HeathySteps Specialist (English and Spanish Bilingual)

JOB SUMMARY

The Primary role of the HealthySteps Specialist is to function in a pediatric or family practice clinic as part of the interdisciplinary team where you will be involved in: team-based well-child visits; comprehensive assessment of a child (developmental, social-emotional, behavioral, mental, family protective and risk factors, and social determinants of health), including the use of evidence-based screenings; provision of therapeutic clinical interventions to address identified needs; connecting families to community resources; providing care coordination and system navigation; providing psycho-social support to the families between well-child visits; and providing positive parenting interventions, guidance and early learning resources.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Enroll new families into the HealthySteps program, targeting patient’s newborns through age 3 years.
• Enroll in Tier based services after a comprehensive assessment of child’s development, social-emotional, behavioral and mental wellbeing at recommended intervals with evidence-based screenings.
• Meet with families at well-child visits with the physician/pediatric nurse practitioner or independently.
• Visit with family will include individualized clinical interventions to address problems that cause mental, emotional, behavioral, social and developmental difficulties with an emphasis on child and family strengths.
• Collaborate with health care team members to restore patient to optimum biopsychosocial functioning through the use of therapeutic clinical skills, case management, advocacy, and information and referral.
• Identify quality resources and provide referrals and follow-up as appropriate to foster community connections, including work with other members of the ConnectFirst team. Facilitate/lead parent groups, staff resource fairs or other community events targeted at early childhood and young families as needed or as available.
• Utilize the Child Development Telephone Information Line for parenting advice and to coordinate parent communication and relationship.
• Coordinate the Reach Out and Read program (where applicable).
• Provide child behavioral and developmental information, guidance, and checkups for families, helping mothers and fathers to develop confidence in their parenting abilities.
• Create a solid relationship between the parents, medical staff, and the HealthySteps team.
• Stay current on research and topics related to the services provided for children and families of children ages 0-3 years by attending training as needed.
  

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience and knowledge about early child growth and development, parent-child relationships, child health, and family systems.
• Experience in assessing the growth and development of infants and children through their 3rd year of life.
• Experience working with mothers and fathers; experience facilitating parent groups preferred.
• Demonstrate ability to work on an interdisciplinary team and in a peer relationship with a medical provider.
• Enthusiasm about exploring new roles and developing independent organizational structure.
• Capacity to be reflective about work and roles. Participate in monthly individual and group reflective consultations provided by the HealthySteps program.
• Ability to work independently.
• Experience working in a medical setting or with health professionals preferred.
• Display a commitment to increasing competency and relevancy in early childhood development and infant mental health.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Able to read, write and speak both Spanish and English fluently.
• Master’s Degree
• Early childhood and child development, pediatric clinical setting, infant mental health counseling, or similar experience.
• Will consider 24 months of equivalent experience in lieu of a Master’s degree.