Children’s Mental Health Support Worker – Pod Lead
Fresh Coast Counseling | Kenosha, Wisconsin
Part-Time | $20.00 - $25.00 per hour
Anticipated Start Date: January 4, 2027
Fresh Coast Counseling is seeking a caring, dependable, and energetic Mental Health Support Worker to lead a pod in our new Children’s Day Treatment Program, opening in January 2027. The program will serve children in kindergarten through fifth grade who need more support than traditional weekly outpatient therapy but do not require inpatient or residential care.
This is an opportunity to help build a warm, structured, and relationship-centered program from the beginning. The anticipated start date is January 4, 2027, allowing time for orientation, team training, program preparation, and practice with daily routines before children begin attending.
Anticipated Schedule
- 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., five days per week
- Two to three additional afternoons per month for team meetings, training, program preparation, or coverage
- Approximately 25-30 hours per week, depending on the monthly schedule and program needs
About the Position
The Pod Lead will support a consistent group of children throughout the program day. This position combines direct therapeutic support, small-group leadership, individualized skill development, documentation, and day-to-day coordination of the pod.
A central part of this role will be providing scheduled individual or small-group interventions connected to each child’s treatment plan. Interventions may address emotional regulation, coping skills, frustration tolerance, communication, problem-solving, social interaction, executive functioning, and conflict repair.
The Pod Lead does not provide psychotherapy but works closely with Mental Health Professionals to reinforce clinical goals and help children practice new skills throughout the day.
Responsibilities
- Create a welcoming, predictable, and emotionally safe environment.
- Guide children through arrival, circle time, therapeutic activities, snack, social practice, movement, transitions, and closing routines.
- Lead or co-lead therapeutic skill groups, psychoeducation, coping-skills practice, and social-emotional learning activities.
- Provide and document individual and small-group treatment-plan interventions.
- Adapt activities to each child’s developmental level, strengths, interests, and learning needs.
- Support children experiencing distress, dysregulation, peer conflict, or difficulty participating.
- Communicate observations, progress, and concerns to the assigned therapist and treatment team.
- Help other support workers follow pod schedules, treatment recommendations, behavior support plans, and documentation expectations.
- Use calm, trauma-sensitive, strengths-based, restorative, and least-restrictive approaches.
- Participate in team meetings, supervision, training, treatment planning, and quality-improvement activities.
Qualifications
Applicants must:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Have at least one year of experience working with youth or one year of relevant formal education.
- Be comfortable leading groups, maintaining structure, and responding calmly to challenging behavior.
- Be able to complete clear and timely electronic documentation.
- Pass required background and exclusion checks.
- Complete required orientation, Mandt training, mandated reporter training, first aid/CPR, and other assigned training.
Experience in children’s mental health, special education, school-based services, autism support, behavioral health, therapeutic recreation, residential care, or day treatment is preferred.
SEND YOUR RESUME TO [email protected]
Calmer Waters. Brighter Futures.
Pay: $20.00 - $25.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
Work Location: In person
