Skills Coach - Dignity Rising

The New York Foundling•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The New York Foundling is a nonprofit organization that supports individuals and families in achieving stability, strength, and independence. They offer a whole-person, whole-family, and whole-life approach to services. The Skills Coach role focuses on providing home- and community-based skills training to individuals aged 16 and older who have intellectual or developmental disabilities and are involved in the justice system. This role aims to reinforce individualized treatment goals through structured practice, strengths-focused engagement, recreational activities, and coordination with the individual's support network.

Requirements

High school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certificate required.
Some work experience or college education required.
Ability to engage and advocate for people supported using respectful, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, and strengths-focused practices.
Ability to implement behaviorally based approaches, conduct structured skills practice, solve problems, make sound decisions, and respond appropriately to changing community-based needs.
Ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with people supported, families, stakeholders, supervisors, and the program/treatment team while maintaining self-awareness, managing stress, and practicing self-care.
Ability to maintain HIPAA compliance in community-based settings and meet agency expectations for attendance, documentation, training, teamwork, conduct, and adherence to applicable policies, laws, regulations, and program requirements.

Nice To Haves

Strongly preferred experience supporting people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, supporting people with serious mental illness, supporting people with justice involvement, and/or lived experience with criminal justice system involvement.
Preferred knowledge: Trauma-Informed Therapy, Social Ecological, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy particularly in trauma treatment and anger management, Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, exposure-based cognitive behavioral trauma treatment, and social skills assessment and intervention.
Bilingual in Spanish preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

Provide home- and community-based skills training to people age 16+ with intellectual or developmental disabilities involved in the justice system.
Reinforce individualized treatment goals through structured practice, strengths-focused engagement, recreational activities, and coordination with each person’s support network.
Engage individuals in individualized skills-training activities one to three times each week, aligned with treatment-plan goals in areas such as behavior management, communication, coping, problem-solving, education, and vocation.
Reinforce skill development through e-learning, role plays, guided practice, weekly recreational activities, and appropriate incentives.
Implement evidence-based MST-EA and Skills System modules, using a strengths-focused approach.
Follow directives by the Dignity Rising Therapist and Supervisor in providing services.
Engage the person's social network when providing services.
Collaborate with the Therapist to coordinate community-based support and referrals, building relationships with external providers, and accompanying people and families to appointments.
Facilitate Skills Systems groups at the Queens and Brooklyn NYF office locations, which may require flexibility in the evenings 1-2 days a week.
Identify and address social risk factors that give rise to possible re-arrest and incarceration.
Complete safety plans, court notifications, and incident reports if necessary.
Adopt a strength focused approach with person supported, families, stakeholders, and within the program/treatment team.
Document every visit and provide clear, timely weekly oral and/or written reports to the Dignity Rising Supervisor on activities completed, participation, progress, and concerns.
Participate in supervision, required trainings, and all meetings mandated by the agency and MST-EA and DBT-SS program models.
Follow supervisory direction and applicable program protocols.