2024-033 Adult and Youth Community Counsellor

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To assist individuals through counselling, collaboration, and advocacy in an effort to attain support and services that will provide them with opportunities to live a fulfilled life that respects their rights and choices and promotes health, social inclusion and citizenship.

**MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS**
- 4 year Bachelor’s Degree (University degree/undergraduate degree) in the Humanities, Psychology, Sociology or a related field
- 3 years related experience
- Knowledge of the needs and best practice service standards for persons with developmental disabilities
- Well-developed support and interview skills to assist client facilitation
- Well-developed case-management skills
- Able to accommodate the communication needs of clients
- Able to work with multi-disciplinary team members
- Good interpersonal skills including the ability to build rapport and trust
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Strong analytical skills
- Knowledge of municipal, provincial and federal government resources and other community programs and services
- CPI, CPR and First aid training
- Valid Ontario driver’s license and access to a reliable vehicle

**1.**PROVIDES CLIENT CASELOAD MANAGEMENT BY**:

- Assisting individuals to live as independently as possible in their community, by providing a high degree of personal autonomy through collaboration with the client’s personal network, affiliations and paid services
- Assessing current situations, including clients’ strengths and needs
- In collaboration with a wide range of community partners, assisting individuals to develop life plans that identify steps to facilitate skill or recreational activities that will assist individuals to gain independence, build networks and relationships
- Linking, identifying and referring clients to services
- Identifying and fostering natural relationships with persons of similar interests, family members and community organizations that the person chooses to spend time with
- Searching for creative alternatives where traditional services are not available
- Advocating on the client’s behalf to gain access to services within the existing system
- Assisting the individual to work on their Individual Support Plan (ISP)
- Prioritizing service needs
- Promoting and supporting opportunities that could build capacity and provide new learning

**2.**PROVIDES CASELOAD ADMINISTRATION BY**:

- Developing, formulating, and documenting all case information to determine the service requirements, supports, and community assistance. Intake assessment information would be received from the DSO.
- Utilizing “formal resources” to access services which are best able to meet the identified needs.
- Assisting the client to develop a natural support network, so the client has access to “informal resources”
- Providing support to individuals who have both a developmental disability and a mental health diagnosis
- Providing short-term support for individuals who require support with legal issues (services are provided to both victims and offenders)
- Providing emotional short-term support to clients, with referral to existing community services for intensive or prolonged counselling
- Providing guidance and assistance to clients in locating suitable accommodations and consulting with landlords when required should issues occur
- Providing guidance with daily living skills when necessary (budgeting, banking, using public transportation, etc). Provision of this service can be short-term or ongoing depending on the individual’s ability to acquire the necessary skills
- Coordinating medical and dental appointments. Accompanying the individual (when necessary) to convey symptoms and support to understand diagnosis and treatment recommendations
- Maintaining a client information recording system which documents daily contacts in the form of: progress notes, statistics reports, referral documentation and other forms for pertinent caseload planning
- Reviewing and adhering to all regulatory authority’s acts, directions, policies and procedures

**3.**PROVIDES ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BY**:

- Assisting with the development of directional plans and collaborating with other agencies
- Reviewing and/or developing the following documents as required: Individual Support Plans (Life Plan), Case Plans
- including short and long term goals, Transition Plans, and treatment and support summaries
- Developing specific protocols for functions that increase independence
- Attending, and participating in, regular team meetings and agency training/information days
- Reviewing and adhering to all regulatory authority’s acts, directions, policies and procedures

**4.**PROVIDES APPLICANT SUPPORT BY**:

- Developing a comprehensive Individual Support Plan (Life Plan) for individuals who meet the eligibility criteria, based on the ADSS and SIS received from the DSO. Other case information and historical documents would be utilized and incorporated in this plan.
- Making referrals to th