Juvenile Correction Counselor (Entry)

Job Description:

Juvenile Correction Counselor (Entry)

Description

THE POSITION

Under immediate supervision, incumbents in the class of Juvenile Correctional Counselor (Entry) supervise and counsel justice-involved youth detained in or committed to a County institution; learn to maintain order and structure within assigned area on a daily basis; learn to teach classes, provide counseling and assist detained youth in using other resources and opportunities. Incumbents may be assigned to offer support, guidance and direction in a community setting. Incumbents are expected to learn techniques for effective supervision and/or counseling of youth preparatory to promotion to the journey level.

This class is the entry-level class in the Juvenile Correctional Counselor series.

The class is distinguished from the:

• Juvenile Correctional Counselor class, which are experienced counselors who are expected to perform at a higher level of competence with only general supervision.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Incumbents must be able to work in a restricted, sometimes hostile environment.
• Incumbents may be required to lift objects weighing more than 100 pounds with assistance.
• Employees in this class will be working in a detention facility environment and thus will be subject to exposure to communicable diseases, disruptive and confrontational people, potentially combative and violent people, intense noises, odors, and blood and other bodily fluids.
• Hours of Work: Incumbents may be required to work weekends, holidays, irregular hours, on-call, and after normal business hours.

Essential Duties

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

This class specification represents the core area of responsibilities; specific position assignments will vary depending on the needs of the department.

• Learns how to ensure the security, daily care and custody of youth within a pod including counseling, mediating disputes, monitoring group dynamics amongst youth, assisting in emergency situations, serving meals and overseeing laundry care and distribution, logging and dispensing inhalers and medicated shampoo as prescribed by medical staff, and performing all other duties to oversee the health and safety of those in custody.
• Learns to provide crisis intervention counseling including suicide prevention counseling, to youth.
• Learns when and how to refer youth to behavioral health.
• Learns to provide general counseling and cognitive behavioral training to give support or to modify youths’ behavior; may give personal guidance and counseling to reduce anxiety and tension of youth who are detained.
• Learns to facilitate Cognitive Behavioral Training (CBT) groups; implements behavioral management program; conducts CBT mini-cycles with youth; creates and monitors weekly and monthly case plans.
• Learns to manage assaultive behavior; prepares behavior summaries and written daily observations, including special incident reports for youths on a daily basis or as needed; enforces the policies and procedures of the institution.
• Learns to plan recreation and other activities independently for medium to large groups of justice involved youth of varying ages, gender, ability and sophistication.
• Learns to monitor individual and group behavior and attitudes independently to avoid and manage conflicts; maintains constant observation; conduct safety and security checks; conducts authorized felony or misdemeanor searches of youth and all required institutional searches; supervises work, school and study time, meal time, clean-up, visits, and all other group activities of youth; documents the behavior of individuals by writing timely reports and keeping accurate records.
• Learns to process youth during intake to the facility. Orients all youth to the facility setting and to staff expectations. Instructs youth in social and life skills.
• Learns procedures to transport youth to medical, dental, court or other mandatory appointments.
• Learns to provide emergency medical first aid treatment as needed.
• Inspects incoming and outgoing mail; calculates and records point totals for behavior management; issues supplies.
• Learns to conduct drug testing of youth.
• Learns to assist in providing treatment in a community-based program; assists in rehabilitation by facilitating an integrated system of care, using the expertise of other agencies and personnel; facilitates conferences with families and assigned personnel; acts as a liaison with and supports families; provides vocational assessments and educational support.
• May appear in court to answer questions or serve as a witness.

Position Requirements

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Education: Completion of thirty (30) semester units is required from an accredited college or university, preferably in criminology, social work, psychology, sociology or a closely related field.

OR

Experience: Six (6) months of related experience supervising groups in a detention facility.

LICENSING, CERTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants are required to possess, or have the ability to obtain, a valid California Driver’s license, Class C.
• Incumbents are required to possess a current First Aid and Personal Safety certificate or obtain one within 60 days of appointment.
• Incumbents are required to possess a current CPR certificate or obtain one within 60 days of appointment.
• Incumbents have limited Peace Officer powers as delineated in the California Penal Code and therefore are required to complete training under Section 832 of the California Penal Code or equivalent within twelve (12) months of appointment.
• Peace Officers must meet minimum standards concerning citizenship, age, character, education and physical/mental condition as set forth in Section 1031 of the California Government Code.
• Incumbents are required to complete the Juvenile Counselor Core Course certified by the California Board of State and Community Corrections Standards and Training for Correctional Programs or equivalent with twelve (12) months of appointment.

Note: All licenses, certificates and registrations must be kept current while employed in this class.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Mobility and Dexterity: Positions in this class typically require stooping, kneeling, reaching, standing, walking, grasping, feeling (i.e., sense of touch), and repetitive motion for 50% of a typical shift but may be higher.
• Lifting, Carrying, Pushing and Pulling: Positions in this class require exerting up to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly, to move objects. Occasionally may require physical restraint of youth including lifting and holding in excess of 100 pounds with assistance.
• Vision: Positions in this class require the employee to have close visual acuity, with or without correction, to prepare and analyze data and figures, view a computer terminal, read, etc. Positions in this class also require employees to have depth perception in order to operate a motor vehicle. Employees in this class must have the visual acuity to make observations of surroundings and must demonstrate color vision sufficient to distinguish colors in order to describe events in an accurate manner.
• Hearing/Talking: Positions in this class require the employee to perceive the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction and have the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication. Positions in this class require the employee to express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word. Detailed or important instructions must often be conveyed to others accurately, loudly, and/or quickly.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Must pass a physical exam and psychological exam as a condition of hire.
• Independent Travel: Incumbents are required to travel independently, for example, to attend meetings, trainings, classes and seminars and to transport juveniles.
• Background Checks: The County may conduct a background check and a reference check on candidates prior to appointment to a position within this class. The background check may include the State of California Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI), and criminal checks in any City/County where the applicant has lived, worked or gone to school.
• Drug Testing: Candidates for positions in this class and employees in this class will be subject to Pre-Employment, Reasonable Suspicion, Post Accident, Return-To-Duty and Follow-Up drug testing in accordance with the Solano County Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace Policy.
• Child Abuse Reporting: Selectees for employment must, as a condition of employment, sign a statement agreeing to comply with Section 11166 of the California Penal Code relating to child abuse reporting.
• Language Proficiency: Some positions allocated to this class will require the applicant to speak, read and write in a language other than English.
• Within 18 months of appointment, incumbents must demonstrate necessary knowledge and abilities and meet the minimum requirements to be promoted to Juvenile Correctional Counselor.

Supplemental Information

SELECTION PROCESS
Based on the information provided in the application documents, the qualified applicants may be invited for further examination and will either be pre-scheduled by the Department of Human Resources or be invited to self-schedule. All applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. Depending upon the number of applications received, the selection process may consist of an initial application screening, a mandatory information meeting, a supplemental questionnaire assessment, a written and/or practical exam, an oral board exam, or any combination listed. Responses to supplemental questions may be used as screening and testing mechanisms and will be used to assess an applicant’s ability to advance in the process; as such, responses to supplemental questions should be treated as test examination responses. Information contained herein does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract.

A minimum score of 70% is required to continue in the selection process, unless otherwise announced.

All potential new hires and employees considered for promotion to management, confidential positions or unrepresented positions will be subject to a background and reference check after contingent job offer is accepted. These provisions are subject to change.

RETIREES - Solano County invites all qualified candidates to apply for positions; however pursuant to Government Code Section 21221(h) and 21224, hiring restrictions may apply to California Public Sector Pension Plan Retirees.

HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be submitted through the NEOGOV system. Paper copies of applications are not accepted. All additional application materials as requested in the job announcement (degree/transcripts, certificates, DD-214 if applicable, ADA Accommodation Request) must be submitted by the final filing date.

Previously submitted application materials (i.e. copies of diploma and/or transcripts, etc.) for prior recruitments will not be applied for this recruitment but must be re-submitted for this recruitment .

Any further questions can be directed to the Department of Human Resources at (707) 784-6170, business hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EOE/AA

Please note that all dates/times listed in the job announcement are Pacific Time.

DOCUMENT SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

College units are required for this position. Candidates must submit a copy of their college diploma (verifying the degree, date earned and area of specialization) or official/unofficial transcripts (verifying institution, student, date, degree and area of specialization conferred) by the final filing deadline. Candidates who fail to submit their diploma or transcripts by the final filing date will be disqualified from the recruitment.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: Candidates who attended a college or university that is accredited by a foreign or non-U.S. accrediting agency must have their educational units evaluated by an educational evaluation service. The result must be submitted to the Human Resources Department no later than the close of the recruitment. Please contact the local college or university to learn where this service can be obtained.

How to Submit Your Documents
In addition to uploading attachments when applying online, candidates may submit documents by fax to (707) 784-3424, or by email to recruitment@solanocounty.com. Be sure to include the recruitment title (Juvenile Correctional Counselor - Entry) and the recruitment number (24-512010-01). If submitting documents by email include the recruitment title and recruitment number in the subject field

VETERANS PREFERENCE POINTS
To be eligible, applicant must have served at least 181 consecutive days of active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States and have received either an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions. A COPY OF THE DD 214, SHOWING DISCHARGE TYPE (GENERALLY COPY 4), MUST BE RECEIVED IN THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT BY THE FINAL FILING DATE. Applicants who have a service connected disability must also submit a recent award letter from the VA stating they are receiving disability benefits for service connected reasons.
Veteran applicants for initial County employment with an honorable or general under conditions discharge shall receive five (5) points added to their combined score. Disabled veterans rated at not less than 30% disability shall have ten (10) points added to their combined score. Veteran’s preference points will only be added to passing scores in competitive open examinations.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

It is the policy of Solano County that all employment decisions and personnel policies will be applied equally to all County employees and applicants and be based upon the needs of County service, job related merit, and ability to perform the job.

APPLICANTS WITH DISABILITIES: Qualified individuals with a disability, who are able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, and need an accommodation during any phase of the recruitment/testing/examination process (as detailed in the “Selection Process”), must complete the following Request for Testing Accommodation by Applicants with Disabilities Form .

This form must be received in the Human Resources Department by the deadline identified under the selection process of the recruitment. Applicants will be contacted to discuss the specifics of the request.

We offer a benefits package to employees which includes health care, dental, vision, retirement, deferred compensation plans, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, holidays, vacation, and sick leave

To learn more, view our benefits summary .

Closing Date/Time: Continuous

Salary:

$64,785.23 - $78,746.86 Annually