Youth Care Professional
Nexus Family Healing·Onarga, Illinois
Nexus Family Healing·Onarga, Illinois
Provide reliable support and guidance to youth in a residential setting using trauma-informed practices to maintain a safe environment. Responsibilities include mentoring clients in daily living skills, administering medications, and facilitating therapeutic programming.
Description Nexus Family Healing at Onarga is hiring temporary Youth Care Professionals for our Onarga, IL location!
Nexus Family Healing is located approximately 30 miles south of Kankakee and 45 miles north of Champaign-Urbana, just a few miles off of I-57 on a historic site in Onarga, IL. Nexus provides boys ages 10 to 20 years old a structured, homelike environment where they can safely address a variety of unhealthy behaviors and mental health issues as well as childhood trauma.
At Nexus Family Healing, we embrace diversity, promote equity, and foster inclusion. As a national mental health organization, we serve a diverse group of youth and families, and we strive for our workforce to support and represent that diversity.
Daily Youth Care Support Acts as a mentor and role model by showing compassion, empathy, and respectful communication with staff and clients. Plans and participates in creating daily scheduling, activities, treatment planning, guidance plans, and safety protocols. Coaches, clients in daily living skills, including hygiene, grooming, upkeep of living areas and laundry. Treatment Planning & Protocol Accurately administers medications and ensures compliant, precise documentation. Provides therapeutic support within treatment guidelines while maintaining healthy boundaries with clients and families. Facilitates or co-facilitates educational groups that support treatment plan goals, and therapeutic programming. Client & Family Reinforcement Leads and supervises off-campus client activities, assisting with client transportation for visits, appointments, and events. Creates a safe, supportive space while promoting accountability and encouraging clients’ social and emotional growth. Applies trauma-informed care and restorative practices to support accountability with clients and staff. Client Safety & Agency Policy & Procedures Ensures safety compliance across living areas, campus grounds, and off-campus activities. Performs First Aid/CPR procedures and responds according to established protocols in the event of an emergency. Stays calm and uses effective de-escalation techniques aligned with crisis management training. Agency and Team Collaboration Maintains positive team collaboration and actively participates in meetings, advocating for client and family needs. Assumes responsibility for managing the milieu in the absence of leadership, as needed. Participates in the onboarding, training and development and assumes mentorship role for new staff.
Required Education and Licensure: Minimum 21 years of age High School diploma or GED is required. Valid driver’s license required. Must meet state regulating agency and Home Office driving requirements. Must successfully pass a DCFS criminal background check. Must be open to meeting the cultural needs of individuals or communities, considering factors such as language, traditions, and values. Work Environment: Must be able to lift to 50 pounds unassisted and up to 100+ pounds with assistance. Must be able to stand and walk for extended periods of time (2-4 hours). Must be able to twist, bend and stretch in a manner conducive to the execution of daily activities within the residential program. Must be able to assist in proper restraining of client. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as desktop and/or laptop computers, photocopiers, and smartphones. At Nexus Family Healing, our voices and actions are focused on recognizing, affirming and respecting people of every race, ethnic background, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender expression and faith. Our ICARE Values: Innovation: Leading the way and implementing creative, cutting-edge ideas and approaches Compassion: Listening, honoring differences, and showing respect, kindness, empathy care, and concern Agility: Exhibiting flexibility and adapting quickly Responsiveness: Being quick, positive, and accurate Excellence: Demonstrating quality results that surpass ordinary standards APPLY TODAY TO BE CONTACTED BY OUR RECRUITING TEAM! When you work at Nexus, you have the opportunity to change lives — including your own!
Market context
Youth care professionals in Illinois are often needed in residential, behavioral health, and child welfare settings, where staffing depends on reliable coverage and compliance with state and agency requirements. This role is competitive because employers look for candidates who are at least 21, have a high school diploma or GED, a valid driver’s license, physical readiness, and a clear DCFS background check. Before applying, confirm you can meet the lifting and screening requirements, and note that the job requirements and benefits here are AI-summarized from the original posting to save research time.
