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About The Position
At Cocoon House, we empower young people, families, and communities in Snohomish County to break the cycle of homelessness through outreach, housing, and prevention. As a Youth Housing Support Staff, internally referred to as a Residential Youth Counselor, you will be responsible for providing a safe and supportive environment for teens in the care of Cocoon House, promoting positive interaction, providing life skills, social skills, and other enrichment activities at our Emergency Shelter located in Monroe. Youth Housing Support Staff have the opportunity to build supportive relationships with clients and model healthy boundaries while working alongside them in a residential setting. The ideal candidate will have a passion for working with youth, knowledge of best practices in youth development, and a desire to make a positive difference in their lives. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.
Cocoon House is committed to continually growing in our equity, diversity, and inclusion journey, and candidates with lived experience or who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ are strongly encouraged to apply! We will also provide reasonable accommodation to qualified persons with disabilities upon request.
Requirements
- High school diploma/GED or high school equivalency
- Must be 21 years of age or older
- 6 months minimum of experience working with youth
- Must attend weekly team meeting and bi-weekly supervision
- DCYF background clearance
- Acceptable driver’s abstract with no more than 2 violations within last 3 years
- Possess a valid driver’s license, auto insurance, and reliable transportation
- Ability to diffuse escalated youth.
- Ability to record and document information on forms as required for case planning and CPS reporting.
- Familiarity with local services and how to access them. Ability to assess situations and gather pertinent information.
- Ability to assess dangerous, emergency situations and access emergency services.
- Ability to build rapport with youth and staff.
- Ability to maintain professional boundaries with youth.
- Ability to assess and prioritize youths needs developmentally.
- Acceptance of a variety of lifestyles, behaviors, and cultural and spiritual practices.
- Commitment to Agency’s mission, positive youth development model, and trauma-informed practices.
- Be able to hear voices and alarms.
- Ability to read and comprehend a variety of materials
- Ability to operate phone, computer, and record information for files and logs
- Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs
- Must have ability to run up and down indoor and outdoor stairwells in case of youth emergency.
- Go up and down stairs
Nice To Haves
- Multilingual skills with additional paperwork
Responsibilities
- Build supportive relationship with youth and staff with a positive and collaborative approach.
- Maintain and model healthy and safe boundaries with youth.
- Accept a variety of lifestyles, behaviors, and cultural and spiritual practices.
- Assess emergency situations, gather pertinent information, and provide proper support.
- Follow mandating reporting and licensing policies and procedures.
- De-escalate youth in crises and utilize anti-racist, inclusive, equity-based, and trauma-informed care in all of their work.
- Process intakes and exits for youth, provide orientation to incoming youth to the program, and enter required data for proper recordkeeping.
- Partner with case managers to support youth case plans and interact with you in alignment with their established plans. This includes communicating with fellow staff regarding the plan and maintaining appropriate logs and forms with updated information.
- Supervise youth in the program and ensure safety while holding youth accountable to policies, guidelines, and rules by assigning appropriate consequences in collaboration with fellow staff.
- Assisting, demonstrating, and teaching youth household tasks.
- Maintain cleanliness of facilities.
- Provide meals including grocery shopping, planning, and cooking.
- Arrange appointments, fill prescriptions, and dispense medication for youth.
- Communicate with other providers to assure youth are following through with their commitments.
- Respond to community calls, drop-ins, and referrals with appropriate information and directions.
- Participate in enrichment activities programming and planning with fellow staff.
- Provide information and directions for off-site services to youth.
- Transport youth to appointments as needed.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental, and Vision health options with employer contribution
- 403(b) retirement plan with agency match
- 21 days PTO accrual in first year
- 10 agency-recognized holidays
- Paid training & testing: CPR/first aid, food handler’s permit, blood borne pathogens, abuse awareness, TB testing, and additional in-depth practical trainings
- Benefits available for qualifying part-time and full-time employee statuses