Job Information
St. Catherine's Center for Children Day Care Specialist, Marillac in Albany, New York
About Our Organization:
St. Catherine’s Center for Children is a leading non-profit organization in New York’s Greater Capital District. Our comprehensive range of human services reach more than 1,000 children, 600 families, and hundreds of adults across Upstate New York each year. Our multi-faceted programs are designed to offer hope, foster growth, and improve the lives of the children, families, and adults we serve. We offer residential and therapeutic foster care programs for children and youth, Kinship support, homeless and community-based services for adults and families, a special education elementary school for ages 5-13, and so much more.
St. Catherine’s employs more than 300 full and part-time staff. Our spectrum of services for children, families and individuals suffering from the lasting effects of abuse and neglect, family instability, mental illness, homelessness and other ongoing traumas, continues to grow. We are committed to cultivating a culture where all employees can bring their authentic and best selves to the workplace. Our DEI-B initiatives are designed to support and build a more equitable, inclusive and diversified workplace, one which exemplifies true respect and dignity.
Position Overview:
We are seeking a Day Care Specialist, Marillac to ensure a safe, secure, healthy, clean, and positive environment for children and families as they make their transition from homelessness through after-care.
This full-time position is M-F, 7:30am to 3:30pm
Duties & Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Establish and maintain professional working relationships with residents; maintain appropriate personal boundaries; establish and maintain professional working relationships with staff members, in accordance with all agency procedures, policies, and practices.
Assist with and facilitate recreational activities for children and conduct family-oriented programming.
Provide a safe and therapeutic environment in which children (infants and pre-school aged children) can be cared for while their primary caretaker is absent.
Maintain respect, support, care and a family atmosphere for residents of the facility and fellow staff members
Provide infant and pre-school children with age-appropriate developmental and recreational experiences.
Provide parents the opportunity to develop practical child care skills.
Document interactions with families, using critical incident reports, intake information forms, progress note section of case files, log, etc.
Collaborate with various staff members in providing recreational and educational activities and events for children and families.
Respect the rights of others and protect all confidential information.
Intervene in crisis situations and assist with conflict resolution as needed by providing mediation and facilitating communication.
Participate in professional development programming on a regular basis.
Maintain CPR/First Aid Certification.
Actively contribute to the maintenance of a “client-supportive” and respectful community.
Safeguard and maintain all agency recreational equipment and space.
Supervise families during activities at the facility.
Transport families to planned recreational activities/events.
Essential Functions:
Must be able to respond effectively and therapeutically in crisis situations.
Ability to drive, with a clean and valid NYS driver’s license, in order to transport clients to appointments as needed.
Mobility, in terms of the ability to make on-site contacts with referring agencies, collaborative agencies, and family units.
Excellent organization, planning and time management skills.
Self-motivated and engaged, with a strong attention to detail; Excellent writing aptitude.
Must possess excellent communication skills (written and verbal); outstanding interpersonal skills, and the ability to build strong working relationships with other agency staff and other regulatory bodies.
Must have patience, flexibility and adaptability; be capable of exhibiting empathy for those in crisis.
Value a nurturing family as the ideal environment for a person; and have confidence in the principle that people have the capacity to grow and change at their own pace and motivation.
Ability to communicate with a wide range of people, including those who are culturally and socio-economically diverse, as well as people with various developmental and functional levels.
Ability and conceptualizations necessary to embrace and work effectively within a therapeutic-based program.
The ability to establish a respectful relationship with persons served to help them gain skills and confidence, empowering them to solve their own problems.
The capacity to maintain a helping role and to intervene appropriately to assist in meeting service goals, while setting appropriate limits and boundaries.
Ability to exercise ethical, independent judgment and discretion; handle sensitive data with strict confidentiality.
Position Specifications:
High School diploma (or) GED/ TASC Equivalent, required; College preferred.
Formal crisis intervention training a plus, with the ability to respond effectively and therapeutically in crisis situations.
Clean and Valid New York State Driver’s License; be actively licensed for at least one (1) year and have reliable transportation.
Self-confidence; sensible and level-headed inter-personal style; Good use of judgment.
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
Ability to show flexibility in planning for future programming and to take supervisory direction well.
Highly detail-oriented and well organized;
Previous experience working in a human services agency.
Proficiency in various computer applications: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google Business Workspace Suite (Gmail, Google Docs, Meet, Sheets, etc.); and secure Internet practices.
Capacity and openness to work with individuals from culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged populations.
What We Offer*:
Competitive Pay with an Excellent Benefits Package
Health Insurance options*: Medical, Dental and Vision
Generous Combined Leave Time and 10 PAID Holidays*!
$500 Employee Referral Bonus*
Professional Development & Career Growth Opportunities
We are a 501(c) (3) agency, which is a qualifying employer for eligible staff under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program*
Pension Plan with Aggressive Agency contribution*
Life Insurance – Automatic Benefit, at no cost to you!
Paid Training* including TCI and CPR/AED/First Aid Certification Update courses, if role appropriate
Tuition Reimbursement*
Travel/ Mileage Reimbursement*
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
The Comfort of a Business Casual Environment.
*To qualify, certain conditions may apply; See Human Resources for additional details.
Background Checks: We run a thorough and complete pre-employment background check on all candidates being considered for a position, this includes fingerprinting. All candidates must successfully clear the pre-employment background check process, which follows NYS/DOJ requirements. We pay for all pre-employment background checks!
EEO Statement: St. Catherine’s Center for Children is committed to creating a diverse environment and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, reproductive health and pregnancy, family history and genetics, disability, age, military status, veteran status, politics, or other beliefs, and any other characteristics protected by law.