About US- At Cogent Infotech, we believe in creating opportunities that empower individuals and transform organizations. With over 21 years of excellence in consulting and talent solutions, we pride ourselves on building inclusive workplaces and driving innovation in everything we do. Our diverse teams bring unique perspectives to help deliver cutting-edge solutions to global clients across both public and private sectors. Titles: Social Worker Duration: Contract Location: Brooktondale, NY (14817) Shift Timings: Monday –Friday (usual business hours) Pay: USD 27/hr – USD 30/hr Position summary: This role involves supervising and supporting court-placed youth (ages 12–20) residing in OCFS secure and non-secure facilities. The Youth Support Specialist (YSS) ensures a safe, structured, and therapeutic environment through active supervision, conflict resolution, and mentorship. The position emphasizes teamwork, cultural competency, and helping youth develop emotional regulation, life skills, and readiness for community reintegration. Key Responsibilities: + Actively participate as a member of a youth’s support team. + Employ graduated harm reduction strategies while supervising youth. This includes correcting, and in some cases, verbally or physically intervening when a youth displays unsafe behaviours toward themselves or other youth and staff. + Assist youth in achieving education, work readiness, and community transition goals. + Supervise and monitor youth, which, depending on a youth’s clinical needs, may include 1-to-1 supervision. + Training Requirements Attend a 2-week Juvenile Justice Basic Training orientation, be proficient in OCFS approved physical skills and youth restraint techniques (given two times a year for eight hours total), take NYS employee mandated annual trainings, and other annual training refreshers. + Establish a relationship of professionalism, confidence, safety, and trust with youth and other staff from different racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, physical ability, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) and/or socio-economic backgrounds. Skills: + Knowledge required: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowertPoint) and database management. + Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communications skills Qualification: 2 years full-time direct care experience in the care and programming of youth from ages 6-21; OR a Bachelor’s degree; OR an Associate’s degree AND six months experience; OR a high school graduation or equivalency diploma AND one year of experience* OR a satisfactory equivalent combination of the above education and experience requirements Application Process Resume Review Initial discussion Video Screening Client Interview Cogent Infotech is a leading tech consulting firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, offering cutting-edge digital transformation solutions in Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and AI. ISO-certified and CMMI Level 3 appraised, we proudly partner with 70+ Fortune 500 companies and 150+ government agencies. Cogent is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on any protected status under applicable law.