Youth Services Specialist II - Grand Mesa YSC - Grand Junction

Youth Services Specialist II - Grand Mesa YSC - Grand Junction

Salary $2,322.00 Biweekly Location Grand Junction, CO Job Type Full Time Job Number IKA 05547 Department Colorado Department of Human Services Division OCYF - Grand Mesa Youth Services Center Opening Date 08/25/2025 FLSA Status Non-Exempt; position is eligible for overtime compensation.

The primary duties of this position are located within 30 miles of the state border; therefore, this position is exempt from the residency requirements. Applications will be considered from residents and non-residents of Colorado.

The mission of the Division of Youth Services (DYS) is to protect, restore and improve public safety utilizing a continuum of care that provides effective supervision, promotes accountability to victims and communities, and helps youth lead constructive lives through positive youth development. The strategic goal of DYS is to operate healthy trauma-responsive organizational environments as demonstrated through prosocial, safe, and non-violent interactions.

This position is a direct care/essential role that provides direct and engaging supervision of Youth in DYS State Operated Secure Facilities. This position also functions as a Lead Worker and is partially accountable for the work product of Youth Services Specialist I (YSS I). Specific duties and expectations are:

Safety/Security: Work involves providing direct care, safety, security, and supervision of adjudicated and/or pre-adjudicated youth in a secure setting. Monitor, participate, support, and enforce behavioral management plans for individual youth as directed (e.g. Behavioral Contracts, Individual Growth and Change Plans). Duties include supervision of youth or group of youth, supervision of daily activities, youth orientation, intervention in crisis situations, non-escalation, de-escalation, use of physical response/restraint in emergency situations, debriefing of all incidents, and conducting searches.

The Work Leader's duties: Staff accountability for quality and quantity of work, shift supervision, training, coaching and mentoring of YSS I employees, establishing work standards, performing quality assurance functions, and providing input for performance evaluations.

Youth Center Programming: Actively and with positive engagement, implement and follow the Youth Center's behavioral management program, teach, coach, and redirect youth within the program. Support DYS initiatives and strategies as they relate to youth programming and crisis intervention. Facilitating milieu and skill groups for youth.

Documentation/Recording and Reporting: Document observations of youth behavior and response to program(s) and document all unit activities and required information in appropriate logs and records systems. Document all youth group activities in appropriate database systems.

Organizational Accountability: Through all communications and behaviors demonstrate, support, and contribute to a healthy, positive, and respectful cultural climate throughout the Youth Center by adhering to our organizational values of Nonviolence, Open Communication, Social Responsibility, Growth and Change, Social Learning, Democracy, and Emotional Intelligence. Requirement to adhere to the CDHS Code of Conduct, DYS Compliance Review Standards, and CDHS and DYS policies.

Training. Complete DYS Pre-Service training academy, Youth Center training, and orientation process as a new employee. Some travel may be required. Complete all assigned online training, and maintain and support the Division's prevailing behavior management and intervention strategies.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights:

Minimum Qualification Work Experience One (1) year of full-time professional corrections-related* experience working in a correctional or trauma-informed facility. *Corrections-related experience is defined as the custody and control of a detained or adjudicated population and/or experience as a POST Certified Officer, or Military Law Enforcement. Note: Anything less than 40 hours per week is considered part-time experience. Credit is given for part-time work but is calculated by prorating the qualifying experience. AND Educational Requirements High school diploma or General Education Diploma, (GED). Substitution: College with course work in social or behavioral sciences, criminal justice, human services, physical education/recreational studies or closely related field will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience working with adjudicated and/or detained youth within a secure facility Self-motivated Positive role model Attention to Detail Problem Solving Teamwork Effective Communication Adaptability Trainer certification in staff development Supervisory, management, and/or leadership experience Critical Thinking and Decision Making skills Google Suite: Docs, Sheets, Slides College degree in social or behavioral sciences, criminal justice, human services, physical education/recreational studies or closely related field Relevant years of state service experience.

Conditions of Employment:

Full Background. CDHS employees (all Direct contact with vulnerable persons): CBI name check and fingerprint check, ICON Colorado court database, Medicare fraud database, Reference Checks, Professional License verification (licensure requirements), Drug Screen, PREA (Division of Youth Services), Trails check (direct contact with children), CAPS (direct contact with adults – Mental Health Institutes, Regional Centers, Veterans Community Living Centers). Be a minimum of 21 years of age, with no felony convictions or history of domestic violence. Must possess a valid, unrestricted U.S. Driver's License Shift Work - subject to assigned Shift Travel- Transportation of youth in state vehicles travel to assigned training and/or alternate work sites. Continued employment is contingent upon successful completion of the DYS Pre-service Training Academy, Field Training Program (FTO), and mandatory annual training in all subject areas. Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must (1) disclose that information on the application (2) provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position, (3) provide the employee number from the applicant's prior State employment. Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination and failure to provide this information will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS. The Diana Screen®, a sexual risk screening tool, is administered to all applicants to the Division of Youth Services (DYS) seeking positions of trust with children and teens to help ensure that ethical boundaries between children and adults are maintained.

Appeal Rights: If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director. An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), postmarked in US Mail or hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department's action. For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board; go to spb.colorado.gov ; contact the State Personnel Board for assistance at (303) 866-3300; or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

Supplemental Information:

The State of Colorado offers permanent employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, as well as a comprehensive leave program. Please click the following link for detailed information: www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/benefits