DULCE/ECD Family Specialist Community Health Worker

Tri-County Community Action Agency•Johnston, RI

44d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Director of Women’s Health Services, the DULCE/ECD Family Specialist is a Certified Community Health Worker that provides health and wellness support as well as education to families in the prenatal and pediatric care setting. DULCE, or Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone is model of care that supports families with infants during the first six months of life. Early Childhood Development or ECD screens for developmental delays in ages 0 to 5 years, with a follow-up of referral services in 30 days. As part of the daily responsibilities, the DULCE/ECD Family Specialist meets with families at routine well-child, acute care visits and designated prenatal visits. They provide periodic check-ins between medical provider encounters via phone, text, or email. During encounters, the DULCE/ECD Family Specialist utilizes the PRAPARE tool and evidenced-based education and nationally approved guidelines to ensure that families are supported in caring for their children and adhering to the recommended plan of care. The DULCE/ECD Family Specialist also connects families to services supporting unmet economic, social, and legal needs. Vital to the role of the DULCE/ECD Family Specialist is the responsibility of data collection, performing patient documentation in the EHR, and participating in quality improvement activities, training, and local and national meetings as needed.

Requirements

Has completed the core Community Health Worker Certification, or agrees to complete the Community Health Worker certification within a reasonable amount of time upon hire.
Commitment to improving infant and family health through innovative approaches that address the Social Determinants of Health.
Commitment to equity and reducing disparities based on race, ethnicity, immigration status, sovereignty, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, and socioeconomics.
Desire to understand the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on the health of underserved communities.
High school diploma or GED.
Minimum of 2 years working with young children (especially newborns) and their families.
Working knowledge of Microsoft applications such as Word and Excel.
Share a similar sociocultural background with the community and/or have similar lived experience with those in the community.
Those who are bilingual are encouraged to apply.

Nice To Haves

Associate's degree or higher in child development, public health or a related field.

Responsibilities

Identifies families to enroll into the DULCE/ECD program.
Meet with families at routine well child visits and telephone check-ins, supporting the parent-child relationship, providing information on child development, and supporting unmet social needs by coordinating referrals for concrete supports.
Provide ongoing parent/newborn support through phone, text, email and community visits with a focus on parental and cultural strengths.
Continually assess the need for additional resources for the family, especially relating to developmental concerns by building strong, honest, trusting partnerships with families that can address concerns in a supportive manner.
Collaborate with legal partners to ensure families are provided concrete supports.
Administer screening tools to ensure that families are supported in caring for their infants and adhering to the recommended plan of care.
Fosters relationships and develops protocols with the local organizations and referral hubs to link DULCE/ECD families to community resources, creating a process and linkage to relevant community opportunities, services, and supports.
Engage in individual reflective supervision sessions.
Timely data entry into patient records including the DULCE Family Specialist Data Collection Template.
Prepare for and participate in weekly case reviews with the DULCE Interdisciplinary Team.
Participate in DULCE Technical Assistance and quality improvement activities, and engages in training offered by the Care Transformation Collaborative (CTC-RI) and DULCE National Center.
Complete the training plan for the Family Specialist that addresses all requirements and complements national training, and support the development of a local training plan for the DULCE Family Specialist.
Participate in outreach and community events.
Participate in related training and workshops.
Perform other related duties as assigned or requested.
Strictly adhere to policies which ensure patient confidentiality