Child Development Specialist - School (Monday- Friday 7-3:30pm) at The Village for Families and Children – Hartford, Connecticut

About us: The Village was one of the first agencies in the country to provide homes for neglected children. Today, we continue to achieve our mission “to build a community of strong, healthy families who protect and nurture children” by providing a full range of behavioral health, early childhood and youth development, substance use treatment and support services for children, adults and families in the Greater Hartford, Connecticut region.

Named a Connecticut Top Workplace for six consecutive years with national distinction for workplace culture and diversity, equity and inclusion practices, you can be sure you’re joining an organization that’s just as committed to your success as we are to those we serve.

Hourly rate: $22.00

Shift: Monday-Friday 7am-3:30pm (30 minute break)

The School Child Development Specialist I participate as a key member of a multi-disciplinary treatment team in the treatment and/or education of children with significant emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities. They ensure that the children’s physical and emotional needs are met daily and supports the children’s academic learning by focusing on the enhancement of their social, recreational, and behavioral functioning in the school and the milieu.

ABOUT EAGLE HOUSE

Eagle House is a 24-bed psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) that serves as a step down, or diversion, from inpatient hospitalization for children ages 6-12 who present with severe emotional and behavioral difficulties due to significant trauma history. Eagle House helps prepare them for transition to community-based treatment, and/or a family or foster care setting, through providing intensive clinical support services like ongoing psychiatry and nursing evaluations, individual, group, and family therapy sessions, case management, and special education services. Youth are typically in the program for around 4 months. We use a trauma-informed model of care to build relationships with youth in order to stabilize them and help them improve overall functioning. Through building supportive and therapeutic relationships with the youth, members of the multi-disciplinary team help guide them through crisis when they arise by reinforcing the use of healthy coping skills to build emotional regulation, so they will be more prepared to manage stressors and interact positively with peers and adults when they transition back into a community setting. The Child Development Specialists are key members of the multi-disciplinary team that aid in the treatment and education of children with significant trauma history, resulting in severe emotional, behavioral, and learning difficulties. The Child Development Specialists contribute to the progress towards each client’s treatment goals by providing therapeutic behavior management techniques and teaching them healthy coping skills. They are responsible for overseeing the youth’s day-to-day routines (hygiene, meals, etc.) and facilitating/engaging in therapeutic recreational group activities with the youth. The Child Development Specialists provide direct care and constant supervision to the children in the program at all times to maintain a safe and structured environment, not only for physical safety but also for emotional safety. The Child Development Specialists build therapeutic relationships with the youth to meet their physical and emotional needs, and to enhance their prosocial skills, emotional regulation skills, and behavioral functioning.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Implement appropriate behavior management systems within the classroom setting.
• Create and maintain a positive, nurturing, and therapeutic environment in the classroom.
• Provide culturally competent educational services to all students.
• Assist teachers in the implementation of children’s individualized education programs (IEPs).
• Participate as part of the classroom team in appropriate activities, e.g., assist students with academic work, etc.
• Supervise students during morning wakeups, lunch time supervision, and after school transition to assist them in getting to school and from school prepared and on time.
• Attend all relevant trainings and planning meetings for students.
• Serve as a substitute teacher, when necessary
• Maintain the safety of children in all situations using supervision and the implementation of various therapeutic techniques, including Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.
• Maintain a safe, clean, and dignified milieu environment.
• Manage and assist in the modification of child behavior in school and the milieu.
• Provide trauma informed care, skills instruction, and interventions.
• Provide safe transportation to and from program activities.
• Interact with children in a positive, nurturing, therapeutic manner.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate therapeutic groups.
• Demonstrate techniques that enhance problem solving abilities and enable growth and maturity.
• Record and document interventions and critical incidents in a in a timely matter.
• Understand and relay relevant information to the appropriate parties in a timely manner.
• Serves as a contributing member of the multidisciplinary team for each child.
• Conduct any other related work to ensure that the physical and emotional needs of the children are met and that the program continues to operate effectively.
• Assists in planning, supervising and facilitation of the daily activities of clients, including bedtime and morning activities, etc.
• Maintains safety aspects of milieu/van by recognizing and correcting conditions, which are or could be safety hazards.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s Degree required.

EXPERIENCE

• Two years in human service field or experience working with special needs children.
• Knowledge of basic child development, issues related to the effects of abuse and neglect, and motivating children.
• Must be able to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Must be culturally competent to serve a diverse population.
• Must have the ability to manage stress and to respond to emergency situations safely and calmly.
• Basic computer literacy skills including email. Familiarity with specific applications used by the Village a plus.
• Physically able to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodations, i.e. must be able to supervise groups of children and perform physical intervention if required; must be able to move freely from place to place without restriction.