Alternate Teaching Parent

Methodist Family Health • Magnolia, AR

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Alternate Teaching Parent role involves teaching youth essential life skills, including social, self-help, independent living, maintenance, and academic areas. This position also provides moral, spiritual, and physical guidance to assigned youth. The role supports the primary Teaching Parents by ensuring program continuity during their time off, assisting with academic support, and fostering a normalized home environment that encourages family relationships and a naturalized family living experience. The Alternate Teaching Parent will provide counseling, concern, direction, assistance, and support akin to that of a parent, and will help implement individualized plans of care for each youth. Collaboration with parents, teachers, social workers, and other significant individuals is crucial to ensure effective youth care programs. This role also involves assisting with the financial operation of the youth home under the direction of the Teaching Parents, maintaining fiscal records, and staying informed about relevant standards and regulations. If qualified with a four-year degree and appropriate training, the Alternate Teaching Parent may assist with admissions, residential services, discharges, and case record maintenance. Establishing and maintaining contact with program referral sources, interpreting the home's philosophy and programs to the community, and being trained in trauma-informed care and crisis management are also key aspects. The position requires assisting with home licensure preparation, taking advantage of professional growth opportunities, and working closely with the assigned Teaching Parent and Program Consultant to implement all areas of youth care. Seeking consultation and providing detailed information on significant youth issues, cooperating with supervision visits, and implementing feedback from supervisors are expected. The role includes teaching and assisting youth with maintenance activities like yard care, cleaning, and vehicle upkeep. The position averages 40 hours per week, with the Alternate Teaching Parent assuming all group home responsibilities in the absence of the Teaching Parent. Sleep time is not paid, but an 8-hour sleeping period is deducted from wages for shifts of 24 hours or more, provided adequate private sleeping quarters are furnished and at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep occurred. Timely documentation within the CareLogic electronic medical record system and other reporting areas is mandatory.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Possess or able to obtain a valid Arkansas Driver's License and is insurable to operate company vehicles.
• Physically capable of restraining youth if said youth are a danger to themselves or others.
• Physically capable of performing various maintenance tasks.
• Ability to sit and stand for long periods of time and intermittently walk, stand, stoop, kneel, crouch and reach with hands and arms.
• Requires the strength and stamina to perform clinical duties.
• Must be physically capable to receive verbal and written directions.
• Must be physically capable of sitting and standing for several hours at a time.
• Must have good auditory, visual and olfactory ability.
• Ability to use hands and fingers to handle or feel objects, tools or controls.
• Must be able to maintain effective audio, visual discrimination and perception needed for making observations, communicating with others, reading and writing, and operating office equipment and other treatment equipment.
• Must be able to use a telephone to communicate verbally and a computer to communicate through written means, to review information and enter/retrieve data, to see and read characters on a computer screen, chart or other treatment items.
• Must be willing and able to work with all patients of Methodist Family Health.
• Influenza vaccinations are mandatory and required (subject only to qualified exemptions).

Nice To Haves

• A Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university in human services or education field preferred.
• Experience working with children or other population with special needs preferred.
• The ability to take advantage of extensive training and to apply that training to the implementation of a comprehensive program of care for children.

Responsibilities

• Teach youth a curriculum of skills in social, self-help, independent living, maintenance, and academic areas.
• Provide moral, spiritual, and physical training and guidance to the youth assigned to their home.
• Assist with the provision of academic assistance to youth and work closely with the public-school system.
• Provide coverage and program continuity of the youth home during the Teaching Parents' time off duty.
• Assist with the development of a normalized home environment that encourages the building of close family relationships among the youth and provides a naturalized family living experience.
• Assist with the provision of counseling, concern, direction, assistance, and support that would normally be received from a parent.
• Assist with the implementation of an individualized plan of care for each youth.
• Work closely with the youth's parents, teachers, social workers, and significant others to ensure the definition and implementation of a proper and effective program of youth care.
• Work closely with the Teaching Parents and the Program Consultant to ensure efficient home coverage and mutually satisfying working relationships.
• Under the direction and supervision of the Teaching Parents, expend money for youth home operation.
• Maintain a fiscal record as directed and in accordance with sound business practice.
• Remain informed about local, state, and federal standards and regulations pertaining to the provision of services to children and their families.
• Assist the Teaching Parents in providing admission of children to the home, residential services for children and their families, discharge of children from the home and maintenance of case records (if qualified).
• Establish and maintain contact with program referral sources by making personal visits and other contact to agencies and others within a service area.
• Assist in the interpretation of the home's philosophy and programs to individuals and groups, agencies, and the 'community at large' within a service area.
• Be trained regarding trauma informed care and crisis management.
• Assist with preparation for home licensure.
• Take advantage of in-service training and professional growth opportunities.
• Work closely with the assigned Teaching Parent and their Program Consultant to develop and implement all areas of care to the youth in the home.
• Seek consultation and provide detailed information regarding all significant issues affecting youth in care.
• Cooperate in scheduling consultation/supervision visits to the home.
• Seek out, respond positively to, and implement suggestions and feedback from supervisors.
• Provide and maintain requested information and program records.
• Teach and assist youth in maintenance activities occurring in and around the youth home, including activities such as yard care, interior cleaning, vehicle cleaning and maintenance.
• Perform related duties as requested by the Teaching Parents or Program Consultant.
• Assume all responsibilities related to the operation of the group home in the event the Teaching Parent is absent.
• Maintain timely documentation and alerts within the CareLogic electronic medical record system.
• Maintain timely documentation and reporting in all areas of the job.

Benefits

• When an employee performs two or more different jobs, for which different straight time hourly rates are established, the employee will be paid during overtime hours as a rate not less than one and one-half time the hourly rate established for the type of work he or she is performing during the overtime hours.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED