Captain - JDC

Job Responsibilities

• Engages with youth throughout the day to ensure the safety, security, rehabilitation, and well-being of youth.
• Ensures frequent and helpful communication with youth throughout the day.
• Physically responds appropriately to emergency situations.
• Conducts routine and unannounced security inspections per agency policy.
• Conducts routine and unannounced frisk searches of the youth after all youth movement.
• Ensures that each youth has their basic needs met.
• Remains knowledgeable and informed of the security status of all youth assigned.
• Develops, directs, and implements an inspection program to detect and correct deficiencies according to policy in a secured facility to include safety, sanitation and maintenance needs in the assigned facility.
• Makes unscheduled and unannounced inspections to determine if staff are properly performing assigned duties of custody, supervision, and security.
• Ensures proper control of all security keys and security equipment; to include but not limited to radios, handcuffs, leg irons, vehicles, keys, etc.
• Responds to and handles situations of concern to include making notifications, giving directions, responding in person and by phone, mediating conflict and ensuring safety.
• Affixes to the creation of facility schedule and ensures staff and youth adhere to facility schedule.
• Ensures proper staffing to youth ratios facility wide.
• Evaluates staff's performance, instructs and counsels staff on required performance standards and when necessary, initiates/supervises/administers appropriate corrective or disciplinary actions for violations of laws, rules, regulations, policies and standard operating procedures.
• With assistance from the training department, ensures all staff are current on all required trainings and certifications. Includes collaborating with leadership on other shifts and facilities to allow staff to be released from coverage to attend training.
• Directs responses and responds to youth expressed problems, grievances and complaints and, when necessary, refers them to appropriate staff members for assistance or necessary actions.
• Mediates disputes between youth and JCOs.
• Evaluates and prepares annual EPMS planning stages and reviews of supervised staff are prepared and submitted to the Office of Human Resources (OHR) in accordance with OHR standards.
• Attends team members meetings to discuss youth issues, treatment, and security and participates with employee recognition selection committee.
• Ensures that all assigned officers are informed about youth who require special supervision or pose a threat to the security and safety in the assigned facility.
• Oversees facility operations by supervising formal/informal headcounts, supervising unscheduled and/or scheduled shakedowns, attending random security briefings, supervising agency and PREA standards, and other security related duties when required by the supervisor, division or agency.
• Serves on various institutional committees and serves as a member of treatment staffing team and local team meetings.
• Participates and conducts interviews of applicants seeking employment as new security staff or seeking a promotion.
• Performs other duties and tasks as assigned by a supervisor to further support the agency's mission and values.

Minimum And Additional Requirements

• A high school diploma and relevant supervisory experience.
• A bachelor's degree in a human services or criminal justice field may substitute for the required supervisory experience.
• Substantial knowledge of state law secured facility rules, regulations, requirements for youth control, and compliance with SC Child Abuse Statutes.
• Substantial knowledge of the purpose, methods, and operational practices of DJJ facilities.
• Substantial knowledge of various methods of instructing/handling/supervising youth in various activities.
• Ability to exercise good judgment/initiative in a variety of situations.
• Ability to build healthy relationships with youth and effectively communicate with them in order to promote respect and trust with them and manage challenging behaviors in a mature and professional way and in accordance with training.
• Lead and develop new officers' ability to complete required reports to include daily ERS Reports.
• Ability to establish working relationships with employees.
• Ability to maintain a valid state driver's license, and ability to operate a state vehicle.

Essential Position

• Performs work within a secure facility relating to the custody, control and transportation or recapture of youth within the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
• Position is not sedentary; employees must be mobile and able to bend and lift, interact, and intervene with youth when applicable.
• Must be able to respond physically to emergency situations including physically intervening and/or restraining youth according to agency policy.
• Required to work shift hours (day, evening, night, weekend, &/or holidays) and be subject to mandatory overtime stay as needed by the facility.