Bilingual Mental Health Consultant - Infant & Early Childhood

Position Summary

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant takes a promotion, prevention and intervention approach to partner with coaches and early childhood professionals for the purpose of strengthening the capacity of staff, families, programs, and systems to promote optimal social and emotional development and to prevent, identify, and reduce the impact of mental health challenges among children and families. The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant will coordinate with other childcare leadership to develop and implement a mental health service delivery system within licensed childcare programs throughout the Early Achievers eight county region.

To best support the families we serve, this role requires fluency in both English and Spanish, as well as regular travel to childcare facilities and client homes.

General

• Promote and market groups and services to licensed community childcare programs
• Work closely with licensed childcare staff, children, families and administration to respond to the individual needs and abilities of children and families, assisting them to attain skills, strategies, supports and resources of personal and social adjustment and efficacy.
• Collect data, maintain records, and support compliance of all Child Care Aware contract requirements.
• Promote the emotional development of children, families, staff and parents by providing training and information on mental health and social services.
• Promote and provide mental health professionals that support providers in reducing child expulsion from child care settings due to behavioral, social, and emotional needs of the child(ren).

Observations, Consultation and Coaching

• Visit licensed childcare facilities regularly dependent on program needs.
• Conduct visits in partnership with Early Achievers Coaches to support mental health needs of licensed childcare providers.
• Conduct early childhood mental health consultation in classrooms.
• Provide child development information related to social-emotional development and mental health.
• Provide guidance to licensed childcare directors/owners and their staff on selecting, implementing, and interpreting social-emotional screening and assessment tools and findings.
• Provide guidance and model developmentally appropriate activities for children and effective ways to work with and support young children.
• Provide written and oral observations, as well as strengths-based feedback to staff.
• Meet with staff to review observations and develop and implement plans as needed.
• Conduct observations and assessment of individual children as assigned or referred for consultation.
• Meet with families to consult on child and family needs and create a follow-up on plans to support these needs. (Meetings could take place in the family home, community or center setting)

Training

• Support, coordinate and provide staff trainings related to social-emotional and mental health supports.
• Coordinate, facilitate and provide parent trainings.

Programmatic Consultation

• Participate in direct service team meetings and family staffings.
• Participate in the development and implementation of mental health program and policy.
• Collaborate with program leadership regarding program structure and implementation.
• Participate in ongoing meetings with the Child Care Aware Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Director and state IECMH peers

Individual Child Screening, Assessment and Referral

• In partnership with staff, conduct standardized developmental, behavioral, and/or social-emotional screenings and assessment for individual children.
• Provide child and family referral and follow-up to community services.
• Provide screening, assessment and referral services.

Other

• Coordinate and collaborate with Early Achievers leadership team to identify mental health needs that could be addressed through mental health consultation.
• Collaborate on a regular basis with other agencies such as school districts, public health and social services.
• Participate in meetings, trainings, and community activities.

Perform other duties as assigned

Education

• Master's degree in social work, psychology, counseling or related field OR…