Independent Living Skills Inst

PRIDE Industries, one of the nation's largest nonprofit employers of people with disabilities, provides outsourcing solutions that meet the manufacturing and service needs of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies nationwide.

Under general supervision, teaches clients with moderate to severe physical and behavioral disabilities to live on their own in the community. Employees in this job class teach clients living skills to include; health, nutrition, hygiene, budgeting and money management, laundry, cooking, shopping for household and personal items, making and keeping appointments, medication, and other related life skills. This job requires knowledge of self-help and independent living and the ability to patiently teach clients with disabilities skills to become more

* Communicates with clients, their families, doctors, dentists, employers, pharmacists and others on items that relate to the client and his/her well being. Teaches clients to effectively communicate with those who they interact with. * Teaches clients with mental and/or physical disabilities how to live without continual care. Skills taught include cooking, housekeeping, budgeting and money management, personal, home and public safety, grocery and general shopping, and how to live independently in the community. * Teaches clients health, nutrition, and hygiene and their relative importance. Examples include how to make and keep doctors appointments and manage their health through nutritional guidance and medication maintenance. * Acts as an advocate for clients. Some situations include; clarifying information with medical staff, helping resolve disputes with apartment managers, resolving issues with local merchants and professionals. * Maintains case files to include case notes, incident reports, health and safety risk assessments, Independent Living Plan, time cards, employee evaluations, performance summaries, wage evaluations, work assessments and related paperwork on a daily basis. * Position requires frequent local and occasional regional travel by automobile to visit and/or transport clients to appointments and run errands. * Performs other duties and special projects as assigned.

**Minimum Qualifications**: * High school diploma or GED; * Must be at least 25 years of age; * One or more years of experience working with people with disabilities preferred; * Prior experience providing direction and assistance to others, preferably disabled individuals. * Ability and patience to work with disabled individuals and help them acquire life skills over time. * Computer literacy and skills to use business software and the Internet in a variety of applications, including memos, schedules, spreadsheets, and data entry; * Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; * Knowledge of business English including vocabulary, spelling, and correct grammatical usage and punctuation; * Flexibility to adapt to changing work priorities and handle multiple projects at the same time; * Human Relations skills to maintain effective working relationships with other staff, employers and clients. * Ability to travel by automobile approximately 40% - 70% of the time. * Demonstrated organizational, problem solving and common sense skills. **Certificates Required**: Valid driver’s license **Physical Requirements**: Employees may experience the following physical demands for extended periods of time: * Sitting, standing and walking (75-95%) * Keyboarding (75-95%) * Viewing computer screens (75-95%)