Samantha Arnold

Engage children, families, foster parents, and caregivers in multiple aspects, including safety, permanency, and well-being.

Developing and implementing multifaceted strategies that build on families' strengths while also addressing concerns. Services are tailored to each family's circumstances to address the safety threats that brought the child and the family into the child welfare system. Strategies include family engagement and ongoing assessment; maintaining family and cultural connections; and connecting families with service providers, community partners, and stakeholders. Duties include conducting home visits, documenting case information, collaborating with families and community partners, attending court hearings, ensuring legal compliance, etc.

Additionally, I was promoted to Lead Permanency Caseworker of my unit in 07/2024. Duties of a lead worker include supporting other workers with documentation, family engagement, collaborating on safety planning decisions, assisting with training new workers, etc.

24 Hour House Manager of two group homes for people with developmental disabilities and mental health issues, including but not limited to, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Downs Syndrome, Dementia, Intellectual Diasbilities, Autism, Polysubstance Abuse.

Job duties include:

• Ensuring DSP assists individuals with living skills using person-centered language when communicating and interacting with individuals, facilitating community inclusion, maintaining an appropriate physical environment when providing transportation, providing positive behavior supports through the BSP and/or informal guidelines, and ensuring that the DSP demonstrates the importance of individuals becoming active citizens in their neighborhood and community.
• Provide direct support to individuals, and role model such support to DSPs by assisting with living skills, communicating, and interacting with individuals, facilitating community inclusion, maintaining an appropriate physical environment, providing transportation, maintaining finances, developing behavioral supports, and demonstrating the importance of individuals becoming active citizens in their neighborhoods and local communities.
• Enhance staff relations by using effective communication skills, encouraging growth and self-development, facilitating teamwork, employing conflict resolution skills, and providing adequate support to employees.
• Oversee program planning and monitoring by planning and developing goals and outcomes with individuals, coordinating and participating in ISP meetings, monitoring, documenting, and reporting progress towards meeting outcomes, and communicating with other affiliated agencies.
• Management of personnel includes interviewing and participating in the hiring of new staff as directed, conducting reviews, facilitating staff meetings, creating schedules, assisting with job descriptions, delegating tasks and responsibilities, encouraging effective communication, defusing crises and conflicts between staff, and implementing grievance procedures.
• Participating in DSP training and in-service by orienting new staff, arranging for staff to attend training and in-service sessions, Relias, OIS practice, emergency preparedness (natural disaster) training, maintaining training records, and supporting ongoing staff development and their responsibilities.
• Coordinate and participate in home, site, vehicle, and personal property maintenance.
• Ensuring that supported individuals are safe and living healthy lives by monitoring safety issues, coordinating, monitoring, and documenting medical reports; practicing appropriate emergency procedures, responding to emergencies, and promoting individuals' rights regarding health and safety.
• Active members of the Safety Team, Emergency Management Team, Training Team, and Workforce Team.
• Ensure fiscal responsibility and management by supporting individuals with banking and other financial arrangements, developing, managing, and implementing; developing contracts with outside vendors; and completing petty cash, reconciliation, and bill payment for individuals.
• Ensure staff are scheduled, swipe clocks (time cards) are monitored, leave requests are approved, PTO is tracked, and employment laws are followed regarding paid and non-paid breaks; manage personal time off (PTO).
• Understand and implement state licensing rules, agency policies, and the protection of individual rights and protection from abuse.
• Communicating effectively in written and verbal forms.
• Complete various tasks and utilize the computer effectively for word processing, developing spreadsheets, managing data, Therap, and completing all entitlement reports.
• Ensuring knowledge of all OARS.
• Assists with and engages in necessary coverage.
• Adhere to HIPAA, including individual and employee confidentiality in written, verbal, or electronic form, ensuring staff compliance with all HIPAA regulations.
• Prepare, review, and implement new ISPs, and ensure compliance. ISP documents included safety plans, health and medical plans, health and medical protocols, and behavior supports.

Mental Health Tech for people with developmental disabilities and mental health issues, including but not limited to, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Borderline Personally Disorder, Depression, Aspergers, MR, Autism, Polysubstance Abuse . 

Services provided including:

•  Crisis intervention 
• Education on money management
• Education on anger management
• Completed all required documentation
• Community integration
• Transportation
• Staff scheduling
• Making appointments
• Training new hires
• Completing appropriate client intake paperwork, including assessments for services. 
• Staff evaluations
• Facilitating meetings 
• Disciplinary actions of staff

Direct support staff for people with developmental disabilities and severe mental health issues. 

Services provided including: 

• Medication distribution
• Behavioral support in severe crisis situations
• Money management
• Documentation
• Community integration
• Transportation
• Food preparation
• Household cleaning
• Life skills coaching

Direct Care Staff for people with developmental disabilities and mental health issues. 

Services provided including: 

• Medication distribution
• Behavioral support
• Money management
• Documentation
• Community integration
• Transportation
• Food preparation
• Household cleaning
• Personal care
• Life skills coaching. 
• Also was lead staff of a program which included: Staff scheduling, making appointments, and training of new hires