Department Information

About the Division of Youth Services: The Division of Youth Services (DYS) provides a continuum of residential and non-residential services that encompass juvenile detention, commitment and parole. DYS is the agency statutorily mandated to provide for the care and supervision of youth committed by the District Court to the custody of the Colorado Department of Human Services. The Division operates ten secure facilities that serve youth between the ages of 10 and 21, who are pre-adjudicated, sentenced, or committed. The Division also contracts with numerous private residential and non-residential service providers throughout the State. For pre-adjudicated youth, the Division is also responsible for the management and oversight of Senate Bill 91-94; a State-funded, locally administered program that provides services to youth at risk of further progressing into the juvenile justice system. In addition to residential programming, the Division administers juvenile parole services throughout the State.

Division of Youth Services Vision: Achieving Youth Success and Safer Colorado Communities.

Division of Youth Services Mission: It is the mission of the Division of Youth Services to protect, restore and improve public safety utilizing a continuum of care that provides effective supervision, promotes accountability to victims and communities, and helps youth lead constructive lives through positive youth development.

Division of Youth Services Strategic Goal: The Division will operate safe, healthy trauma-responsive organizational environments as demonstrated through prosocial, non-violent interactions between staff and youth, youth and youth and staff and staff.

We invite you to explore the DYS website and learn about the services provided to youth, families, and local communities in the State of Colorado at: https://www.colorado.gov/cdhs/dys

Description of Job

Specific Duties Include:

Meal Preparation and Service

• Prepare food properly ensuring correct temperatures are maintained, presentation is attractive and meals are appetizing.
• Follows menus and recipes
• Ensures the youth follow menus and recipes that comply with the National School Lunch Program (NSL), School Breakfast Program (BP) and DYS policies and procedures.
• Make appropriate substitutions that are in-line with NSL/BP guidelines.
• Enter data into production worksheets.
• Prepare, serve, and clean after meal services with the assistance of youth enrolled in the vocational program.

Sanitation

• Ensures that proper sanitation procedures are followed according to guidelines. Verify compliance by recording and documenting results.
• Ensures that food services equipment and physical plant of kitchen are cleaned on a regular basis.
• Controls times and temperatures of food to prevent food borne illness.
• Documents, as indicated by facility procedures, all necessary data relevant to daily kitchen operations and the prevention of food-borne illnesses in accordance with DYS Policy 10.7.
• Ensures storerooms are free of debris, organized, and are in compliance with state health regulations, DYS Policy, facility-specific procedures, and state audit standards.

Safety and Security

• Anticipates and identifies potential safety and security problems and reports problems to the food service manager.
• Provides oversight, supervision, intervention, and evaluation of youth to assure the safety and security of property and staff.
• Ensures that food service equipment is properly utilized.
• Enforces safety policies and practices to reduce or prevent slips, trips, falls, burns, etc.
• Inventory sharps, tools, and utensils according to facility policy and procedures to ensure safety.
• Follows facility key policy and procedures to ensure doors are kept locked.
• Correctly notifies appropriate parties in the event of equipment failure and forwards the appropriate details to the supervisor (to include work order number, date and time of malfunction, and parties notified).
• Ensures that chemicals are stored and used properly.
• Trains youth on fire prevention and evacuation procedures.

Supervise Youth

• Supervisory responsibility for youth participating in a food services work program and has supervisory responsibility for youth offenders.
• Assigning and evaluating work, handling informal grievances, initiating corrective and disciplinary actions, and participating in the hiring and firing of the offenders.
• Providing the direct care, safety, security and supervision of adjudicated and/or pre-adjudicated youth in a locked setting to include the kitchen on-site. Supervision for safety is a function of appropriate staff location, mobility and continual observation of youth.
• Enforce established security rules and behavior of youth, orient youth to the unit/facility and agency rules and routines, and, intervene early in potentially or actively volatile situations. Provide immediate intervention in crisis situations.
• Employ sound judgment and emotional control when evaluating possible crisis in a timely manner taking into consideration the physical and mental well-being of all juveniles and staff.
• Participate in defusing and debriefing of all incidents pursuant to prevailing DYS Policy.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications listed below to continue in the selection process for this position. Work experience must be specifically documented on your application. Do not use "see resume" or "see attached" statements on your application.

Education: High school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED)

AND

Experience: Four (4) years of food service experience including, but not limited to: cooking, prepping, serving, hosting, delivering, cashiering, etc. and/or experience supervising youth and performing duties such as those described for this position.

Substitution: Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience supervising youth in a work study or culinary arts program within a residential child care institution
• Proficient in Word and Excel
• Supervisory experience

Conditions of Employment:

• Must possess and maintain a valid Colorado driver's license
• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Ability to work on-call to cover during employee call outs
• May be required to work breakfast, lunch, dinner shift
• May be required to handle hazardous material (cleaning agents used in the kitchen)
• May require floating to other DYS Facilities to help with coverage, travel to meetings and trainings.
• Continued employment is contingent upon successful completion of the DYS Pre-service Training Academy, Field Training Program and mandatory annual training.
• Must pass a Colorado Bureau of Investigations and Federal Bureau of Investigations background check. Included in the background check is a current and/or previous employer check. Your current and/or previous employers within the past 10 years must be listed on your job application (most recent in descending order), even if the job or duties are unrelated to the position for which you are applying. Incomplete employer information or omission of former employers may result in a disqualification of your application.
• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position. Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.
• On or after October 31, 2021, each facility shall ensure all newly hired employees or support staff members are fully vaccinated at the time of hire or receive their first dose of a two-dose protocol, or a single-dose vaccination, prior to providing any care, treatment, or other services for the facility and/or its clients.
  
• Employees will be required to attest to and verify whether or not they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Employees who have not been fully vaccinated may be required to submit to serial testing in the future. Upon hire, new employees will have three (3) business days to provide attestation to their status with proof of vaccination. Vaccinated employees must provide proof of first dose prior to providing care.
  
• Note: Fully Vaccinated means two (2) weeks after a second dose in a two-dose series of the COVID-19 vaccine, such as the Pfizer, Moderna or Novavax vaccine, or two (2) weeks after the single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
• Religious and medical exemptions and reasonable accommodation shall be addressed as required by law pursuant to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s vaccination guidance. If you would like to request a medical or religious exemption, please contact CDHS_HumanResources@state.co.us

Supplemental Information

For additional recruiting questions, please contact erin.schwaba@state.co.us

Our Values:
We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans .

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

ADAA Accommodations: CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791.

~THE STATE OF COLORADO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER~

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