Habilitation Specialist 1 (Qualified Intellectual Disability Prof)

NEGOTIATING UNIT: PS&T – Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)

OFFICE/REGION: NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities - Taconic

DIVISION/DEPARTMENT: State Operations

LOCATION BASE: Amenia Program Center

4279 Route 22

Wassaic, NY 12592

SHIFT/PASS DAYS: 7:30am – 4:00 pm, Monday-Friday

OTHER: *Posted Hiring Salary includes the sum of statutory hiring rate ($50,678) and Mid-Hudson Adjustment ($1,543). The Mid-Hudson Adjustment ($1,543) is also added to job rate ($64,693).

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Habilitation Specialist 1 (HS1) at the Amenia Program Center is a necessity to ensure continuation of day habilitation and pre-vocational services for IRA individuals and is essential for providing opportunities for socialization and job training to special populations and high behavior needs individuals who cannot be served by voluntary agency programs.  The primary responsibility of the HS1 at the Amenia Program Center is to ensure proper service provision based on individualized day habilitation goals, and to directly supervise/provide guidance to the DSAs in the program center.  This position has a current caseload of 15 with a capacity for 20.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Duties will include, but are not limited to:

·         Writing and updating Staff Action Plans for individuals at least semi-annually to reflect current Lifeplan and needed services.

·         Maintaining records on said plans

·         Updating the progress of the individuals’ development in skill areas by completing vocational assessments  

·         Ensuring Medicaid service delivery compliance, data collection forms, monthly summary notes, and billing documentation are all completed in a timely manner and within standards. 

·          Ensures respectful relationships among staff, among persons served and among staff and service recipients in a manner consistent with OPWDD’s guiding principles of putting the person first and improving overall quality of life so that the service recipients valued outcomes may be realized

·         Instructs, guides, and supervises staff in the various programs who are responsible for employing proper strategies with the individuals that are consistent with their habilitation plans, while providing clinical guidance.

·         Assists and runs rehabilitation groups including but not limited to social skills group, relapse group, relationships group, job skill acquisition and soft skills (i.e., accepting direction or constructive criticism from an employer, etc...) and anger management group.

·         Works with the treatment team in maintaining and assisting current treatment plan as well as with a future community placement plan. 

·         Attends all treatment related and team level meetings including but not limited to Lifeplan review meetings, Special ITT's, placement meetings, etc.

·         Trains all staff on all treatment plans for which Habilitation Specialist is responsible for and maintains record of said trainings.

·         Provides effective instruction/training to a mix of direct care, paraprofessional, and lower-level clinical staff in implementing service plans and other relevant issues to enable staff to deliver more skillful assistance to the service recipient.

·         Trains all staff on all treatment plans for which the Habilitation Specialist is responsible for and maintains record of said trainings.

Provides effective instruction/training to a mix of direct care, paraprofessional, and lower-level clinical staff in implementing service plans and other relevant issues to enable staff to deliver more skillful assistance to the service recipient.

NOTE: You must have a valid driver’s license to apply as travel is a part of the duties involved in this position. This may include a state-owned vehicle, as available, or the employee’s own car. An employee who uses his/her own car will be reimbursed at current negotiated rates.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Reachable on the Civil Service Eligible List for Habilitation Specialist 1
OR
Have permanent service as a Habilitation Specialist 1
OR
Eligible for 70.1 transfer to a Habilitation Specialist 1 title
OR
Eligible candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree or higher in a human services field*

*A degree in a human service field includes the professional disciplines of audiology, community mental health, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology, rehabilitation counseling, vocational counseling, social work, speech/language pathology, and therapeutic recreation (including concentrations in art, creative arts, dance, drama, music, or physical education.) Also included are related academic disciplines associated with the study of human behavior (e.g., gerontology, human services, sociology, speech communication); or human skills development (e.g., counseling/guidance, education, human development.) Examples of non-qualifying degrees include but are not limited to criminal justice, political science, liberal arts, and business.

Preferred Qualifications:

* QIDP (Qualified Intellectual Disorder Professional) designation requires one year's experience working with people with a developmental disability AND a Bachelor's Degree or higher in a human services field (including, but not limited to: sociology, special education, rehabilitation counseling or psychology).

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter detailing how you meet the minimum qualifications and a current resume to the Taconic DDSOO Human Resources Office. Please provide your social security number for service certification and transfer eligibility determination process. Also, be sure to include the vacancy number and job title on this announcement on your resume.

OPWDD Taconic – Human Resources

25 Center Circle

Wassaic, New York 12592

Phone: 845-877-6821 ext. 3367

Fax: 845-877-3851

opwdd.sm.Taconic.Human.Resources@opwdd.ny.gov

Please note:

·         Employees on long term leave can bid on positions but must be able to report to work within fourteen (14) days and be able to perform the essential functions of their positions with or without reasonable accommodation (RA). If an employee believes that they need a reasonable accommodation, they should contact the NYS OPWDD Reasonable Accommodation Unit at (518) 486-7222 or e-mail at accommodationrequests@opwdd.ny.gov to obtain information and RA forms.

·         Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this on your resume/cover letter.   

·         Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation.  If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at info@goer.ny.gov.    

·         In order to be eligible for appointment and to maintain employment, you cannot be listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of the Federal and/or State Medicaid and Medicare exclusion lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program). If you are appointed and subsequently listed as an excluded individual or entity on any of these lists (or excluded from any other Federal or Federally assisted program), you may be terminated from your employment.

·         If you are employed by state government, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments have been made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. For more information on PSLF, please visit www.studentAid.gov/publicservice.

·         OPWDD IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

·         OPWDD is committed to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion.   We believe that we are most effective in managing and improving our service system with a diverse team of employees. With such a large workforce, we rely on the collective individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, ideas, and talent that our employees bring to their work.  This speaks to our culture and is a key part of our successes. As we continuously recruit people for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that applicants bring in terms of their education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

NYS offers Incredible Benefits!  

• Savings programs such as the U.S. Savings Bond and the College Savings Plan. 

 • Voluntary pre-tax savings programs such as Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account offer employees options to pay for uncovered health care expenses or dependent care expenses. 

 • Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) an assessment and referral service that connects employees with local service providers and support services to address their personal needs. 

 • Life insurance and Disability insurance. 

 • The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan is a voluntary retirement plan that offers employees the option to invest a part of their salaries for retirement on a tax-deferred basis. 

Paid Holidays and Leave 
• Thirteen (13) paid holidays each year. 
• Thirteen (13) days of paid vacation leave initially. 
• Five (5) days paid personal leave each year. 
• Thirteen (13) days of paid sick leave each year (PEF/CSEA), which may carry over from year to year. 
• Up to three (3) days professional leave each year to participate in professional development events. 
 
Health Care Coverage 
Employees and their eligible dependents can choose from a variety of affordable health insurance programs. Employees are provided family dental and vision plans at no extra cost. 
 Retirement Program 
Participate in The NYS Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), which is recognized as one of the best-managed and best-funded public retirement systems in the nation. 
 
Professional Development and Education and Training 
NYS offers training programs and tuition assistance to eligible employees to maintain and increase their professional skills and prepare them for promotional opportunities. For more information, please visit https://goer.ny.gov/training-and-professional-development. 
 Additionally, the Public Service Workshops Program (PSWP) offers certain professional training opportunities for PEF represented and M/C designated employees that may grant continuing education credits towards maintaining professional licensure. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/public-service-workshops-program-pswp.