Respite Support Worker

POSITION TYPE: Fixed-term Full-time (37.5 hours/week)

POSTING CLOSING DATE: October 23, 2026

SALARY RANGE: $56,800- $71,000

Interested in working with an amazing team that really cares? Then you should join Lumenus! At Lumenus we illuminate a seamless pathway to optimal wellbeing for our clients. As one of the largest mental health agencies in Ontario, we offer a broad range of high-quality mental health, developmental and community services for infants, children, youth, individuals, and families across Toronto. We are a passionate, dynamic and growing agency. We offer a competitive salary, employer paid benefits, ongoing training, and career development opportunities!

Lumenus Community Services is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We value a recruitment and selection process that is inclusive and barrier-free and we encourage applications from all individuals including, but not limited to, all cultures, religions, racialized communities, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities and expressions.

Lumenus Community Services is looking to hire Respite Support Workers as part of its Urgent Response Service team. This team will support children and youth with autism and their families with an identified urgent need to prevent further escalation of risk or harm to a child or youth, other people or property based on the identification of key high-risk factors.

The Respite Support Worker staff works directly with children and /or youth with significant needs and challenges affecting social, emotional, behavioral, communicative and/or developmental functioning. This role applies evidence informed interventions, which are outcome driven, rooted in program goals and informed by client goals. Respite Support Worker staff have skills in developing strong, positive, reinforcing relationships with clients. They provide direct care, coaching, instruction, direction and redirection for a range of daily challenges and problems within the home, community or center-based setting.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Supports the generalization and maintenance of therapeutic interventions based on the intention of the program and the needs of the client
• Provides a validating environment that is warmly accepting and nurturing for a diverse group of clients with varying levels of need
• Assesses client skills/ abilities interests, strengths and needs
• Support Children, youth with ASD and complex needs with recreational and individualized goals
• Generalize evidence informed interventions to address needs as part of program expectations
• Manages challenging behaviour through interventions guided by standardized training (SMG or NVCPI)
• Assesses individual clients’ skills, abilities, interests, strengths and needs through daily observations and tracking information through anecdotal notes, checklists and visual documentation of clients’ progress
• Facilitates daily planning of program operations and participates fully in daily activities, some of which may consist of physical activity
• Maintains and supervises a safe environment
• Participates in the daily planning in the programming for the structured setting (in home or community)
• Supports team members in program coverage during their scheduled breaks
• Engage clients in recreational activities (where age appropriate) and or physical activity as part of program
• Ensure adequate materials are available and ready for use with each shift
• Participates in program planning and ensuring safe coverage for the program
• Intervenes using nonviolent crisis prevention and invention strategies to manage aggressive behavior

QUALIFICATIONS:

• College Diploma in ECE, CYC, SSW, DSW or equivalent with experience in supporting children/ youth with ASD in community and home settings (e.g. Live in care, classroom etc.)
• Understanding of Behaviour and principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis
• Program goals incorporate the agency’s initiatives to address anti-black racism and employees use an anti-oppression and equity lens in working with each other and with clients and their caregivers/parents
• A strengths-based, anti-racism/anti-oppression philosophy of service provision and a belief in the resilience and self-determination of clients and their families
• Knowledge of the social service systems and ASD in the GTA

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to provide physical intervention with clients on an ongoing basis
• Engage in physical activities with clients
• Involved in the direct care with clients, which could include toileting, dressing, feeding/eating
• Dealing with challenging client behaviours

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Satisfactory clearance under the Vulnerable Sector Screening process
• Availability to work evenings and weekends
• Access to reliable transportation to travel to various work sites within the GTA

We ask applicants to make any accommodation requests for the interview or selection process known in advance by contacting the Human Resources Department. Human Resources will work together with the hiring committee to arrange reasonable and appropriate accommodation for the selection process which will enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner.