Mental Health and Disabilities Coordinator

SUMMARY: The Mental Health/ Disabilities Coordinator will work with the early childhood education staff to develop, implement, and oversee service area personnel that provide support, guidance, training and monitor referral process. Will do on-site observations and assessments, provide social-emotional training and support to program staff on effective behavior management skills for children 0 to five years of age.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Oversee the timely delivery of quality services in the mental health and disabilities area.
• Ensure observations are conducted for all classroom settings.
• Monitors delivery through site visits, use of assessment tools, and validation of data and follows through with strategies for resolving identified problems and unusual incidences and providing guidance on continual program improvement.
• Monitors the program, delegate agency, and partner’s service delivery through site visits and validation of data and follows through with strategies for resolving identified problems and guidance on continual program improvement.
• Provides technical assistance and support to content-area managers, including monitoring delegate agencies implementation of social-emotional curriculum.
• Provides consultation on inclusion practices for all staff, partners, and delegate agency.
• Conduct functional analyses and assessments. Develop individual behavior modification plans for identified children in collaboration with other professionals and parents.
• Effectively collaborate and communicate with staff to implement positive intervention plans and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.
• Model appropriate behavioral interventions for program staff as needed.
• Ensure the mental health and disabilities participation in child-related meetings pertaining (IEP, IFSP, MTSS, MDTs), attend as appropriate.
• Facilitate social/emotional educational strategies, training and workshops in early childhood settings.
• Provides and coordinates training and technical assistance for the disabilities area.
• Oversee the prompt identification, response, and ongoing support for children with social emotional needs/concerns.
• Oversees the inclusion of social-emotional/behavior plans in the lesson plans. Ensures support is provided to children with potential or diagnosed developmental concerns.
• Ensures collaborative relationships with other service areas to establish cohesiveness within systems and services for children and families.
• Supports and provides insight to staff regarding an array of developmental delays and disabilities to develop strategies and modifications needed for children according to their individual needs due to the disability.
• Trains staff in positive parental responses to encourage positive interactions between parent and child.
• Develops and oversees effective tracking and referral systems. Ensures children and families receive appropriate referrals to internal and external resources.
• Oversees data collection and management related to disabilities services.
• Establishes memorandums of understanding with community agencies, Local Education Agencies, Regional Centers, and other stakeholders.
• Completes developmental observation checklist for children referred for special education and on-site visits, as needed.
• Refers children and families to community agencies serving children with disabilities and their families.
• Prepares and completes weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly CDE and Head Start reports, as required
• Participate in Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings, coordinator meetings, and other meetings as needed.
• Collaborates effectively with others in a multidisciplinary approach.
• Travels to centers, partner sites, community agencies, conferences and trainings
• Performs related duties as assigned. 

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge

• Early intervention and special education curricula, trends, and laws (e.g., Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), Head Start Performance Standards and related federal legislation, Head Start Act.
• Principles and techniques of mental health consulting.
• Social-emotional curricula and trends.
• Methods in assessing and evaluating the quality and delivery of special education services and mental health.
• Human development, including cognitive, physical, social, and emotional prenatal, infant, toddler, preschool, and maternal development.
• Functions and evidence-based methods of screenings and assessments.
• Community resources that support disabilities services.
• Cultural differences that influence teaching and learning environments.
• Techniques for navigating special education services.
• Data collection and analysis and applicable computer software as related to report writing, record keeping and analysis.

 Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences, psychology, or social work or related field, Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of four (4) years of experience working with individuals with disabilities or with social emotional needs with an emphasis on working with children 0 to 5 years of age.
• Experience working as a team member of a multi-disciplinary team providing support and services to children with disabilities and/or challenging behaviors.

MAOF offers the following benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & Accidental Insurance, Employer Contribution and Employer Match 403(b) Retirement Plan with 100% vesting, Employee Assistance and Wellness Programs (EAP), Paid Holidays, Paid Time Off, 501(c)(3) Designation Public Service Loan Forgiveness, other supplemental benefits such as AFLAC, Credit Union Membership and Discount tickets to Southern CA theme parks and attractions.