State of Maryland

A Human Service Associate I is the entry level of client aide work using therapeutic skills to teach clients to change their behavior in order to care for themselves or to prevent abuse or neglect of a child or adult dependent.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive moderate supervision from a program professional.  Employees in this class may be required to work nights, weekends, holidays, or work hours which may vary from the normal work week.  Work is performed in the client's home and community.  Employees may work in teams.  Work requires lifting and moving clients.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Human Service Associate I and the Human Service Associate II are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervision exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Human Service Associate I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Human Service Associate II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision. 

Encourages clients to participate in and make use of supportive activities and community resources such as: Parents Anonymous, community mental health center groups, and day care;

Assists clients to identify and resolve problems with landlords, schools, clinics, and others;

Teaches clients the skills needed for daily living such as, but not limited to: developing a schedule for managing a household or caring for dependents, behavior management techniques, interpersonal relationship skills, budgeting, comparison shopping, meal planning, personal hygiene, and household maintenance;

Develops positive relationships with clients in order to encourage acceptance of the aide service plan and to contribute to the client's physical and emotional health;

Contributes, as a member of the treatment team, to the identification of resources and activities needed to carry out the client's treatment plan;

Prepares reports for the supervisor concerning the client's behavioral development, physical condition, social and physical environment, and services provided in order to assist the treatment team in developing, monitoring, and modifying the client's treatment plan;

Assists physically disabled clients to attend to their personal needs including, but not limited to: dressing, bathing, feeding, grooming, using the bedpan, urinal, or commode;

Transports clients to receive medical and community services;

Assists clients in maintaining a place of residence by performing household tasks such as, but not limited to: housekeeping, laundry, shopping, planning and preparing nutritional meals according to physician's instructions;

Manages the household and provides care for children and adult dependents in their homes when the caregiver is temporarily absent or hospitalized;

Teaches caregivers how to dress, bathe, and care for dependents;

May take vital signs to monitor client's health and determine if medical attention is required;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of business English;

Knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division;

Knowledge of community health and welfare resources and application procedures;

Knowledge of home management and personal care procedures;

Knowledge of normal and abnormal behavior;

Knowledge of social, physical, and psychological needs of infants, children, adolescents, and adults;

Knowledge of vital signs and symptoms which indicate the need for medical attention;

Knowledge of child care and disciplinary techniques;

Knowledge of causes and treatment of child and adult abuse or neglect;

Ability to lift and move clients;

Ability to initiate, develop, and maintain emotionally‑supportive relationships with adults and children who have physical, social, emotional, or interpersonal problems;

Ability to observe clients and document those operations;

Ability to communicate effectively with Social Workers, Nurses, and other treatment team members;

Ability to participate in the rehabilitation of clients which may include reinforcing various therapies such as behavioral, physical, occupational, and recreational;

Ability to deal with stressful situations;

Ability to understand and follow complex laws, regulations, instructions, and guidelines regarding abuse and neglect;

Ability to do routine and other housekeeping work;

Ability to teach care giving, home management, and problem solving skills.

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Three years of experience providing care for children or adult dependents in the home or teaching practical living and care giving skills to clients. One year of the experience must have included teaching clients to perform personal care and housekeeping skills.

Note: These requirements are established by the Social Services Administration by authority provided in Human Services Article, Title 4 Social Services, Subtitle 3 of the Annotated Code of Maryland.  The Department of Budget and Management does not have authority to accept substitutions or equivalents.

1. Employees in this classification must be able to lift clients, wheelchairs, or other weight.  Applicants will be given a medical examination and may be required demonstrate their ability to perform the manual work required of the position prior to appointment.

2. Employees in this classification may be required to have access to and use of an automobile in order to transport clients.  Standard mileage allowance will be paid for use of a privately-owned vehicle.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit D, Health and Human Service Nonprofessionals classes.  As provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series. NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.