Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist

Futures First • Kansas City, KS

11d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Mental Health Specialist supports the social-emotional development of children through consultation and coaching of early education staff. This role involves observation, assessment, social-emotional and mental health screening, and training. The specialist will strengthen early educators' capacity to use everyday situations and conflicts to teach and model developmentally appropriate social skills and support mental health. The Mental Health Specialist works in collaboration with early childhood staff and families to improve their ability to prevent, identify, and reduce the impact of trauma among children ages zero to six.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Social Work or related field required.
• LMSW or related licensure to be obtained within a year of hire.
• Minimum one year prior professional experience providing services to infants, toddlers, and pre-school age children and their families required.
• Possess knowledge of infant/early childhood development.
• Possess excellent communication skills and teaching/training skills.
• Open to change and considerable variety in work environments.
• Be able to adjust to new or changing situations and unexpected events.
• Willing to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Understand and show respect and appreciation for the uniqueness of all individuals; acknowledge differences in others’ perspectives and ideas; appreciate cultural differences and adjust one’s approach to successfully integrate with others who are different from oneself.
• Travel throughout the facility, metropolitan area, and counties within the service delivery area is required.

Nice To Haves

• Bilingual fluency in written and oral English/Spanish.
• Prior relevant work experience with communities of color, communities subjected to poverty, immigrants, and other communities subjected to oppression.
• KAIMH endorsement at Level II or higher in Early Childhood Mental Health or demonstrated active pursuit of Level II endorsement.

Responsibilities

• Consults with partner teachers, support staff, and administrators in assessing site needs and developing practices that support the social-emotional development of enrolled children.
• Collaborates with partner site staff and parents to implement supportive discipline strategies that promote best practices for early childhood social/emotional wellness and decrease challenging behavior.
• Conducts classroom and individual child observations to support the social-emotional development of children and strengthens the capacity of staff and families to address challenging behavior.
• Maintains applicable documentation and completes all required paperwork in a timely and organized manner, according to Futures First policies and procedures.
• Provides child or family-centered consultation to address factors that contribute to an individual child's success in functioning in the early childhood setting.
• Collaborates with teachers, support staff, interdisciplinary teams, program management, and parents/guardians as needed to develop and implement individualized behavior support plans for children to support social-emotional development and address mental health concerns within the early childhood setting.
• Provides referrals to community providers for mental health follow-up when necessary, and provides support for parents/guardians in pursuing available resources.

Benefits

• Medical Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA)
• Vision & Dental Insurance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• 403(b) Retirement Plan with matching up to 2%
• Yearly 5% employer retirement contribution
• Personal Time Off (PTO)
• Rolling Paid Holidays (Instead of a fixed holiday schedule, employees may observe holidays that reflect their personal, cultural, or religious beliefs.)
• Flexible Work Schedules (Hybrid Model)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level