ELECT Student Support Specialist - Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit

JOB ASSIGNMENT: This is a Part Time position following a schedule of Monday and Friday at the CSIU Main office; and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - working remotely.

ELECT = Education Leading to Employment and Career Training.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP:  The position reports to the Family Education Program Manager, who is responsible to the Assistant Executive Director / Chief Academic Officer for Curriculum, Assessment and Regional Education Services (CARES).

JOB DESCRIPTION:  The ELECT Student Support Specialist will be responsible for providing educational programs for teen parents and providing individual and group services to pregnant teens; coordinating home visits and summer educational sessions for teen parents. The student support specialist will provide intensive case management services and drop out prevention services to the student, maintain required data, and coordinate services necessary to meet the teen parent’s individual goal plan.  This position will also be responsible for reporting weekly data to the data support specialist as per program requirements.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Consult with colleagues, students, parents, the school district and program personnel, and other service agencies on a regular basis to improve and maintain an appropriate instructional process and program.
2. Identify specific programs and procedures to coordinate, update and redesign to parallel ELECT requirements.
3. Tailor schedules, direct service guidelines for the attainment of grant objectives; assist in the assessment of existing educational curricula for pregnant and parenting teens and in the development of revised, expanded, and new programs in this area; assist in project start-up activities, staff training, and in-service activities.
4. Coordinate services with school district personnel, agency representatives, and program staff in the assessment participant needs and the provision of an Individualized Development Plan.
5. Act as an advocate of the teen parent education program for parents, schools, government and social service agencies, and other appropriate community agencies.
6. Assist with transportation to school conferences, special tutoring programs, and parent involvement activities, when necessary. Visit student homes when student is referred as well as quarterly to identify delays and special needs. Home visits bi-monthly in the summer and as needed.
7. Maintain and complete required student-records and refer to the student database for any information relevant to the child’s school performance. Prepare monthly attendance reports, quarterly GPA and credit achievement, and all other required ELECT forms. All required school records will be obtained by student support specialist and maintained in student file.
8. Assume any other teen parent education program responsibilities, as assigned.
9. Conduct individual and group sessions with participants to assist in the problems related to pregnancy and parenting; career and job readiness; and any other issues that may prevent student’s success.
10. Keep accurate and detailed case management notes in each student’s file for each face-to face or phone interaction with a student.
11. Provide monthly reports and synopsis of activities to the manager.
12. When additional grant opportunities become available and are pertinent to ELECT, assist in the implementation and delivery of all requirements within the grant. This may require the student support specialist to tailor or adjust his/her ELECT schedule to additionally meet the needs of the grant.

NON-ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provide information for program evaluation and use evaluation results for program modifications where necessary; prepare correspondence, reports, casework logs, and other materials related to the operation of the program.
2. This job description in no way states or implies that the duties listed represent all of the job responsibilities for this position. The program manager has the prerogative to assign other job-related responsibilities.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS REQUIRED: 

• Bachelor of Science degree in social work, nursing, education or related fields required. Or will consider an Associate’s degree in human services or related field plus three (3) years’ experience working with at-risk youth.
• Experience as a caseworker or direct service to adolescents or young people and knowledge of pregnancy and parenting preferred.
• Computer experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, data entry, email and experience managing file sharing with Google Drive. Experience preparing statistical reports.
• Adept at using virtual meeting platforms such as Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. 
• Excellent organizational and time management skills to prioritize the task based on project deadlines. And must be able to type accurately and maintain a high level of productivity.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills including the ability to follow oral and written instructions.
• Requires the ability to develop and maintain positive and collaborative relationships with staff, school personnel, other agency personnel using tact and diplomacy and to remain calm in unpredictable situations.
• Must be able to relate well to families with diverse backgrounds.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding education programs, students and parents at all times adhering to the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requirements to protect staff and student data.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Current, approved Act 34 (PA State Police), Act 151 (PA Child Abuse Registry) and Act 114-FBI Fingerprint clearances are required and must be renewed at appropriate, specific intervals pursuant to Act 153 of 2014 (revised Act 15 of 2015).
• Current, approved Act 126 Mandated Reporter Training certificate showing completion of a minimum of three (3) hours training every five (5) years.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS:  

• Attend all relevant and required conferences, trainings, in-services and supervisory meetings to maintain and enhance professional development.
• Trauma Informed Care Training is required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Sedentary: Able to sit for extended periods of time and frequent walking or standing (as necessary) and able to lift and carry up to 25 pounds.
• Dexterity: Finger movements (computer keyboard, calculator), eye-hand coordination (office equipment, etc.).
• Audio-Visual Requirements: Within normal range with or without correction.
• Is able to move throughout all buildings, floors and grounds.
• Worksite Environment: Primarily indoors-office setting with occasional exposure to outdoor elements/climate during the day.
• Mental demands: Steady response to unpredictable situations, ability to remain calm and productive during stressful situations. Demonstrates independent judgment, discretion and is able to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Frequent change of location requiring ability to travel to various work site locations and meetings including field trips and home visits as needed.

TIME AND SITE REQUIREMENTS: 

1. This is a part time, non-exempt position, not to exceed 29 hours per week or in combination with any additional CSIU part-time positions. Additional working hours must be pre-approved by immediate supervisor.
2. Some attendance at evening or weekend meetings. Occasional overnight travel to seminars and workshops required.
3. Attendance at work is a requirement of this position; any and all absences must be approved by the immediate supervisor.

CSIU PROPERTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS:

1. All property, including intellectual property, materials, equipment or actual products and services developed or accrued as part of the job duties and responsibilities listed above, is the property of the CSIU. It may not be used for personal profit or gain and will be relinquished to the CSIU upon termination of employment from the CSIU.
2. The person employed in this position shall maintain confidentiality with regard to the personal and private information about clients and coworkers, programs and services and any other proprietary information accrued as a result of CSIU employment or as required by state or federal laws and regulations.
3. The person employed in this position must adhere to all requirements identified in the code of professionalism entitled "Ambassadors Are Professionals, Too" and CSIU Administrative Regulation 317-AR-1 CSIU Service Standards.

The position holder must be able to perform the essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. It is the responsibility of the employee to inform their supervisor and the Director of Human Resources of any and all reasonable accommodations that will be required.