making (Level 3) – They breaks down problems into smaller components while identifying discrepancies, trends and interrelationships in data. Recognizes and acts on cause and effect relationships while dividing the issues into categories. Looks behind the face value of a set of facts; understands some of the less obvious implications while using their knowledge and/or experience to understand evaluate and solve issues.

Fostering Independence in Others (Level 3) – Delegates routine tasks to individuals or employees while demonstrating trust by recognizing and acknowledging that others have the skills and abilities necessary to achieve goals. Supports others during transition of responsibility while monitoring to ensure tasks are completed successfully and provides feedback as appropriate.

Initiative (Level 3) – Thinks ahead and plans for contingencies and effectively prepares and organizes resources and activities while making sure things are not left to chance by ensuring contingency plans are arranged to deal with last minute changes. Anticipates and prepares for problems that may interfere with work or attainment of results.

Interpersonal Relations & Respect (Level 3) – Effectively uses empathy by genuinely seeing things from another person’s perspective. Takes a careful read of the atmosphere to accurately anticipate how individuals and groups will react, and tailors their approach accordingly. Determines and uses the best response to calm an irate, upset or agitated individual who may find themselves in a stressful situation and sincerely cares for what people are experiencing. Consistently adjusts their behaviour to enhance relationships and produces good results when working with others by displaying tact, cooperation, sensitivity and respect for the opinions and situations of others and their culture.

Resilience (Level 4) – They demonstrate ongoing commitment to complete routine tasks over the long term while managing their own stress accordingly. They stick with all tasks despite meeting frequent and/or repeated rejection/frustration throughout the process. They maintain positive demeanor and high levels of self-motivation whatever the circumstance while ensuring service providers, agencies and community partners continue to deliver the level of service agreed upon.