DIRECT SUPPT PROFESSIONAL - IHR

General Purpose of the Job

Direct Support Professionals (DSP) perform a wide variety of person-centered supports and services with a strong emphasis on personal choice to individuals with developmental disabilities. These supports and services involve advocating for, encouraging, guiding and teaching individuals in expressing personal choice, developing daily living skills and habits, taking care of their personal needs, assuring community integration, ensuring for their health and safety, and maintaining a healthy, safe home environment. The supports and services performed depend upon the specific abilities of the individuals being served and the nature of the setting where the activities are performed.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Direct Support Professionals provide physical and cognitive support to individuals with developmental disabilities to help them lead better lives. In accordance with habilitative plans, they guide and teach individuals supported to live the lives they choose to live. Incumbents perform and/or take a lead role in the following duties:

Putting People First

- Demonstrates respect for all others.

- Encourages and supports problem-solving and coping skills.

Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships

- Teaches and reinforces the use of a variety of communication techniques to meet the individual’s needs.

- Accompanies and transports individuals to community activities including worksites, cultural, religious and social events, day programs, and visits to health practitioners; and aids individuals in developing awareness and use of community resources and in interacting with others.

- Helps individuals to develop/maintain positive interpersonal relationships with their peers, with others in their families, and with others in the community.

- Accompanies individuals to dances, camping trips, swimming, horseback riding, basketball, or other sports events of their choice.

- Assists in selection and teaching of appropriate community inclusion leisure activities.

Demonstrating Professionalism

- Understands and follows the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) code of ethics.

- Engages in mutually respectful partnership/relationships with the individuals, family members, co-workers and others.

- Complies with agency regulations related to confidentiality.

- Complies with agency regulations related to time and attendance.

- Advocates for alternative programs or procedures at planning meetings based on an individual’s personal preference.

- Respects personal and professional boundaries.

- Demonstrates respect for diversity and inclusion.

Supporting Safety

- Supports the safety of all individuals in everyday situations.

- Performs routine housekeeping duties as appropriate, such as dusting, washing floors and walls, cleaning bathrooms and vacuuming rugs.

- Follows safety procedures in home environment by mopping up spills and reporting unsafe conditions.

- Teaches and reinforces fire safety procedures. Checks to see that fire exits are clear, night-lights and exit signs are on, windows are locked, etc.

- Stores supplies and assures that storage areas are kept in a neat and orderly condition.

- Aids in the selection, purchase, care and use of age appropriate personal belongings for individuals with developmental disabilities.

- Conducts fire drills following the fire evacuation plan.

- Understands and can execute specific emergency preparedness plans for the location in which he/she is assigned.

Having a Home

- Supports individuals to live in the home of their choice.

- Supports the individual by ensuring a comfortable home environment that is clean, neat and kept in an orderly condition.

- Teaches/supervises/participates in a variety of leisure and recreational activities, crafts, projects, seasonal and permanent home decoration.

Being Active and Productive in Society

- Supports the individual’s career and employment goals.

- Assists in the development of skills to help the individual meet the productivity expectations of the workplace.

- Teaches acceptable work habits, e.g., punctuality, dress, and grooming, to enable individuals to develop readiness for work outside the home, or in support of individuals’ habilitative goals.

- Supports active participation in the community.

- Teaches money management principles to individuals; and completes/aids in completion of banking activities.

- Provides an accurate accounting of all financial transactions made on behalf of individuals in their care.

Supporting Good Health

- Acts as a role model for positive behavior.

- Understands the health care information needed to support an individual with development disabilities.

- Teaches and reinforces accepted infection control and personal grooming techniques; assists in bathing, dental care, hair and nail care, personal hygiene, toileting, and incontinence care in a way that demonstrates dignity and self-respect.

- Teaches and assists individuals as needed in dressing, clothing selection, storage, laundering and repair of clothing and accessories; helps them to shop for clothing.

- Teaches and assists individuals as needed in proper use and care of shavers and razors, eyeglasses, hearing aids, prostheses as prescribed by appropriate medical practitioner.

- Takes, records, and reports temperatures, blood pressures, pulse rate, weight and other significant symptoms/health-related occurrences; aids individuals in understanding, recording and reporting such factors.

- Reports unusual incidents and physical or behavioral symptoms promptly and accurately to the supervisor

- Applies valid and accepted limits for inappropriate behavior with use of appropriate and approved techniques to help individuals learn to de-escalate and control their own behaviors.

- Administers prescribed medications and treatments; teaches, observes, reports problems and progress in self-administration of medications programs; assists individuals in achieving more independence in administration of medications, teaches use of skin care lotions, topical ointments, eye and ear drops and assists in their use as needed.

- Accompanies individuals to medical, dental, and other health-related appointments; and instructs and observes individuals in use of those prescribed medications.

- Monitors and reports any adverse side effects of medications or treatments provided.

- Assists individuals in eating who cannot feed themselves independently and teaches dining skills according to an individual’s needs.

- Teaches individuals to eat in a family-style setting; models and teaches mealtime socialization skills.

- Teaches and assists individuals to plan, shop, store, prepare and serve meals using currently accepted nutrition standards; and to clean kitchen and dining areas, and dispose of leftover food safely.

- Understands and can identify abuse as described in regulations.

- Recognizes concepts related to the prevention of abuse.

- Reports possible abuse to the appropriate person(s) in a timely manner.

Qualifications

Qualifications To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

High school diploma or general education degree (GED) preferred. Experience with the developmentally delayed and disabled preferred.

Language Skills

Ability to read a limited number of two-and three-syllable words and to recognize similarities and differences between words and between series of numbers. Ability to print and speak simple sentences. Possess verbal and written communication skills necessary for effective communication

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add and subtract two digit numbers and to multiply and divide with 10's and 100's. Ability to perform these operations using units of American money and weight measurement, volume, and distance.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

- Valid clean NYS Driver's License with no more than 12 points; required throughout employment.

- No convictions for crimes that preclude a person from working with members of a vulnerable population.

- Candidates will be required to meet additional requirements to provide care to the developmentally disabled including clearance from the New York State Child Abuse Registry and the Medicaid Fraud Prevention and Detection Database. In addition a criminal background check will be conducted.

- Completion of OPWDD Medication Administration (AMAP) course, Strategies in Crisis Intervention and Prevention (SCIP) course, First Aid, Driver’s Training and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Residential Performance Standards Certification within the probationary period.

- Certifications must be maintained as required by each course.

- Attend at all Agency and Program mandatory trainings; in addition to completion of Agency Orientation and Residential Training programs.

Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

- While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.

- The employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit and use hands to finger, handle, or feel.

- The employee is regularly required to climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and taste or smell.

- The employee must lift and/or move 50 pounds or more.

Work Environment The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts and outside weather conditions.

- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

- May come into contact with human blood or other potentially infectious materials, which may result in possible exposure to blood borne pathogens (Category 1)