Programming Services Assistant, UMAN SERVICES PROGRAM SPECIALIST - 67072375 APD/ DDDP CHATTAHOOCHEE,

Requisition No: 883640 

Agency: Agency for Persons with Disabilities

Working Title: Programming Services Assistant, UMAN SERVICES PROGRAM SPECIALIST - 67072375 APD/ DDDP CHATTAHOOCHEE,

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 67072375 

Salary:  $1,475.96- $1,830.41 Biweekly. Pay will be determined based on skills/experience for position. 

Posting Closing Date: 09/21/2026 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

AGENCY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

 POSITION: Programming Services Assistant

Human Services Program Specialist- Career Service

Location: Chattahoochee, Florida

POSITION NUMBER: 67072375

OPEN COMPETITIVE OPPORTUNITY

SALARY RANGE: $1,475.96- $1,830.41 Biweekly. Pay will be determined based on skills/experience for position. 

Position Summary

• Coordinate programming services master schedules.
• Coordinate and conduct routine inventories ensuring all supplies for Programming Services are documented and accounted for. Order, restock, and maintain supplies in accordance with departmental and budget needs.
• Assist with research & development of core curriculum and activities designed to complement and reinforce competency training, therapeutic services, and recreational services.
• Ensure residents are engaged in structured and planned activities to reinforce training curriculum, minimize behaviors, and increase resident satisfaction.
• Serve as the lead employee to organize, manage, and direct leisure and recreational activities, special activities, and events for residents. This includes but is not limited to creating, planning, and implementing an annual event calendar, updating class rosters weekly, updating Resident schedule changes when needed, ordering supplies for events, and communicating with appropriate staff (Security, Managers, Administration, etc.) regarding events.
• Work in partnership with direct care and other professional staff to ensure that respective leisure and educational opportunities are timely and effectively deployed and properly staffed.
• Consult with the Operations Manager to resolve any conflicts or needs within the Programming Services Department.
• Maintain comprehensive records and data collection systems associated with Rehab, Trial Comp, or recreational programs, tracking number of residents served in each class, hours of offered classes, hours attended each day, behavioral data, etc., and provide a monthly report to supervisor.
• Serve as the designated Rehab representative for all meetings including Support Team meetings (admission, 30-day, 6-month, annual, etc.) by reporting provided progress or lack thereof, rehabilitation assessments, referrals, scheduling, discharge summaries, and support plans.
• Ensure there is adequate coverage for rehab classes by identifying coverage issues, coordinating with other departments to ensure coverage for classes, activities, and other events. Provide coverage for Rehab and recreation classes when necessary.
• Based on the duties and essential functions of this position, incumbents will perform duties that involve direct contact with residents in a secure forensic facility. 

Minimum Qualifications

• A valid driver’s license. License suspended or revoked for any reason, work permits (Business purpose/ Employment/Education only license) and some types of restricted license are not acceptable. Licenses that have “Corrective Lenses Restricted,” are acceptable, provided the driver wears the corrective lenses while operating the vehicle.

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a focus on one of the behavioral, rehabilitative, or social sciences, allied health, education, music therapy, music education or music, special education, leisure studies with course work in therapeutic recreation, or horticulture therapy and one year of professional or nonprofessional experience with individuals with disabilities.  

OR

• At least five years of professional or nonprofessional experience related to the position summary described above may substitute for the college education.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Knowledge of recreational, educational, and therapeutic programming principles.
• Knowledge of program coordination and scheduling principles.
• Knowledge of basic curriculum and activity development principles.
• Knowledge of inventory control and supply management practices.
• Skill in planning, organizing, and coordinating multiple programs, activities, and special events simultaneously.
• Ability to plan and conduct rehabilitation therapy programs
• Ability to identify scheduling, staffing, programming, and resource conflicts and develop appropriate solutions.
• Ability to participate effectively in interdisciplinary team meetings
• Ability to use standard computer applications and electronic recordkeeping systems to maintain schedules, rosters, inventories, reports, correspondence, and program data.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others using effective communication.

MANDT at the Advanced level is required unless the incumbent requests reasonable accommodation supported by an annual medical certification. Incumbent is required to submit to pre-employment TB screening and on an annual on-going basis as prescribed by DDDP.

Maintain confidentiality of employee and/or resident information. This specific standard is mission critical as the Agency is entrusted with information about employees and residents which is protected by HIPAA and other federal and state laws. The Agency’s ability to maintain and protect confidential information has a direct relationship to our ability to gain and sustain the public’s trust.

The Benefits of Working for the State of Florida

Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s total compensation package for eligible employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits, including:

• Annual and Sick Leave benefits.
• Nine paid holidays and one Personal Holiday each year.
• State Group Insurance coverage options, including health, life, dental, vision, and other supplemental insurance options.
• Retirement plan options, including employer contributions (For more information, please click www.myfrs.com).
• Flexible Spending Accounts.
• Tuition waivers.
• And more! For a more complete list of benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.
• Paid Maternity and Parental Leave.

• https://compcalculator.myflorida.com/

The Agency seeks team members who demonstrate the qualities of being humble, hungry, and smart and lead others to embody the same. This entails lacking excessive ego, sharing credit, being self-motivated, and exercising good judgment and intuition regarding the subtleties of group dynamics. 

This position with APD will serve staff and management across the Agency. Your work will impact the workplace culture, our community, and the population we serve as we continuously strive to achieve the Agency’s mission.

Program Overview

The Developmental Disabilities Defendant Program (DDDP) operates on the campus of Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee and at Sunland in Marianna under the auspices of The State of Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD). DDDP is a forensic facility working with individuals with disabilities in a secure setting. These individuals have been adjudicated by the courts as incompetent to proceed to trial and have significant behavioral and psychiatric issues. DDDP provides rehabilitative, vocational, and daily living skills training to the individuals served which allows for a smooth transition back into a non-secure residential or community setting. DDDP is dedicated to empowering people with developmental disabilities charged with a felony crime to:

1. Acquire the skills and supports that will prepare them for success in their future environments
   
   
2. Acquire the skills needed to become competent to stand trial.

Recruiting Contact:      

Jodi NeSmith      

Recruitment Manager- Developmental Disabilities Defendant Program & Pathways  

Agency for Persons with Disabilities      

Telephone: (850) 793-7075

Email: jodi.nesmith@apdcares.org

Profile Completion

Applicants must complete all fields in the Candidate Profile, including their work history within the month and year, to qualify for this position. 

Responses to Qualifying Questions must be verifiable in the Candidate Profile, and “see resume” will not be considered an acceptable response.

Resumes and other documentation can be attached to provide additional information, but this will not replace the required completed Candidate Profile.

Retiree Notice

If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you will be required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.

Direct Deposit Program

As a condition of employment, a person appointed to a position in the State Personnel System is required to participate in the Direct Deposit Program.  Rather than receiving a paper paycheck, your funds will be deposited directly into your account at your financial institution. This will be accomplished by Electronic Funds Transfer. Banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions are eligible to accept such deposits. Retirement funds are also required to be in the Direct Deposit Program.

Background Screening Requirement

It is the policy of the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities that applicants for employment undergo Level 2 employment screening in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, Florida Statutes, as a condition of employment or being permitted to serve as a volunteer.

No applicant for a designated position will be employed or permitted to volunteer until the Level 2 screening results are received, reviewed, and approved by the Agency.
Level 2 background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for Statewide criminal and juvenile records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Federal criminal records checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and may include local criminal records checks through local law enforcement agencies.

Pursuant to S. 110.1127(1), Florida Statutes, this position requires a background investigation, including fingerprinting.

APD only hires U.S. citizens, and those lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. APD participates in the U.S. government’s employment eligibility verification program (E-verify). E-verify is a program that electronically confirms an employee’s eligibility to work in the U.S. after completing the employment eligibility verification form (I-9).

All applicants should complete the online application process.  If assistance is needed to apply for this position, please call the people first service center at 1-877-562-7287. 

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.  Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.  Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.  Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code.  Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here.  All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.