Child Care Assistant

American Addiction Centers•Libertyville, IL

8d•$19 - $28•Onsite

About The Position

The Child Care Assistant will demonstrate positive interactions with children, families, and associates. This role involves actively engaging with children at their eye level, providing comfort and a safe environment, and following discipline guidelines with positive guidance techniques. The assistant will collaborate with the classroom team and supervisor to understand each child's needs for individualized activities, implement primary caregiving plans, and support children's growth and development through engaging activities and learning experiences. Responsibilities include assisting staff in developing positive behavior patterns, preparing and implementing curriculum activities aligned with Illinois Early Learning Standards and NAEYC guidelines, and meeting the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of children. The role also involves assisting teachers in completing progress reports, developmental checklists, and documentation for children's portfolios. Active participation in meetings, ongoing training, and professional development are expected, including earning required inservice hours and completing online trainings for the ECE Credential. The assistant must work cooperatively with the teaching team, administration, and co-workers, communicating ideas and concerns effectively. They will share in daily routines, procedures, and classroom goals, maintaining an optimum environment for child development. Flexibility with teaching assignments, routines, and conflict resolution is essential. The assistant must model appropriate behavior, maintain awareness of the number of children in their group at all times, and physically position themselves to monitor the classroom for safety hazards, intervening when necessary. This includes assisting in implementing child safety practices like head counts and ratio checks, and avoiding distractions that interfere with supervision. Daily communication with parents regarding their child's activities is required, assisting in completing written forms of communication and creating a welcoming atmosphere that integrates parents. The assistant will also share responsibility for organizing, cleaning, and maintaining a safe, clean, and welcoming environment, including completing health and safety checklists and demonstrating appropriate hand hygiene. Adherence to Advocate's Be Safe Behaviors and Tools is mandatory.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalency
Ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally with participants
Competent interpersonal skills
Basic computer skills
Emotional maturity when working with children

Nice To Haves

Ability to work with children 6 weeks through 10 years of age.
Ability to communicate with children at an age appropriate level.
Ability to handle multiple tasks and complete work within short timeframes.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with established time constraints.
Ability to physically respond quickly to unsafe conditions which may put children at risk.
Flexibility, understanding and patience.
Skills to help children meet their developmental and emotional needs.

Responsibilities

At child's eye level, listen, respond and speak to children in positive, respectful tones for the purpose of modeling appropriate behavior and exhibiting respect for each child.
At all times, engage with and listen, respond and speak to children at eye level within close proximity.
Demonstrate ability to nurture children appropriately, to provide children with the comfort of a safe, responsive environment as needed. This can be accomplished verbally or through physical comforting, words of encouragement, etc.
Follow Day Center Child Care discipline guidelines and demonstrate positive guidance and discipline techniques to help children understand the consequences of their behavior.
Discuss child’s behavior and development with classroom team and/or Supervisor and maintain compliance with DCFS regulations as well as develop a strong understanding of each child for the purpose of planning individualized activities.
Implement the primary caregiving care plan for assigned children to maintain a consistent positive relationship with both child and family.
Interact with the children at all times and engage them in activities and learning experiences that support their growth and development.
Assist classroom staff with developing and implementing positive behavior patterns of children.
Implementation of planned activities, learning experiences and observations of the children and classroom environment.
Gives input for daily activities and learning experiences and assist in preparing and implementing curriculum activities as outlined in the Illinois Early Learning Standards/Guidelines and NAEYC guidelines.
Meet the needs of the children in group to support the development of psychologically and physically healthy individuals. By responding to the physical, psychological and emotional needs of the children in a timely and appropriate fashion.
From observations of children, give input and assistance to teachers in completing progress reports, developmental checklists, parent/teacher conference forms, daily notes and documentation for children's portfolios that can include anecdotal records, samples of children's work, pictures, etc.
Actively participate and attend classroom meetings and all other assigned meetings.
Continue to develop understanding of program philosophy and goals by listening and contributing to discussions and to continue to develop a professional knowledge base.
Work with classroom teachers and/or administrative staff to learn how to make observations and take notes of children’s behaviors and development. By visually observing children in a group setting and objectively noting/recording their behavior for the purpose of further increasing the understanding of the development of each individual child to meet and plan for their needs and further their development.
Seek ongoing training and professional development by attending early childhood trainings, reading professional journals, and/or continuing education in the early childhood field. Earns required inservice hours annually. Puts into practice and shares information learned through trainings.
Assists in completing Environmental Rating Scale for assigned classroom.
Completes DCFS and Advocate's required on-line trainings and other trainings for ExcelRate ECE Credential. Works with Gateways to earn and/or maintain ECE Credential.
Earns required inservice hours annually. Updates Professional Development Record and provides documentation of hours earned.
Ability to work cooperatively with teaching team, administration and other co-workers.
Communicate one’s own and parent ideas, concerns and needs with co-workers. To share information which may affect the development of the children and family by listening and communicating appropriate information in a timely manner to other professionals working in the program.
Share in responsibilities of carrying out the daily routines, procedures, schedule and Center and classroom goals. Work as part of a team to create and maintain an optimum environment for the growth and development of the children in it. Physical and mental activities are required to maintain this environment in a safe and responsive manner.
Awareness of classroom information such as orientations, transitions, schedule changes, etc.
Follow Day Center's written policies and procedures which have been established to maintain a professionally run organization and to maintain the integrity, quality and safety of the program.
Understand and support Center and classroom goals.
Demonstrate flexibility with teaching team, daily schedule, routines, and classroom assignments.
Resolve conflicts with co-workers in a professional manner and address issues/concerns with team as they arise and in team meetings following Advocate's Behaviors of Excellence.
At all times, model appropriate behavior and demonstrate positive attitude. Provide suggestions/solutions as issues arise.
Responsibility to be aware of the number of children in assigned group at all times.
Physically position self within classroom, away from other staff, to be able to see children at all times, to monitor the classroom for possible safety hazards and physical or verbally intervene whenever necessary.
Assist in implementing child safety practices that include head counts, ratio sheets, name-to-face checks, sleep room/crib checks and supervision of children.
Interact and engage with the children to role model and encourage positive social interactions.
Avoids distractions that interferes with supervision of children. Refrains from personal conversations, cell phone and computer usage while the children are awake and engaged in activities.
Assist in completing written forms of communication such as Today We Did board, daily notes, progress reports, etc.
Assist in creating a welcoming and open atmosphere that promotes daily communication with staff and families and integrates parents as part of the teaching team.
Greet parents and communicate child’s daily accomplishments and interests. To keep parents informed of their child’s growth and development and create a partnership with parents to further enhance their child’s development.
Direct parent concerns/issues to supervisor and/or classroom teaching team. Keep responsible staff informed of issues which may affect the care or development of children in the classroom and/or classroom/Center operations.
Share in the responsibility of organizing, cleaning, storing and removing damaged/unsafe materials or equipment.
Assist in maintaining an organized, clutter free environment in the classroom and throughout the Day Center.
Assist in completing classroom health and safety checklist along with other safety checklists - bottle charts, ratio sheets, etc.
Demonstrates appropriate hand hygiene by following policy/procedure and ensuring all staff, families and children do the same.
Adheres to, follow and practices Advocate's Be Safe Behaviors and Tools at all times.

Benefits

Comprehensive suite of Total Rewards: benefits and well-being programs
Competitive compensation
Generous retirement offerings
Programs that invest in your career development
Base compensation listed within the listed pay range based on factors such as qualifications, skills, relevant experience, and/or training
Premium pay such as shift, on call, and more based on a teammate's job
Incentive pay for select positions
Opportunity for annual increases based on performance
Paid Time Off programs
Health and welfare benefits such as medical, dental, vision, life, and Short- and Long-Term Disability
Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses
Family benefits such as adoption assistance and paid parental leave
Defined contribution retirement plans with employer match and other financial wellness programs
Educational Assistance Program