Independent Living Case Manager

Monroe Harding

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Job Summary

Who We Are

Monroe Harding’s mission is to change young people’s lives. Our cause is to ensure that foster care youth and other vulnerable young people build a solid foundation of strengths that position them for success in adulthood. Our cause and mission are accomplished through trauma and resiliency informed programs and services in foster care, supportive housing, clinical emotional and mental health support services, and education, career development, and life skills support services.

What We Value

Optimism – We celebrate and encourage the good in each other. We create an environment in which people can have fun, express gratitude, feel uplifted, explore their passions and increase their resiliency.

Inclusion – Through a lens of respect, we advocate for our families, our youth and each other by creating a sense of belonging, understanding and value for the uniqueness of each individual.

Curiosity – We are committed to creating a learning environment that seeks knowledge, looks to the future and goes beyond the status quo.

Collaboration – We believe that people who are committed to open communication, a willingness to help and working together as a team create a safe environment and a culture of excellence.

Personal Accountability – We empower one another to be our best selves. By showing up, listening and providing thoughtful feedback we create a culture that allows for self-care.

Who We Are Looking For

The Independent Living Case Manager will coordinate quality medical and treatment services for all youth and assist in meeting the needs of youth, by maintaining a safe and consistent environment, allowing them the opportunity to grow emotionally, spiritually and academically. More significantly, this staff member will have the opportunity and responsibility to encourage, motivate and support youth to work through the program successfully and transition back into the community. This requires the Specialist to understand where each youth is developmentally and employ a plan of intervention based upon that individual’s needs. The Independent Living Specialist will serve as the liaison among all of the treatment team members including the Department of Children’s Services, the youth’s family, and other community partners.

Job Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the Independent Living Case Manager

• Creating and maintaining a positive environment by demonstrating a positive disposition
• Interact in a Trauma Informed manner with all youth at Monroe Harding, viewing each youth through the lens of, “What happened to them” (instead of labeling them as good or bad). Seek to be curious and interested in youth experiences before expecting compliance, promoting youth self-reflection and learning, and modeling healthy social and emotional regulation skills, and providing constructive behavioral feedback to youth from a TRIC perspective.
• Participate as a member of the case management team planning for the development of the individual youth in residence, and carrying out those plans in conjunction with the individual program plan.
• Responsible for teaching youth appropriate behaviors, utilizing various counseling and supportive techniques.
• Participate in on-call rotation (Thurs-Weds) assisting staff with emergency situations.
• Assist in scheduling necessary appointments and arrange transportation for youth during the hours of 7 a.m.-3 p.m.  Act as liaison when necessary to medical and psychiatric providers as well as insurance providers.
• Be available at least once/week for youth to share his/her feelings and personal needs when appropriate.
• Case Management Notes: Timely submittal of precise case notes that capture goals from each young adult, Individual Treatment plan, daily goals and the young adults plan in collaboration with each individual young adult.
• Casey Life Skills Assessment: Schedule time to have each young adult complete the Casey Life Skills Assessment while being observant enough to offer assistance if needed and encouragement to complete as honestly as possible.
• Child & Family Team Meetings: Collaborate with each young adult in facilitating Child and Family Team meetings where they are encouraged to lead and have input while discussing struggles as well as successes, never forgetting to highlight the strengths. Assist in youth setting goals, and provide daily feedback on youth progress.
• Collection of Pay Check Stubs: Routinely teach young adults to turn in paycheck stubs as it is a requirement while using this as a teaching opportunity to review budgeting and how to understand the pay check stub.
• Community Service: Teach young adults to find ways to serve others through community service and guidance in securing service opportunities monthly. Engage in community service with young adults.
• Cooking Instruction/ Assistance: Seek to engage young adults in discovering meals or dishes that they may enjoy and/or may happen to stir up fond memories of people and places.  Staff will guide young adults in meal planning, instruction and preparation.  Challenge young adults to follow recipes and cook with staff’s involvement.
• Employment Support: In partnership with Youth Connections Employment Coordinator, Independent Living staff will assist young adults in gaining skills needed to obtain employment, define interests, interview, maintain employment, and give advice through tough employment dilemmas.
• Family Engagement: Recognizing that family is important to many people, young adults will have the choice to include family in their program, they will identify the family member of they are most comfortable with in participating and staff will advocate for young adults and assist in the building of relationships, motivation of positive behaviors and meaningful redirection when needed through the engagement of families.
• Intakes: Acclimate young adults to their new home by assisting the young adult in bringing in personal belongings, completion of intake documentation, providing information about the community, distributing bus passes, listening for questions and concerns and facilitation of a meet and greet with housemates.
• Life Skills Talks: Engage in meaningful conversation with young adults individually or in groups to discuss weekly life skills topics.  Creatively facilitate discussions and life skills activities that encourage conversation, ponder learning styles of each individual and promote implementation of the life skills presented.
• Medical/Mental Health Appointments: Teach young adults the importance of maintaining their physical and mental health by guiding them in making appointments, encouraging preparation for the appointment, practicing timeliness in making appointments and arriving to appointments and following through on doctors’ orders.
• Monthly Reports: Capture each young adult’s monthly progress, highlighting strengths, reporting on goals, noting flaws along with plans to assist in addressing areas of concern.
• Property Checks incl. Fire Extinguisher checks: Peruse each property to ensure young adults know you are available to connect with them while identifying areas that need to be addressed such as cleanliness, safety and possible maintenance matters while noticing young adults doing well in their homes.
• Room Prep/Cleaning: Prepare bedrooms for young adults entering the program making it welcoming which includes fully cleaning the bedroom, bathroom and closet, making the bed up, arranging the furniture, organizing a welcome basket and stocking the bathroom with cleaning supplies.
• School Connections: Identify a person at each young adult school who can collaborate with Monroe Harding and the young adult on various matters understanding there will be more involvement in a high school setting versus college setting.
• Staff Schedules: Collaborate with other staff to ensure proper coverage and staff availability for young adult and program needs.
• TFACTS Entries and Use: Submit the following reports in TFACT: monthly reports, individual weekly reports and incident reports.  In addition accessing information needed such as permanence plans, assessments and medical reports.
• Weekly Case Notes: Capture the week’s interaction with each young adult noting in particular areas of program goals addressed, mood, social state, peer engagement and program compliance.
• Youth Connections Involvement: Introduce and promote the programs offered at Youth Connections: school support, Opportunity Passport, employment assistance and special events.  Assist young adults in getting to Youth Connections when needed and collaborate with the Youth Connections staff.
• Young Adult Interviews: Learn about potential candidates of Monroe Harding’s Independent Living program through guided questions and open dialogue that seeks to get to know the young adult, encourages them to share information, describes the program and allows for the candidate to ask questions freely in an effort to completely understand the program.

In addition this position requires:

• Establish positive norms and routines that respect young adults, admonishes the rights of every young adult and encourages a community of understanding.
• Redirect youth in ways that teach lessons and allow for natural consequences to reveal the need for change.
• Practice handles with care techniques that proactively encourages tension reduction, decreases additional trauma, encourages acknowledgement of one’s own feelings and offers genuine support.
• Provide encouragement through listening, understanding, acceptance of differences, focusing on young adult issues that matter to them and offering advice.
• Enforcement of program structure and expectations without being threatening but directing in a way that guides, provides limit setting that is intellectually clear and not demeaning and finds ways to reward compliance and progress.
• Consistently be present in every situation that offers balance, understanding and empathy without under or over reacting.
• Expressing thought in a manner that is not offensive or condescending.  What you say is not as important as how you say it (and act).
• Seek and identify when young adults are upset, disappointed or frustrated and offer emotional support.

Qualifications

What we expect in an Independent Living Case Manager at Monroe Harding

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology and/or a related field and one year experience in a residential setting preferred.

.Qualifications Required

• Optimistic, hopeful personality encourages youth engagement.
• Someone who refuses to “label” youth negatively, and instead, views behaviors through a trauma lens, asking, “What has he been through,” as a means to better understand the “why.”
• Has fun with youth while maintaining healthy and safe boundaries. 
• Interested and curious in youth’s experiences and forms trusting, dependable relationships which result in authentic sharing of thoughts/feelings.
• Balances provide “understanding” to the youth with an expectation of “doing better.” Can communicate in a sincere, compassionate, and hopeful manner. Able to be firm without being harsh.
• Adept at influencing change using positive interventions like praise/rewards, validation, distraction/redirection or extinction. Celebrates small successes. Views and deals with mistakes or misbehavior as opportunities to learn and grow. Limits use of consequences as a way to control behavior.
• Never give up on the youth.
• Models self-awareness and emotional regulation:  notices when getting “triggered” and handles in an appropriate manner. Learns from their own experiences.
• Builds effective relationships with youth and staff.  Takes accountability, notices impact on others, and apologizes or attempts to restore relationships after negative incidents. 
• Seeks to provide youth feedback in a non-confrontational, developmental manner.
• Effective in de-escalation of emotional situations.
• Basic understanding of healthy brain development, the impact of chronic stress/trauma on development and how positive experiences can be restorative to brain development.
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to make effective decisions during crisis situations
• Ability to function effectively as part of a treatment team, demonstrating ethical/good judgment.
• Flexible with regard to work schedules in order to get the job done.
• Able to communicate effectively with others, utilizing verbal, written skills, and electronic documentation/computer skills.
• Possesses a strong set of organizational and leadership skills.
• Able to hold themselves to the same rules and expectations as the youth and act as an appropriate role model for them.
• Relates in a positive manner to youth and adults regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin

Applicants must pass a thorough background check and drug screen.  Must have a valid Tennessee driver’s license. 

Additionally, The Diana Screen® is administered to all potential applicants to help ensure that ethical boundaries between children and adults are maintained. At Monroe Harding, the safety and protection of the youth who have been entrusted to us is our #1 priority.

Additional Information

Benefits

How to Apply

Think you are interested in joining our team?  Please apply online at monroeharding.org

Details

• Date Posted: October 12, 2022
• Type: Full-Time
• Job Function: Programs and Service Delivery
• Service Area: Social / Human Services