Career Center

Nature & Scope:

The Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (IECMHC) will be a member of our growing CCA of WA statewide IECMHC team working in partnership with child care/early learning providers, mental health professionals, coaches and others toward the shared goals of promoting the overall social emotional development and well-being of children, families and adults working in early childhood settings. Holding Hope IECMHCs work to promote trauma-informed practice, increase adults’ capacity to understand and address challenging behaviors, and reduce risk of expulsion from child care/preschool settings. The bilingual MHC will have statewide reach, with the primary responsibility of providing IECMHC services to monolingual and bilingual Spanish speaking child care providers participating in the Washington Early Achievers program.  Consultation will be primarily virtual with some on-site services depending on geographic proximity and reduced pandemic restrictions. The consultant will also collaborate with the team in developing culturally sensitive/attuned content, training and resources in Spanish to be utilized by MHCs and Coaches statewide to support child care providers, children and families.  Depending on caseload, the MHC may also have responsibility to provide triage and virtual support to child care providers who are waitlisted for on-site IECMHC in regions throughout WA state. 

Who you are:  

You are bilingual, fluent in Spanish and English, and have experience in child/family mental health and early childhood development. You are passionate about supporting teachers, caregivers and parents of young children and are committed to a collaborative, attuned, strengths-based approach to problem solving and capacity building with adults.  You are self-aware and reflective in your work, and committed to your ongoing professional development.  You are self-motivated and able to work independently, balanced with your commitment to a collaborative team approach. You are a flexible thinker, aware of systems dynamics, and are sensitive to linguistic, cultural, social, economic, individual and positional differences among staff, providers and children/families served.

Who we are:

Child Care Aware of Washington (CCA of WA) is Washington’s most trusted child care resource. We are our state’s most thorough and accessible source of information and support for families seeking quality child care and a trusted partner to child care professionals. CCA of WA provides culturally responsive coaching, mental health consultation, technical assistance and professional development services that improve child care quality statewide. We provide services via a statewide network of locally based partners, and through our Family Center. We strategically customize our services, collect, and analyze performance data, inform, and guide public policy, and provide unique leadership to support Washington’s child care system.

CCA of WA envisions a world where children and families, especially those who are marginalized, discriminated against, or otherwise ostracized because of systemic racism, have access to equitable, quality child care and early learning programs that lead families to thrive economically. 

What you will be doing: 

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Provide Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) services to selected licensed child care providers (centers and/or homes) for the purpose of strengthening the capacity of providers, families and systems to promote positive social and emotional development, and to prevent, identify and reduce the impact of mental health challenges among children and families.

IECMHC services include, but may not be limited to:

Child/Family Consultation – working collaboratively with providers and families to assess and understand concerns, and develop individualized plans to meet child and family needs

Classroom Consultation - working collaboratively with caregivers, teachers and coaches to address understandings, beliefs, practices, conditions and stressors that affect relationships between adults and children

Program Consultation- consulting with directors, teachers, coaches and others to support changes in practice and policy to benefit all children, families, adults in the early learning setting

Systems-level Consultation – working with Coaches, Leads, MHCs, partners and statewide and regional agency staff to promote social-emotional health and well-being, and to build systems capacity to respond to social-emotional and mental health concerns

Specific Mental Health Consultation activities may include:

• Consultation with teachers, administrators, staff, and families
• Supporting reflection and problem-solving to build adults’ capacity to address child/family, classroom, programmatic and systemic concerns
• Classroom observations (virtual and on-site as appropriate)
• Collaboratively developing individualized support plans for children, families and programs and identifying culturally attuned, effective and feasible strategies
• Facilitating screening, resources and referrals for children, families and staff
• Trainings and follow-up consultation for early care and education staff and administrators on topics such as Trauma Informed Care, Understanding and Managing Challenging Behavior, Expulsion Prevention and Inclusionary Practices, Stress Management and Self-Care, and others as appropriate.
• Collaboration with Early Achievers Coaches, Mental Health Consultants and other partners working in child care settings
• Group consultation and/or training for Spanish speaking providers/communities of practice 

2. Provide resources, information and guidance to build the capacity of Early Achievers Coaches to support providers with children’s challenging behaviors and to prevent expulsion of children from child care and early learning settings.

Support/Consultation to Coaches may include, but is not limited to:

• Joint visits with Coaches and child care providers to provide initial assessment/ impressions and consultation to Coaches and providers regarding potential strategies and/or resources/referrals, and to determine whether IECMHC services are warranted.
• Ongoing partnership with Coaches around Coaching/Consultation to providers, including shared goals and sustainability planning as appropriate.
• Training on topics such as, but not limited to: Trauma Informed Care, Understanding and Managing Challenging Behavior, Expulsion Prevention and Inclusionary Practices, Stress Management and Self-Care, and other mental health topics as appropriate.
• Consultation with Coach groups/communities of practice regarding material covered in training and/or to provide group reflective consultation.
• Providing resources, materials, information or referrals for Coaches as needed.

3. Engage with state/regional/community/tribal early learning and behavioral health partners to build connections, establish referral options for children, families and providers and identify strengths/opportunities and service gaps/barriers. 

4. Additional Responsibilities:

• Work in partnership with IECMHC Director and Supervisor, regional MHCs and Coaches to support statewide needs for bilingual/Spanish language mental health consultation.
• Collaborate with team to develop culturally sensitive/attuned content, training and resources in Spanish to be utilized by MHCs and Coaches statewide to support child care providers, children and families
• Participate in regular individual and group reflective supervision and ongoing professional development
• As caseload allows, provide triage and mental health consultation to child care providers who are waitlisted for IECMHC services throughout the state.

Qualifications: 

Master’s Degree or Doctorate in Social Work, Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, or Psychology, clinical licensure or license-eligible, and a minimum of 3 years’ experience in mental health field, (candidates with experience with young children (birth- 5) and/or IMH experience or endorsement desirable).

Candidates with an advanced degree such as Master’s in Early Childhood Education or Child Development and/or Infant Mental Health Endorsement, and/or previous experience in delivering IECMHC and/or early education, may be considered if candidate is not a license eligible mental health professional 

Additional Competencies: 

We are looking for experienced individuals who: 

• Are bilingual, bicultural, fluent in Spanish and English
• Have experience in child/family/adult mental health
• Have foundational knowledge in early childhood development and the importance of early relationships
• Understand the impact of risk factors (e.g. trauma, abuse and neglect, adult mental illness, caregiver depression, interpersonal violence, poverty, substance abuse) affecting children’s development, behaviors and relationships
• Understand how culture (beliefs, values, attitudes, biases and experiences), equity, and environment shape relationships and behaviors
• Demonstrate knowledge of culturally appropriate anti-bias practice and theory, along with a commitment towards continued professional development in this area
• Demonstrate knowledge of best practice interventions for supporting young children exhibiting challenging behavior
• Demonstrate knowledge of screening, assessment and facilitating referrals for children, families and providers
• Are systems thinkers, and able to negotiate complexities of working in a statewide system
• Have ability to work independently and self-motivate, as well as work collaboratively as part of larger statewide MHC Team
• Have ability to maintain timely documentation/data entry into electronic data system and assist with monthly and quarterly deliverable and reporting requirements
• Demonstrate skillful written and oral communication with staff, teams and communities served; demonstrate effective listening skills and empathy
• Have ability to work occasional evening and weekend hours
• Possess Washington State Driver’s License, automobile insurance, and access to a reliable automobile. 

Location

There are 6 member agencies serving the Child Care Aware of WA (CCA of WA) system and as this position will have statewide reach, the hiring agency will be the Child Care Aware of Washington network office. If you live in the core geographic area of King/Pierce/Thurston counties, you will be classified as a local hire. If you live outside that area, you will be classified as Geo Remote. Depending on classification and pandemic considerations there will be differing expectations of remote and in-person work scheduling. We welcome and encourage experienced out-of-state candidates planning to relocate to Washington to apply.

Salary Range, Hours, Benefits

The annual salary range for this position is $66,000 - $79,000. Dual language skill will be considered when setting salary.

Flexible work schedule, generous Paid Time Off (sick and vacation) and Extended Illness Bank, 403b, health/dental/eye care/ancillary insurance, employee assistance program.

COVID Vaccination Requirement

Per Governor Inslee’s proclamation, state contractors in early education must be fully vaccinated no later than October 18, 2021 as a condition of employment. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. If you are a selected candidate, you will be required to provide proof of vaccination. You may request an accommodation if you are unable to meet the requirement due to a medical or religious necessity. 

Our staff is still working remotely with some monthly in-person meetings and supervision at this time.

Opportunity for All

Child Care Aware of Washington values diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience. We are committed to our racial equity framework which includes hiring practices that seek to disrupt systemic racism and ongoing learning, self-reflection and transparency about equity and justice in our work. You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials and we will honor this as you interact with our organization.