Job Description

Summary of Position

The Houseparent is responsible for the students assigned to the home, as well as the care of the home itself.  The employee is expected to work cooperatively with their assigned partner, the core team and the community.  This is an exempt position.

Accountability

Reports to the assigned Residential Coordinator

Core Responsibilities

• Supports and models the Catholic Mission and the Native American Culture that are the foundations of St. Joseph’s Indian School.
• Promotes a reclaiming environment for all students through the Circle of Courage.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Guiding Each Student in Developing Age-Appropriate Living, Social, and Educational Skills
2. Promotes a reclaiming environment for students by:
   • Establishing trust
   • Advocating for students’ best interest
   • Mentoring students
   • Developing strong, mutually respectful relationships
   • Providing consistent emotional support through praise, empathy, and recognizing student achievement
   • Listening to students’ thoughts, feelings, concerns, and problems
   • Creating a family style environment by establishing student home family rituals and traditions
   • Helping students in developing healthy relationships
   • Maintaining students’ dignity and self-esteem
   • Providing opportunities for students to develop personal maturity through developmentally appropriate freedoms and responsibilities
   • Teaching developmentally appropriate decision making and critical thinking strategies
   • Providing opportunities for students to practice and demonstrate learned social skills including manners, conflict resolution, budgeting, cooperation, and teamwork
   • Maintaining confidentiality of sensitive materials
   • Supporting students by attending as many functions that involve their student as practical
   • Orientating students and their families to the student home upon acceptance
   • Providing opportunities for and promoting interaction with siblings residing on campus
   • Communicating with the family regarding student’s progress, accomplishments, growth areas, and concerns as appropriate.

Protects the rights and dignity of individual students by:

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  • Making decisions based on the best interest of students
  • Supporting the ethical treatment of all students
  • Promoting problem solving and relationship development between students
  • Collaborating with others to decide how to help each child reach their best potential
  • Working cooperatively with fellow team members (House parents, Teachers, FSC’s) and Residential Coordinator to meet the student’s needs
  • Supporting and working toward decisions made by the team, administration, and other in the SJIS community

Attends to students’ health care needs by:

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  • Recognizing students’ health care needs and referring to the health center when appropriate
  • Immediately reporting serious accidents or illnesses affecting students to the Residential Coordinator and health center
  • Maintaining and securing prescription and non-prescription medications as well as other medical/first aid supplies
  • Implementing and administering prescribed/suggested medical treatments
  • Maintaining accurate medication sheets

Attends to students’ mental health needs by:

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  • Immediately reporting any type of abuse or neglect (suspected or alleged)
  • Being aware of and attentive to warning signs of emotional distress
  • Reporting signs of student sadness and self harm to the Residential Coordinator and Family Service Counselor
  • Referring students for specialized services via the completion of the Student Service Request Form
  • Maintaining students’ dignity and self-esteem
  • Recognizing and supporting students in grief and separation issues
  • Actively listening to students’ thoughts, feelings, concerns, and problems
  • Implementing prescribed/suggested behavioral treatments and systems

Attends to the moral, spiritual, and character development of students by:

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  • Teaching and modeling values related to sound moral and character development.
  • Leading morning, evening, and meal prayer
  • Teaching and role-modeling appropriate choices in movies, music, and television programs
  • Supports student’s attendance and serves as a role model at church services

Teaches social, self-help, life-long learning, and basic life skills by:

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  • Facilitation of weekly Enrichment activities (1^st-8^th grades only)
  • Facilitation of social skills or independent living curriculum, and other identified curriculum.
  • Providing a supportive and flexible structure from which students learn responsibility, problem solving, and time management
  • Teaching students developmentally appropriate leadership and communication skills
  • Encouraging individuality and creative thinking from students
  • Teaching, modeling, and reinforcing identified social skills
  • Teaching students to choose and prepare nutritious meals and snacks

Facilitates student scholastic achievement by:

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  • Providing a structured learning environment and assisting with homework when necessary
  • Teaching appropriate study skills
  • Communicating daily with teachers and other school personal
  • Assessing students’ school grades and performance and implementing additional learning support when necessary
  • Preparing students for post-secondary education and/or careers (High School Only)

Attends to students’ personal safety by:

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  • Being aware of student location
  • Maintaining an accurate student check out log
  • Adhering to home guidelines regarding visitation
  • Supporting overall campus supervision

Facilitates student leisure and recreational activities by:

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  • Teaching students to make leisure activity choices
  • Encouraging and supporting students’ involvement in SJIS and Chamberlain community activities
  • Planning, participating, and involving students in regular physical activity
  • Planning for and leading students on educational/recreational trips and activities

Teaches students to exhibit behaviors and values deemed appropriate for a member of the SJIS community through:

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  • Displaying appropriate role modeling
  • Maintaining personal self-control
  • Respecting and appreciating diversity

Establishes and maintains a developmentally appropriate behavior management system by:

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  • Collaborating with students in developing student home norms
  • Effectively utilizing Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) and Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) skills to prevent and/or de-escalate intense situations while maintaining the dignity and respect of the student.
  • Utilizing LSCI foundations such as listening, responding, and decoding skills
  • Holding students accountable by delivering natural and logical consequences and using corrective teaching
  • Utilizing the student phase system consistently to reinforce and reward students’ appropriate behavior (1^st-8^th grades only)
  • Providing structure while consistently following all rules and guidelines governing student conduct
  • Collaborating with fellow team members, other SJIS departments, and contracted agents to develop strategies to effectively manage student behavior

Demonstrates efforts to involve all families in some aspect of their child’s programming in order to promote good relationships and support for the student by:

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  • Welcoming parent/guardians into the home for a meal or conversation, inviting parent/guardians to participate in a home activity, etc

Home Management

1. Responsible for maintaining the student living facility by:
   • Ensuring a safe, secure, and clean environment by facilitating daily home charges and super charges
   • Maintaining staff quarters and other areas not included in home charges
   • Performing minor home maintenance and submit home RQ’s when necessary
   • Submitting RQ’s for maintenance needs of vehicles
   • Reports any home needs or concerns to the Residential Coordinator
   • Reviewing emergency exit plans with students (i.e., fire and tornado drills).

Maintains the student home structure by:

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  • Preparing student home schedule and instructions for subs
  • Managing and monitor student home budgets with other staff in the home
  • Maintaining food and supply inventories with the other staff in the home
  • Facilitating weekly home meetings and completing meeting minutes
  • Planning and serving quality meals
  • Providing proper clothing for students in the home

Maintains the student home office by:

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  • Corresponding to email (i.e., reading email before starting afternoon shift and responding in a prompt professional manner)
  • Completing accurate student home logs, student check out logs, student account sheets, and case service plan checklists
  • Maintaining accurate student data sheets in a confidential location
  • Completing required paperwork (i.e., incident and safety reports, purchase orders, visitor log, home meeting minutes, change over forms, head check forms, Circle of Direction phase sheets, COPING forms, Enrichment lesson plans, petty cash reconciliation, etc.)

Student Programming

Implements and maintains individualized student programs as designated by:

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  • Participating actively in student service plan meetings
  • Participating actively in staff meetings
  • Participating actively in change over meetings
  • Participating actively in student reclaiming meetings as necessary
  • Collaborating and/or implementing individual behavioral management programs for students as necessary
  • Assisting with individual community restitution programs in collaboration with the Residential Coordinator

 Professional Development

1. Achieves and maintains SJIS professional Child Care Worker expectations
   • Attends training and staff development sessions
   • Evaluates self performance in collaboration with supervisor(s)
   • Soliciting and implementing feedback on job performance and professional behavior

Additional

1. Performs other responsibilities as required by the Residential Coordinator.

Expectations of Hours Worked When On-Duty

Expectation of hours worked when on-duty are as follows:

• HP’s are to report to work by 3:00pm, at the latest. 
• HP’s are to remain on-duty until 8:30am, or until all students in their care are in school and additional responsibilities have been completed.

Qualifications

• Valid driver’s license required
• High School Diploma or GED required
• 4-year degree in related field or experience preferred
• Working knowledge of basic computer skills i.e. typing, e-mail

Physical Demands

• An employee must meet the physical demands listed below to successfully perform the essential functions of a Houseparent.

  • Lifting/Carrying: Must lift and carry up to 25 pounds.   
  • Standing: Must be able to stand and walk for up to 8 hours a day with limited breaks.
  • Walking:  Employee must be able to walk to various locations while supervising students, including four blocks away from the school or residential home during activities or transitions.
  • Climbing/Stooping/Kneeling: Frequent stooping, kneeling, and climbing stairs multiple times daily.
  • Safety Provisions: Including but not limited to exiting buildings in a timely manner and de-escalating student situations.
  • Driving: Including transporting students to activities, school, and other locations locally, as well as within the state.