Under the direction of a program area team director, is responsible for managing a designated living area on a 24-hour per day, seven days a week basis.  Supervises all Attendant Counselors assigned to the living area.  Ensures Attendant Counselors train, assist, care for, and participate with Residential Habilitation Center (RHC) clients being served on or off campus, following the clients to locations where training and activities most appropriately occur.  Administers and ensures implementation of the Individual Habilitation Plan (IHP) goals, objectives, and services as assigned.  Ensures clients live in a positive, safe, clean, and reinforcing environment, that the living unit is operated consistent with existing policies and procedures, and that programs assigned by the interdisciplinary team are developed, implemented, and/or maintained by subordinate staff.

OR

Within the Developmental Disabilities Administration State Operated Living Alternative (SOLA), under the direction of a program administrator or program manager, is responsible for managing participant homes on a 24-hour per day, seven days a week basis. Ensures Attendant Counselor 2s (AC2s) provide the daily direct support to promote habilitation, health, safety, protection, and quality of life to clients in their homes and in the community. Develop, implement, and monitor Individual instruction support plan (IISP); Develop, implement, monitor, collect and analyze data for client goal; ensures direct supports are provided in a professional, respectful and dignified manner. Ensures client homes are safe and clean. Ensures Washington Administrative Codes (WAC), the Residential Services Guidelines, policies and procedures, program expectations are followed.

Initiates and/or participates in the hiring, training, counseling, corrective action, and evaluation process of subordinate staff; investigates and takes appropriate action on subordinate and client grievances; processes subordinate employee personnel actions; schedules activities of the living area, including subordinate personnel duty assignments and coordinates individual and group activities of the residents; responsible for maintaining the living unit, residents, staff, and unit records, etc., to meet all ICF/MR, Federal, State and local laws and regulations; 

Ensures AC2s provide the daily direct support to promote and maintain health, safety and cleanliness of the clients’ homes, ensuring proper documentation occurs; identifies, corrects, manages the work performance of subordinate staff to ensure WACs, the Residential Service Guidelines, policies and procedures, program expectations, client plans are adhered to.

Supervises subordinate staff's training of clients in daily living skills, habilitative services and supports, as well as facilitates the implementation of specialized treatment and services; 

Either directly or through assigning the responsibility, ensures that Attendant Counselor staff function as members of the interdisciplinary team, including developing, writing, implementing, monitoring, assessing, revising, modifying, carrying out, and adhering to planned formal (data-based) and informal (non-data based) programs which may include activities of daily living, educational, vocational, therapeutic, or behavioral under the direction of an appropriate specialist;

Supervises and ensures subordinate attendant counselors participate with day training, recreation, psychology, and other personnel in training residents; 

Is trained in and uses sophisticated training techniques designed to teach the clients specified parts of their IHP; ensures that subordinate staff are trained in and use the proper techniques in implementing habilitation, skill acquisition, and behavioral programs; establishes and maintains effective work methods; prioritizes work for staff; ensures that all relevant ICF/MR or certification standards are met on the living unit or provision of client services; 

Provides habilitative services by ensuring that clients are provided support, instruction and assists clients in their own self-care including bathing, dressing, grooming; and household skills including meal preparation, laundry, financial management as specified in the clients’ specified IISP;

Coordinates and oversees clients health and medical care; ensures clients receive the care and specialized treatment services including prescribed exercises, administration of specialized equipment, modified diets, medication management and nurse delegated task; 

Reviews and responds to subordinate staff's observations and documentations, and any reports of changes in client's general physical or mental condition or unusual behavior; takes appropriate action to provide client safety, security, and protection from abuse and neglect; 

Under the direction of the Director, program administrator, or program manager, completes auditing functions of health, safety, IMR, and certification compliance; 

Observes and evaluates work performance of Attendant Counselors; works other shifts including weekends on a routine basis to ensure uniform services and performances; provides clear direction to subordinate staff; 

Responsible for assuring that the residential living unit or clients’ home is maintained in an organized clean and safe condition and provides a positive reinforcing environment; 

Communicates directly and/or ensures subordinate staff communicates appropriately with client's relatives/guardians on information on policies and procedures; 

Performs other related work as required.

Knowledge of: principles and techniques of behavior management and skill acquisition; philosophy of interdisciplinary team process and procedure of individual habilitation planning, habilitative services, support and instruction, principles and techniques of behavior management and team process and procedures for individual IISP planning and implementation; fundamental expressive and receptive communication skills including but not limited to a proficiency in reading, writing, and verbal discourse, as established by agency policy and procedures, State statute and Federal standards. 

Ability to: supervise and train subordinate staff assigned to a living area or working in clients’ homes, providing coverage on a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week basis, utilize professional and specialized skills; evaluate and apply established procedures and techniques for those portions of the Individual Habilitation Plan or Individual Instruction Support Plan they are responsible for in accordance with this job specification; carry out assigned responsibilities.

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.

In a State Operated Living Alternative (SOLA), minimally staff is required to obtain and maintain the nursing assistant registered (NAR), ne able to perform tasks under nurse delegation, complete and clear fingerprint based background check, successfully complete seventy-five hours of Long Term Care Worker (LTCW) training, and twelve hours of annual continuing education units (CEU) required for LTCWs.

Meets professional qualifications for Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP) (See Addendum) and one year of experience working directly with persons with intellectual disabilities.

OR

High school graduation or GED and four years of experience working with people with developmental disabilities. 

OR

High school graduation or GED and four years of experience as an Attendant Counselor 1, equivalent or higher level state class 

ADDENDUM 

The requirements for a Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP) as is included in the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 42, Subpart D, Section 483.430, are as follows: 

1. A doctor of medicine or osteopathy;
2. A registered nurse;
3. An individual who holds at least a Bachelor's degree in any of the following:

• Occupational Therapy,
• Physical Therapy,
• Psychology,
• Social Work,
• Speech,
• Audiology,
• Recreation and related fields, or
• The Human Services (as defined at 438.430 (b) (5) (x)), includes but is not limited to: sociology, special education, rehabilitation counseling, and psychology.

A degree in Social Work must be from an educational program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

Attendant Counselor 4A
Revised February 1, 1969 Revises minimum qualifications
Revised July 1, 1981 (approved March 12, 1981) Revises definition and minimum qualifications, adds distinguishing characteristics
Revised October 1, 1982 (approved July 14, 1982) Revises minimum qualifications, deletes distinguishing characteristics, an title change (formerly Attendant Counselor 4A)
Revised May 28, 1986 Revises definition
Revised January 11, 1990 (effective April 1, 1990) Revises definition
Revised February 8, 1990 (effective July 1, 1990) Revises definition, minimum qualifications, general revision, and title change (formerly Attendant Counselor 4)
Revised July 13, 1990 (emergency basis June 14, 1990) Revises minimum qualifications
New class code: (formerly 56840) effective July 1, 2007

Attendant Counselor 4B
New class (approved March 12, 1981) Effective July 1, 1981
Revised November 13, 1981 Revises distinguishing characteristics
Revised (approved July 14, 1982) October 1, 1982 Abolishment
Revised definition, typical work, desirable qualifications; Adopted June 30,2017; Effective July 1, 2017.