Behavior Specialist

The New York Foundling, Inc.

(New York, New York)

Full Time

Job Posting Details

About The New York Foundling, Inc.

Founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1869 as a home for abandoned children, The Foundling today offers an expansive array of services for underserved children, families, and adults with developmental disabilities. Whether it’s an abused child in need of a foster home, a young mother who lacks the skills to care for her child, or a young person lost in the juvenile justice system, The Foundling provides the resources necessary to rebuild lives and rebuild families.

Summary

To provide functional behavioral assessments, psychological testing, and other clinical evaluation toward the creation of behavior plans and recommendations for each individual’s continuous treatment, training and/or counseling under the direction of the day or community habilitation team and under the clinical supervision of a licensed psychologist or social worker and in accordance with the regulations and guidelines of NYS OPWDD (New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities) and applicable operating standards for services for persons with developmental disabilities.

Responsibilities

* Conducts Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) prior to the development of a Behavior Support Plan (BSP) to identify and operationally describe the challenging behaviors and the function and purpose for these behaviors; identifies the specific environmental stimuli or conditions that are maintaining the challenging behavior.
* Designs behavioral intervention plans to manage challenging behaviors and to develop or increase adaptive behaviors, under the supervision of the licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker and in consultation with the individual receiving services (as applicable) and all parties who are involved in the implementation of the plan.
* Under the supervision of the licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker, designs BSPs which incorporate restrictive/intrusive interventions after all positive, less intrusive approaches have been tried and have not been sufficiently successful. All plans include a hierarchy of behavioral approaches and strategies with the preferred approaches being positive approaches. For all restrictive/intrusive plans, obtains approval by the licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker, Informed Consent and Human Rights Committee prior to implementing such a plan.
* Writes reports and progress notes as required by OPWDD and the Foundling; submits all written work to licensed psychologist or licensed social worker for approval.
* Develops a written Monitoring Plan to monitor the symptoms of the psychiatric condition for all assigned individuals who are prescribed psychotropic medication.
* Works in conjunction with families, guardians, other staff and service providers etc., to ensure integration and coordination of services.
* Provides on-going training, support and supervision to staff and others on crisis intervention, the implementation of person-specific monitoring and BSPs.
* Maintains appropriate documents, records, statistics, etc., and prepares reports in an organized and timely manner as required by the Founding, OPWDD, and all funding sources and regulators.
* Provides counseling services in group and/or individual settings, as appropriate, under the supervision of the licensed psychologist or licensed social worker.
* Provides crisis intervention, as needed.
* Participates in intake interviews, admission, service planning and discharge planning, as assigned.

**Additional Job Duties and Responsibilities:**

* Conducts psychological testing, as needed, and provides written reports in a timely fashion and consistent with professional standards.
* Attends and participates in meetings and trainings, as assigned.
* Serves as a member of internal and/or external committees, as requested.
* Provides on-going staff trainings on the implementation of BSPs and on various clinical issues/procedures, as needed.
* May be assigned other tasks and duties reasonably related to the job responsibilities.

Conducts Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) prior to the development of a Behavior Support Plan (BSP) to identify and operationally describe the challenging behaviors and the function and purpose for these behaviors; identifies the specific environmental stimuli or conditions that are maintaining the challenging behavior.
Designs behavioral intervention plans to manage challenging behaviors and to develop or increase adaptive behaviors, under the supervision of the licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker and in consultation with the individual receiving services (as applicable) and all parties who are involved in the implementation of the plan.
Under the supervision of the licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker, designs BSPs which incorporate restrictive/intrusive interventions after all positive, less intrusive approaches have been tried and have not been sufficiently successful. All plans include a hierarchy of behavioral approaches and strategies with the preferred approaches being positive approaches. For all restrictive/intrusive plans, obtains approval by the licensed psychologist or licensed clinical social worker, Informed Consent and Human Rights Committee prior to implementing such a plan.
Writes reports and progress notes as required by OPWDD and the Foundling; submits all written work to licensed psychologist or licensed social worker for approval.
Develops a written Monitoring Plan to monitor the symptoms of the psychiatric condition for all assigned individuals who are prescribed psychotropic medication.
Works in conjunction with families, guardians, other staff and service providers etc., to ensure integration and coordination of services.
Provides on-going training, support and supervision to staff and others on crisis intervention, the implementation of person-specific monitoring and BSPs.
Maintains appropriate documents, records, statistics, etc., and prepares reports in an organized and timely manner as required by the Founding, OPWDD, and all funding sources and regulators.
Provides counseling services in group and/or individual settings, as appropriate, under the supervision of the licensed psychologist or licensed social worker.
Provides crisis intervention, as needed.
Participates in intake interviews, admission, service planning and discharge planning, as assigned.

Additional Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Conducts psychological testing, as needed, and provides written reports in a timely fashion and consistent with professional standards.
Attends and participates in meetings and trainings, as assigned.
Serves as a member of internal and/or external committees, as requested.
Provides on-going staff trainings on the implementation of BSPs and on various clinical issues/procedures, as needed.
May be assigned other tasks and duties reasonably related to the job responsibilities.

Ideal Candidate

One of the educational and experience requirements below must be met at a minimum:

* A Master’s degree in a clinical or treatment field of psychology
    * Documented specialized training or experience in assessment techniques and BSP development.
    * 5 years’ experience implementing BSPs and/or providing supervision and training to others in the implementation of BSPs.
* A Master’s degree in a clinical or treatment field of psychology, social work or school psychology
    * Completion of OPWDD-approved specialized training or 5 years’ experience in providing or supervision of those providing assessment techniques, including BSP development.
    * Must have provided behavioral services for an agency in the OPWDD system continuously since 12/31/12.
* National Board Certification in Behavior Analysis (BCBA)
    * Master’s degree in behavior analysis, clinical or community psychology which is approved by OPWDD.
* One (1) year of experience in behavioral assessment, writing BSPs and working with persons with Developmental Disabilities preferred.
* Familiarity with OPWDD regulations preferred.
* Demonstrated competence in written, verbal and computational skills to present and document records in accordance with Foundling standards.
* Computer literacy, including working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
* Certification or willingness to obtain certification as an instructor in positive behavior approaches, strategies and/or supports and physical intervention techniques training in accordance with the OPWDD and other approved curricula applicable to the needs of the individuals served.
* Certification or willingness to obtain and maintain Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention (SCIP-R) and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification.

One of the educational and experience requirements below must be met at a minimum:

A Master’s degree in a clinical or treatment field of psychology
- Documented specialized training or experience in assessment techniques and BSP development.
- 5 years’ experience implementing BSPs and/or providing supervision and training to others in the implementation of BSPs.
A Master’s degree in a clinical or treatment field of psychology, social work or school psychology
- Completion of OPWDD-approved specialized training or 5 years’ experience in providing or supervision of those providing assessment techniques, including BSP development.
- Must have provided behavioral services for an agency in the OPWDD system continuously since 12/31/12.
National Board Certification in Behavior Analysis (BCBA)
- Master’s degree in behavior analysis, clinical or community psychology which is approved by OPWDD.
One (1) year of experience in behavioral assessment, writing BSPs and working with persons with Developmental Disabilities preferred.
Familiarity with OPWDD regulations preferred.
Demonstrated competence in written, verbal and computational skills to present and document records in accordance with Foundling standards.
Computer literacy, including working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
Certification or willingness to obtain certification as an instructor in positive behavior approaches, strategies and/or supports and physical intervention techniques training in accordance with the OPWDD and other approved curricula applicable to the needs of the individuals served.
Certification or willingness to obtain and maintain Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention (SCIP-R) and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification.