Early Childhood Specialist I

Description

Job Summary:

The Early Childhood Specialist I is part of a transdisciplinary early intervention team that provides developmental intervention to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in natural and inclusive environments who are found to be eligible for Early Start services at EPU. With the family at the center, ECS serves as the Primary Provider for the family and manages communication, consultation, and skill-sharing across disciplines to support seamless transdisciplinary service delivery, reduce fragmentation, and confusion for families.

Essential Functions:

• Serve as primary provider to ensure all early intervention activities and services meet the outlined objectives and goals of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) for assigned infant and toddlers with disability and their families. 
• Responsible to understands and demonstrates appropriate dispositions of the Six Foundational Principles as outlined in the Early Start Personnel manual.
• Identify child and family strengths, typical routines and activities, preferred teaching and learning strategies in partnership with the family.
• Provide direct services for all children/families on case load in natural and inclusive environments. Maintain a minimum of 45% productivity threshold during a regular 40-hour work week schedule. Direct service productivity standard will be modified based on individual staff’s scheduled work hours. 
• Implement evaluation and assessment activities in accordance with current state laws, regulations, and timelines. Conduct all necessary developmental assessment of assigned infants and families prior to scheduled IFSP meetings.
• In coordination with the family and other team members involved, design, develop and set goals and objectives that are developmentally appropriate, functional in nature, and related to on-going routines of the natural environments for the family.
• Facilitate and support a communication process with the family and team regarding evaluation and assessment procedures and outcomes.
• Complete Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP birth through 3) on a regular basis to track child’s development and inform individualized early intervention service approach for each child/family in care.
• Prepare comprehensive written and/or oral reports that integrate own findings and results from parents/caregivers, other agencies/ professionals, emphasizing child strengths and functional concerns in developmental domains.
• Collaborate with staff, family and other team members to link ongoing evaluation and assessment with all intervention planning utilizing the child and family’s everyday routines, relationships, places and partnerships.
• Coach and support Early Intervention Assistants to assure designated services on the IFSP are provided in natural environments. 
• Make appropriate internal and external referrals for families served.
• Participate in consultation and skill-sharing with specialty services (i.e. Speech, Occupational, Physical Therapist, and/or Parent Coach) when needed.
• Seek understanding in the individual nature of child/family learning styles and adapt developmentally appropriate intervention strategies to better meet child/family individual needs, priorities and context.
• Facilitate a smooth transition for child and family into next program placement.
• Maintain, manage, and process client records and information in a confidential manner that meets HIPAA and other applicable confidentiality regulations. 
• Complete an accurate data entry for services rendered in the Apricot 360 system on a daily basis.
• Foster strong collaboration, clear and consistent communication with the Service Coordinators at the Regional Center that are assigned to the infants/toddlers on caseload.
• Seek guidance, coaching, supervision from the assigned Lead Early Childhood Specialist, schedule joint home visits and incorporate guidance and feedback to continuously learn, improve and grow in the work with infants, toddlers with disabilities and their families. 
• Position requires answering phones, various computer activities and driving of a vehicle for local travel.
• Collaborate with community agencies who may also be serving the family assigned.
• EPU facility hours are Monday – Friday; 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM; however, ECS ensures non-traditional work hours are made available to serve and support families when warranted based on family needs. Therefore, position hours may vary, which may include evening or weekends, depending upon the needs of the program and families we serve. 
• The position requires the ability to meet with children/families outside of the EPU Center. In order to meet this expectation staff are required to have reliable transportation for local travel.
• Required to hold valid California Driver's license and good driving record with no serious violations for the previous two-year period and be able to provide proof of current automobile liability insurance.
• Required to perform other duties as they are assigned by the Director, Manager of Early Intervention Services, Sr. Manager, Supervisors and/or President/Chief Executive Officer.

Requirements

Knowledge, Skill and Experience:

Education: Must have a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Special Education or related field. Current California Education Specialist Credential or added authorization in Early Childhood Special Education granted by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is preferred.

Experience:

• Must have 2+ experiences working with infants and/or young children and their families.
• Must have knowledge of typical child development.
• Knowledge of Early Start Statutes and Regulations is a plus.
• Experience working with children with disabilities and their families preferred.
• Knowledge of formal and informal screening tools and procedures that are naturalistic, play-based and culturally and linguistically appropriate (including the use of observation and documentation) and routine-based.
• Understanding of the effect of social context, child’s state of health and well-being, primary language, ability and environment on assessment processes
• Knowledgeable of community services and supports (other than Early Start) and makes timely and appropriate linkage/ referrals as needed and required under the Early Start system.
• Must hold valid California Driver's license and good driving record with no serious violations for the previous two-year period and be able to provide proof of current automobile liability insurance.
• Bi-lingual in Spanish or Hmong is a plus.
• Computer literate, knowledge of Microsoft Office products.
• The role of primary social and emotional relationships as the foundation for early learning and development. 
• The importance of play as context, method and outcome of learning.
• Knows current federal and state laws, regulations and timelines for early intervention services.
• Knows generic and specific evidence-based early intervention strategies to support all areas of development.
• Understands roles of various disciplines and collaboration to integrate strategies from multiple disciplines. 
• Understands parallel process and how coaching as an intervention strategy promotes parent confidence and competence in meeting the child’s needs.

Skills:

• Must have strong communication skills both written and verbal that conveys respect and cultural responsiveness. 
• Able to make independent decisions within guidelines, code of ethics. 
• Respect the central role of families when supporting infant-parent relationships, social-emotional and developmental well-being of infants and toddlers.
• Establish an ongoing alliance with families to cultivate hope, strength and collaboration. 
• Actively listen to families to learn what is important to them and develop intervention strategies to meet their individualized needs and priorities. 
• Recognize and support the unique cultural beliefs, values, linguistic preferences and interaction practices of families. 
• Practice collaboration by ensuring transdisciplinary services target shared outcomes. Serve as the primary provider to coordinate intervention activities for the family.  
• Facilitate an effective problem solving skills. 
• Be creative, team-oriented, reflective, and open to continuous learning through formal trainings, group discussions, and supervision.
• Promote each child’s right to thrive in safe, stable, caring and nurturing environments.
• Continuously seek to improve one’s own professional skills and performance through self-reflection with supervisor and colleagues and through continuing education. 

Physical Demands:

Typical Working Condition: Staff is required to visit families in their homes. EPU does not have control over the location and condition of all the environments staff may be exposed. 

Equipment Used: Personal vehicle for local travel to attend meetings in the local area, computers, printers, telephones, and fax machines.

Essential Physical Tasks: Working with children and their families require the ability to sit on floors, reach, twist, turn, kneel, stand, stoop, crawl, lift, carry, push and pull.

This position description may not be an exhaustive list of all duties, knowledge, or abilities associated with this classification; however, it is intended to accurately reflect the principle job elements. Related duties, knowledge, or abilities to those expressly stated may also be required for successful performance of the position.

This position description may not be an exhaustive list of all duties, knowledge, or abilities associated with this classification. However, it is intended to accurately reflect the principal job elements. Related duties, knowledge, or skills to those expressly stated may also be required for the successful performance of the position.