Direct Care Worker

Mary Lee Foundation is looking for Direct Support Professionals to provide person-centered care tailored to meet the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. You'll make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities while receiving a great opportunity for professional growth.

Some things you will find yourself doing in this position :

• Assisting clients with daily personal tasks, including bathing and dressing
• Completing housekeeping tasks such as vacuuming, washing dishes and tidying
• Helping plan client appointments and organize a schedule
• Organizing with transportation arrangements to appointments
• Shopping for groceries and preparing meals that meet specific client dietary needs
• Encouraging client engagement in social networks and communities

Competitive Benefits :

Requirements :

1. Why you might love this job

Caregiving is the job for you if you want to make a real difference in people’s lives during a difficult time. You’ll build relationships with your clients, their families as you work in their home, and your coworkers as you spend more time providing care and communicating your client’s condition with other members of your client’s care team (e.g., nurses, doctors, etc.) Over time, you’ll learn what clients you work best with, where you prefer to work (home vs. facility), and your work hours. As you share them with our team in the office, we’ll match you with shifts that best match your preferences.

2. Why you might hate this job

You will be responsible for the health, safety, and happiness of your client, which is a big deal. There will be days when you may have to accept a last-minute shift that is far from your home, or with a client who isn’t feeling good and happy. Family members often care deeply about the care we provide and can have their own ideas for what that care should look like, and that can lead to pressure and stress for you. We (in the office) get stressed out too, and may not be able to explain everything, every time. You’ll need to work both independently and with other team members (like the nurse, the shift scheduler), which may be frustrating at times.

3. What a regular day looks like

Depending on your client’s specific health condition, you can expect to bathe, feed, and dress them every time you visit. You’ll learn your client’s preferences and quirks and possibly know them better than their own family members. For some clients, your day might include taking them on activities and driving them to doctors’ appointments, go grocery shopping or run errands. As part of your shift, we’ll also ask you to keep track and write down how your client is doing. You have to let us know if any significant changes are happening with the client’s health and life situation.

4. What we need in order to interview you

Because of the clients we serve, we require at least a high school education and 1 year of experience as a caregiver. We’ll ask for three references from people who have worked with you, and can speak to your abilities. Please have these references handy so we can spend more time getting to know you, and less time chasing down documents / references.

Because we are a DADS-regulated facility we will also need you to have a clean background free of convictions which would bar your employment per Health and Safety Code Ch. 250 (mostly offenses involving exploitation, neglect, and abuse of another person).

5. What would make you stand out to our team

We hired a variety of caregivers who are all motivated by the desire to take care of our clients and do the best job they can for them. What this means is we will help you come prepared. Prepared caregivers have their documents, references, and schedules ready to go. We value both your time and ours and want to make sure you get an answer from us as soon as possible. We look forward to learning more about you and possibly welcoming you to the team!

About Us :

Mary Lee Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing diverse services and housing to adults with various types of disabilities. Founded in 1963 by Charlene Crump, Mary Lee Foundation inspires and involves persons with disabilities through programs, advocacy, and education. Today, the Mary Lee Foundation is as strong as ever, continually adding or expanding new programs and services, and expanding our reach to the disabled across our nation. We are a community of people from all walks of life with the passion to help the less fortunate and to provide care and compassion to all we serve.

We are located at 1339 Lamar Square on South Lamar in Austin Tx.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, veteran status, sex or age or any other legally protected status.