Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. The Colorado Department of Human Services supports the safety, independence, and well-being of Colorado residents through high-quality human and health services. The ABA Clinic Licensing Specialist serves as a subject-matter expert on Applied Behavior Analysis clinic licensing, professional licensure alignment, regulatory compliance, audits, technical assistance, and child welfare safety standards. The role collaborates with DORA, the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, providers, and government stakeholders while evaluating facilities, issuing licensing actions, and recommending policy and practice improvements.
Responsibilities
- Provide or research options for and coordinate technical assistance to licensed facilities and agencies to support the delivery of quality care to youth and to increase their compliance with State and Federal rules, with particular focus on child protection and safety. Oversee and direct providers to improve programming to ensure the safety, care, and well-being of children in placement. This position is a technical assistance expert for the Division of Child Welfare in the areas of licensing, child care/child welfare, and treatment planning related to these populations. Serve as the staff authority on child care and child welfare treatment and the protocols necessary to assure resident safety and well-being. This position is responsible for developing and overseeing best practices, implementation, tracking, and oversight of practices regarding professional licensure of behavior analysts under the newly established Behavior Analyst Licensing Board under the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and the requirements, processes, and policies for services rendered in ABA Clinics. Management relies on this position’s expertise for determining best practices for obtaining and reviewing background records for all staff members, foster parents, adults over the age of eighteen years living in foster homes, and volunteers working directly with children/youth in agencies licensed under the Provider Services Unit
- Evaluate the quality of programming, practices and policies, and compliance with providers of out-of-home care; specifically, conduct building and site inspections, ensure staff and care providers are supervised and trained according to their individual needs and the needs of the youth served in the facility or agency, assess treatment planning, observe milieu, assess quality of home study evaluations, assess behavioral interventions utilized by facilities, examine medication administration requirements, examine restraint and/or seclusion practices, examine financial documentation to ensure stability of agencies and facilities and that the needs of the youth are being met, and conduct interviews with staff, foster families, and youth to determine quality of care provided
- This position is responsible for researching applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy practices and implementing national and state standards and safety as they relate to day treatment settings as well as Applied Behavior Analysis Clinics overseen by the Provider Services Unit. This position provides support to the other Licensing Specialists concerning issues specific to ABA therapy services provided within the Unit’s licensed facilities and agencies
- Compile and interpret data on patterns of provider deficiencies or gross incidents of non-compliance with Volume 7 to determine when adverse licensing actions are warranted. Provide documentation and testimony in summary suspension situations and other adverse action cases. Issue expert opinions, as authorized by the Division of Child Welfare, on child protection and safety that occur within agencies and facilities to prompt further actions by other entities within the Department and in the provider community. Advise management on action steps necessary to rectify ongoing concerns and violations at the agency, and when adverse action is indicated. Provide follow-up and increased on-site licensing until provider deficiencies are resolved and abuse/neglect or other safety concerns are alleviated
- Participate in the development and implementation of integrated and consistent licensing protocols within the Division of Child Welfare as well as with other divisions and stakeholders, including Administrative Review, Behavioral Health Administration, Office of Behavioral Health, and the Division of Youth Services. Consult as necessary regarding these protocols with county departments of human services and other government agencies, including the Department of Public Health and Environment, the Department of Education, Colorado Department of Public Safety, Department of Regulatory Agencies, Health Care Policy and Finance, Department of Early Childhood, and the Office of Management Improvement. Develop, test, and refine review instruments in order to ensure that the Department's child safety concerns are addressed. Ensure that facility self-assessment tools are developed, treatment standards are detailed in the rule, and integrated (interagency) processes are maintained and enhanced. Provide licensing technical consultation and assistance to all Divisions responsible for out-of-home child placements to develop new rules, statutes, or revise rules to improve county and provider performance and to assure children’s health, safety, and well-being. Initiate Volume 7 rule revisions and updates to reflect current practice and statute changes. Position is relied on to be the expert opinion on how Volume 7 is interpreted and implemented, and when Volume 7 rules need to be modified to reflect changes in evidence-based practices and research publications. Identify when policy or rule revisions to Administration as a result of developing corrective action plans with facilities and agencies in which licensing visits reveal consistent and willful deficiencies
- Evaluate and license programs both for initial and ongoing licensure. Evaluate programs initially to determine the most appropriate license type to serve the populations the provider seeks to support. Thoroughly analyze policies and procedures, behavior management and discipline, staff qualifications, medication administration, and plans for educational, community, and recreational activities, treatment and services to be provided, and site compliance and quality via inspections and interviews. Ensure that facilities meet mandatory requirements of external entities that also oversee facilities: CDPHE, zoning and planning, and fire departments. Conduct reviews at a minimum annually, reviewing staff and youth files to ensure compliance with licensing requirements. Complete reports of inspection to identify rule violations. Ensure agency response and timely correction of violations
- All other duties as assigned by leadership within the Division of Child Welfare
Skills
- Seven (7) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position OR A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to seven (7) years
- Bachelor's degree in Human Services, Social Work, Psychology, or Sociology
- Two (2) or more years of work experience related to human services or licensing
- Demonstrated knowledge of child welfare policies and practices, residential best practice standards, and licensing regulations and statutes
- Experience in an advisory or consultative role
- Proven ability to direct research, analyze, and report on complex issues
- Outstanding skills and abilities in verbal and written communications; ability to adapt a style to fit audiences of varying technical levels, and at various levels within an organization, in groups and individual settings
- Demonstrated ability to establish collaborative partnerships and effective working relationships with a variety of internal and external customers and diverse public and private stakeholders
- Demonstrated proficiency working collaboratively with internal teams; and national, state, and community partners
- Knowledge of Volume 7 Rules and Regulations
- Demonstrated knowledge working in CCCLS, TRAILS, I-LINX, and multiple databases and scanning systems
- Applied Behavior Analysis work with children/youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)
Benefits
- Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans
- Medical and dental health plans
- Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
- Paid life insurance
- Short- and long-term disability coverage
- 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
- State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center
- Employee Wellness program
- Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
- Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
- Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
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