Community Support Associate

Minimum Qualifications:

High School Diploma or equivalent, ability to stand, sit, kneel, stoop, lift, assist in physical care and therapeutically handle individuals. Valid New York State Driver’s License, Certification in Med. Administration, SCIP-R and First Aid, as required by program needs.

Primary Responsibility:

Provides direct habilitation services to ensure that individuals served have opportunities to make choices, develop and achieve, participate in the community, maintain good health and secure personal future, be treated with respect and dignity and experience relationships with family members, friends and neighbors as specified in the Agency’s Mission Statement.

Critical and crucial to the position’s essential function is the safety of the people ASPIRE serves. Due to the nature of the individuals we serve, the essential functions require all the duties and responsibilities listed below to be performed in all environments and using all appropriate equipment.

Essential Functions are the ability to:

1. Bend, stoop, squat, kneel, sit, stand and lift.
2. Provide two way communications with people.
3. Lift and transfer the individual both manually and mechanically.       Manual lifting requires the ability to lift individuals as required in their prescribed individual program plans bearing the weight of the individual. Mechanical lifting will be performed using proper mechanical lifting standards and based on the safety of the individual.
4. Transfer, move, reposition, shift and place people in pieces of equipment necessary for their physical circumstances ensuring their safety, comfort and their natural living conditions.
5. Physical agility/ability to react to a life threatening emergency or to intervene in a crisis situation using your body as an intervention (SCIP-R or other techniques) as prescribed to assure safety of the individuals. Physical agility/ability includes but is not limited to bending, stooping, squatting, kneeling, sitting, standing, lifting.
6. Responsible for the provision of quality care and assistance in the areas of respite and habilitation to children and adults with developmental disabilities in their own homes or families home.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Habilitation

1. Participates in the development of the Individual Habilitation Service Plans.
2. Implements each individual’s Individual Habilitation Service Plan, including documentation of interventions.
3. Provides training and assistance in and performs as indicated habilitation activities ie. personal care needs, meal preparation, shopping, recreation activities, housekeeping, as well as other activities according to the Individual Habilitation Service Plan.
4. Transports, accompanies and assists individuals served in shopping trips, medical appointments, day habilitation activities and recreational activities according to the Individual Habilitation Service Plan.
5. Participates in staff training inservices and staff meetings as required.       The At-Home Service staff may also be required to periodically meet with professional staff involved in individual treatment planning for the child or adult.
6. Acts as a communication linkage with other staff members, family and/or correspondence staff members, transportation and other service providers via routine office related activities and other communication links.
7. Acts as an appropriate role model for the individuals served.
8. Responsible for the supervision of the individuals served at all times.  This is not a sleep in position.
9. Assists in the training of new employees as assigned by supervisors.
10. Participates in maintaining safety of work environment.
11. Adheres to Agency’s policies, procedures, rules and regulations.       As a condition of employment adherence to attendance and lateness standards is required.
12. Performs other duties as assigned.

Respite/Home Care

1. Responsible for the feeding, toileting, bathing, dressing, positioning and other required needs of the child or adult to ensure quality personal care as established by the primary caregiver.
2. Interact with the individual engaging him/her in leisure or recreational activities as appropriate and/or established by the primary caregiver and/or supervisor.
3. Assists the individual in his/her personal care and in participating in activities by gradually allowing him/her to do for himself or herself what he/she is able to do.
4. Responsible for the supervision of the individual, maintaining appropriate and positive behavior as established by the primary caregiver and/or supervisor.
5. Assists in the preparation of food or materials as needed for use by the individual for that day’s snack, meal, care or activities as established by the primary caregiver.
6. Receives the individual from the primary caregiver and remains with the individual for that day’s snack, meal, care or activities as established by the primary caregiver.
7. Responsible for keeping areas and equipment utilized in the care or activities of the individual neat and clean.
8. Responsible for the neat and timely completion of all paperwork and the maintaining of up-to-date records according to agency specification and/or Supervisor’s instructions.
9. Participates in scheduled training, inservices, program and staff meetings. The At-Home staff may also be required to periodically meet with professional staff involved in individual treatment planning for the individual.
10. Acts as an appropriate role model for the individuals served.
11. Assists in the training of new employees as assigned by the Supervisor.
12. Adheres to Agency’s policies, procedures, rules and regulations.       As a condition of employment, adherence to attendance and lateness standards is required.
13. Performs other duties as assigned.