The Child Development Specialist works under the supervision of the Director of Early Care and Education and with the guidance of the Head of Educational Excellence. The Child Development Specialist (CDS) partners with a team of CDS’s to ensure comprehensive, high quality early education experiences for children/families enrolled in Allies’ network of contracted licensed family child care home providers (Providers). The Child Development Specialist plays a critical role in client and Provider recruitment, ongoing training, health/safety monitoring, comprehensive family services and lesson plan processes.
Every child needs a childhood. Allies for Every Child (Allies) exists to give at-risk children and children living in poverty the foundation they need to increase their life choices and lead fulfilling lives. For nearly 40 years, Allies has been providing thousands of at-risk children and their families with critical, high-quality child development and family wellness programs (including comprehensive early education and Early Head Start services), family strengthening interventions, foster care and adoption services, and a range of vital, integrated services, including mental health services, educational assessments, trauma and disabilities screenings/advocacy, nutrition services, dental and vision screenings, and pediatric health consultations. In 2024, Allies expanded its reach, serving even more children and youth in foster care and those transitioning to adulthood through Extraordinary Families, a program of Allies for Every Child.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Early Education Duties
Children
- Schedule and perform observations and developmental assessments of children (include parent and provider input); responsible for completion of Desired Results Developmental Profile assessments for children in the FCCHEN and EHS Program.
- Complete semi-annual developmental screenings (Ages and Stages Questionnaires- 3 and Social-Emotional) with parents during home visits; assist in referring children to inclusion team and or local agency, if needed; partner with parents and families through the formal evaluation process
Families
- Conduct two home visits per fiscal year for each family on your caseload to ensure appropriate resources and provide emotional encouragement
- Identify child social or health needs and provide referrals to parents regarding public assistance, health, housing, counseling, etc. as needed
- Support completion of semi-annual 5 protective factors surveys, annual family survey, etc.
- Confer with parents on an as-needed basis, offering them resources and mediating parent/provider conflict, as well as discussing children’s assessments, needs and interests, and strategies to use in facilitating children’s growth and development
- Actively support parental involvement by planning and facilitating responsive and directed parent activities
- Facilitate opportunities for parents and families to participate in program’s education services and trainings
- Participate in implementation of program-wide parent advisory group
- Support Family and Community Specialist in assisting, guiding and educating each family during transition process to a preschool, Head Start Program and or Kindergarten.
- Assist in planning parent activities, encourage parent participation in program activities, and obtain feedback from parents regarding the level of satisfaction with the services they received
- Provide support in the follow-up and retrieval of health, nutrition, mental health and disability requirements
- Collaborate with Health Services Coordinator, Family and Community Specialist, Mental Health Specialist and/or Inclusion Specialist to ensure the health, nutrition and special needs of children are addressed
- Working closely with each family on caseload to support goals identified and provide needed referrals to community agencies and effectively communicate with Family and Community Specialist or other relevant team members
- Supports families in completion of paperwork and documentation requirement for Early Head Start and CDSS and provides follow-up
- Provides support and strategies to address any attendance concerns
Family Child Care Home Education Providers
- Mentor, coach, model, and provide individualized training and technical assistance for Providers and their staff in child development, and other areas identified; Ensure monthly meetings, semi-monthly home visits, telephone consultations as needed, and support monthly responsive trainings
- Provide curriculum support (age and developmentally appropriate activities for children; strategies to individualize activities; strategies for English Language Learners, etc.)
- Emphasize effective teaching practices and learning environments with parents and providers
- Monitor ratio, health and safety, child’s files; contract/licensing compliance; attendance sheets; nutrition observations, etc.
- Conduct home visits, coaching, and individualized follow up to ensure the appropriate resources and emotional encouragement is there for each child and family as needed and to ensure proper implementation of federal regulations
- Visit EHS family childcare homes to both ensure that family goals are fully supported by providers as well as to support comprehensive services for each family
Quality Assurance/Programmatic
- Maintain records of home visits, parent conferences, children’s assessments, family referrals, corrective action plans
- Maintain comprehensive child records in hard copy and/or ChildPlus database and ensure an effective system of tracking
- Review outcomes of assessments with family childcare home education providers
- Document all parent, provider and community referrals including health documentation
- Participate in internal audits and quality assurance file review
- Perform annual and ongoing assessment of each provider using the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale to ensure that services are of high quality and are educationally and developmentally appropriate
- Creatively assist in recruitment of prospective client families and Providers
- Attend child development conferences, interagency meeting and community events as appropriate and assigned
- Conduct annual evaluation for all Providers on caseload
Other
- May be required to work evenings and weekends as needed.
- Perform other relevant responsibilities as required by the agency and as assigned
- In accordance with our “team” philosophy, the person filling this position may occasionally be required to carry out or assist with other tasks in addition to the duties listed on this job description
- Model the Standard of Conduct Policy when interacting with parents, community members and Colleagues
- Ensure safety is a priority in performing all job responsibilities
- Staff must believe in and act in accordance with both the Agency’s and the program’s mission/vision statements, adopted theoretical frameworks, and philosophy.
- Bachelor’s degree in child development or early education, or in a related field with two years’ of post-graduate experience in early childhood education (related fields include elementary education, early childhood special education, psychology, family consumer sciences, home economics, social work, social services)
- Infant/toddler units, a plus
- Two (2) years’ experience working in Early Education programs as a lead or supervisor a plus
- One (1)-year experience providing services to low-income families as a case manager
- Knowledge of Head Start Early Learning Child Outcomes Framework preferred
- Ability to plan, organize and oversee high quality early childhood programming and comprehensive services
- Ability to communicate effectively – verbally and in writing
- Strong organizational skills
- Commitment to teamwork
- Basic computer skills required – Word, Excel, Software applications
- Experience working with diverse groups and populations
- Bilingual in English and Spanish preferred
- Passionate about learning and possesses curiosity about issues affecting children and families
- Align with Allies for Every Child’s mission and philosophy
- All employees, regardless of position, serve as role models for children and families who are served by our agency
- Fingerprint background clearance (DOJ, FBI & Child Abuse Clearance Index), or approved exemption
- Successful completion of pre-employment physical, PPD risk assessment, proof of immunizations for pertussis (Tdap), measles (MMR) and influenza (can decline)
- Class “C” driver’s license, proof of automobile insurance and access to reliable transportation
PAY RANGE: $26.00 – $29.00 per hour (In accordance with California law, the expected salary range for this California position. The actual compensation will be determined based on experience and other factors permitted by law.)
FOR CONSIDERATION: Email cover letter and resume to humanresources@alliesforeverychild.org
Full Benefits Package Offered Including
- Competitive Pay
- 12 Holidays per calendar year
- 10 Sick Leave Days per year
- 10 Vacation Days per year (increases with tenure)
- 2 Personal Days – birthday and anniversary of employment
- 10 Jury Duty Days
- 100% Employer Contribution to: Health – Kaiser or Anthem, Dental, Vision
- Pet Insurance
- 401k Retirement Plan with 50% employer match for the first 4%
- 100% Employer Paid Life and Accidental Insurance
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – for team members and dependents
- Discounts for movie tickets, amusement parks, travel, hotels, sporting events, shows,
- Initial and ongoing training and professional development opportunities
- Opportunities for growth and advancement
- Employee referral incentive pay – $1500
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Credit Union Membership
Allies for Every Child actively seeks candidates who reflect the rich diversity of the communities that we serve. We are committed to a work environment that embraces and promotes individuality and inclusion. We believe that diversity and inclusion of varied perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences are essential to our organization’s effectiveness, and allows us to serve our clients in the respectful, responsive, and understanding way that they deserve. We define diversity in broad terms to include race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, geography, socio-economic status and other unique attributes that make us who we are.
Allies for Every Child has achieved accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA). This means our programs, services, administration, and management have been rigorously evaluated and meet best practice standards. Visit www.COAnet.org to learn more about COA Accreditation.
For consideration: Email cover letter and resume to
humanresources@alliesforeverychild.org
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
As part of the COA Accreditation process, transparency and stakeholder engagement are essential. One key step is ensuring that all stakeholders - persons served, staff, board members, and community partners - have the opportunity to share any concerns directly with the COA volunteer peer review team.
To support this, Allies is sharing a “Report a Concern” link with all relevant stakeholders. This helps ensure that the review team receives input that may be valuable during the Site Visit. All responses are confidential and sent directly to COA: https://coa.formassembly.com/232264
