Systematic Skill Building Specialist - Experienced

Looking for a new opportunity? Our team is growing, and we are seeking professionals who are passionate about moving Autism service delivery forward. Full-time and part-time opportunities are available. Our success as a company depends on the workplace community that we build together. We apply innovative approaches for service delivery, support and care for our team members through professional and organizational development opportunities, and strive for excellence through innovation. We hope you’ll consider joining our team!

Working with Progress City

We’re obsessed with progress. We believe in providing a healthy work environment for all team members and work hard to remove administrative obstacles that hinder the work you have a passion for. But what does that look like? Here’s a glimpse:

• To increase the health and wellbeing of our team, we offer 100% company paid health premiums for full-time employees. That means there is no out of pocket premium cost for the employee’s medical, dental, and vision coverage. You may add family members for an additional cost if you choose. 
• For day-to-day service delivery, we issue cellular connected iPads to all field staff to use during your session for collaborative documentation greatly reducing the paperwork requirements after sessions. We also currently have two employment training sites and we work with a number of small businesses to secure work opportunities for our participants. We’re always looking for opportunities to make accomplishing client goals more effective, efficient, and productive.
• We offer support and supervision with clinical expertise to make sure you have the support and resources you need to be successful with your clients.
• We know you work hard and deserve time to refresh and recharge so we offer paid time off and paid holidays to all staff regularly working over 20 hours per week.

Position Summary:

The Systematic Skill Building Specialist (SSB) position is a part of the Specialized Skill Development (SSD) services that are offered through the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW). These specific services are used to address challenges that adults on the autism spectrum may have because of limited social skills, perseverative behaviors, rigid thinking, difficulty interpreting cues in the natural environment, limited communication skills, impaired sensory systems, or other reasons.

SSB uses evidence-based methods to help the participant acquire skills that promote independence and integration into the community which are not behavioral in focus. Targeted skill types are social skills, basic needs skills, and advanced skills such as cooking or using public transportation. SSB develops a Skill Building Plan (SBP) to create and target needed skills building goals with interventions identified in the SBP. SSB pairs together with other professional services such as Community Support, Supported Employment, Day Habilitation, or Residential Habilitation to implement SSB interventions, and otherwise collaborates with an interdisciplinary supports team (such as the Supports Coordinator or a Behavioral Specialist) and informal supports (such as family, friends, neighbors and employers) to best meet the needs of the served individual.

Essential Duties:

Duties are broken into three areas: Skill Building Plan development, Ongoing support, and Consultative support.

Systematic Skill Building Plan Development includes: 

• Conduct an evaluation of the participant’s abilities and learning style that is related to goals in the Individualized Service Plan (ISP). The evaluation may include the participant’s history with skill acquisition as well as identification of the participant’s baseline skills.

• Within 60 days of the start date of the participant being authorized for Systematic Skills Building, a SBP must be developed to address objectives that are aligned with the goals of Systematic Skills Building. The SBP should be informed by Applied Behavior Analysis and use techniques such as backward and forward chaining, prompting, fading, generalization and maintenance to develop adaptive skills and promote consistency of instructional methods across environments. The SBP includes benchmarks for assessing progress. A participant’s SBP may address multiple skills, as appropriate to address different goals or objectives.

• The SBP justifies necessary levels of SSB services. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) reviews the amount of direct and consultative service requested before authorization to ensure it is appropriate given the needs identified.

• Upon completion of the initial SBP, meets with the participant, family, Supports Coordinator (SC), and other providers to explain the SBP to ensure all parties understand the plan, how to implement it, how to collect necessary data for evaluating effectiveness, and the importance of its consistent application. 

Direct support includes:

• Support of and consultation with the participant to help them understand the purpose, objectives, methods, and documentation of the SBP and review recommended revisions

• Direct interaction or observation of the participant to evaluate progress and the need to revise the SBP or its objectives
• Overlap with paired service provider to observe strength of interventions and ensure proper implementation of SBP

Consultative support includes:

• Support of family members, friends, waiver providers, other support providers, and employers to help them understand the purpose, objectives, methods, and documentation of the SBP and to understand any revisions that have been made to the plan which have previously been agreed upon with the participant
• Monitoring and analyzing data collected during implementation of the SBP based on the goals of the SBP
• Modifying and revising the SBP

Additional responsibilities may include:

• Completes all necessary documentation associated with hours billed
• Maintains eligibility for direct services through participation in essential training programs and supervision as needed
• Transports clients and to/from work, home, project sites, or scheduled service locations on an as needed basis
• Performs additional duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Hold at least a Bachelor’s Degree (BA/BS) in Social Work, Psychology or Education OR at least a BA/BS in a human services field related to Social Work, Psychology or Education OR at least a BA/BS in another field AND 3 years’ experience directly supporting individuals with ASD in the community.
• Certification: Complete required training developed by the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) for Systematic Skill Development and also specific training for Systematic Skill Building Services for people with autism spectrum disorders (provided upon hire).
• Experience:  At least one year of direct service experience within the Adult Autism Waiver is strongly preferred.

• Driver’s License:  Must possess a valid PA Drivers’ License and have access to a vehicle in order to transport clients as assigned. If transporting an adult participant, have a valid driver’s license and automobile insurance with 100/300 coverage.

• Clearances: FBI Criminal History, PA Child Abuse History (Act 33) and PA Criminal History (Act 34) clearances are required. 

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• • Proficient in the use of MS Office and Google applications for electronic recordkeeping.
  • Ability to work with cognitively-diverse and multi-disciplinary teams
  • Excellent time-management and organizational skills
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Physical Requirements: Must be able to perform all essential duties in a variety of settings, including office, home, community, and workplace environments. 
• COVID-19 Vaccination: Progress City is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment for our employees, our program participants and their families, as well as our community at large. As a result, all Progress City employees are required to submit proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This mandatory vaccine policy will be administered in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. Any employee or applicant for employment who is requesting exemption from this policy due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious belief must complete a Request for Accommodation form which can be obtained by contacting Human Resources.

Progress City is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, national origin, disability, age (40 or above), ancestry, citizenship, veteran status or any other classification protected by law.