Home Visitor
HOME VISITOR
Compensation:
$16.38-$18.00/hour
Summary
The Early Head Start Home Visitor provides early, continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services to eligible pregnant women, infants, toddlers and their families through weekly home visits and socialization activities while at the same time, promoting the role of the parent’s as the first and most important teacher of their child(ren). In partnership with the family, the Home Visitor will design, plan and carry out developmentally appropriate experiences that meet all component areas of Head Start Program Performance Standards, the School Readiness Goals, the Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework and the Head Start Early Learning Framework and provide services, referral and resources that meet the individual needs of the child and the family. Each Home Visitor will maintain a caseload of 10-12 infants, toddlers, and/or pregnant women.
All Early Head Start employees serve as an advocate for Early Head Start families and partner with parents and families as they become lifelong educators by observing, guiding, promoting and participating in the everyday learning of their children at home, school and in their communities.
We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all children, families, staff, and our communities. We believe every member on our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions.
Essential Functions include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Home Visits (60%)
- Conduct weekly 90-minute home visits for each child/pregnant mother assigned to the caseload. For children, the home visits must be conducted with the parent or primary (legal) caregiver.
- Home visits must be planned to deliver comprehensive, individualized, high quality services including and not limited to health, educational, mental health, disabilities, social services, nutritional and child growth and development.
- Implement the selected home-based curriculum (Parents as Teachers).
- Reschedule any home visits cancelled by the agency or the Home Visitor within one week from the cancellation. Reschedule any home visits missed by parents at the parent’s earliest convenience.
- Create and maintain respectful, trusting, and caring partnerships with each child and the child’s family.
- Drive to family homes.
- Conduct child developmental screenings and assessments using the agency’s selected tools (TS Gold, ASQ, OAE, SPOT, etc.).
- Use child assessment data to plan home visit and socialization activities.
- Work with the parent/family to identify and implement developmentally appropriate learning activities from the Parents as Teacher’s curriculum.
- Assist families in identifying family resources and needs by:
- Completing family partnership agreements.
- Completing the family strength and needs assessments.
- Locating resources and scheduling appointments with community resources.
- Provide support and education to families, to ensure that that prenatal, well-child exams, immunizations, health screenings, and nutrition assessments are complete and necessary follow up occurs.
- Model appropriate discipline techniques and positive self-esteem building behaviors when working with families.
Socializations (15%)
- Provide bi-monthly socializations for infants/toddlers, pregnant mothers and their families.
- Develop lesson plans reflective of activities that meet the needs of all children including those at risk, those with special needs, and those who are culturally diverse.
- Integrate all Early Head Start components into socialization lesson plan.
- Using the selected curriculum (Parents as Teachers), and results from the screenings and assessments (ASQ and TS Gold), the Home Visitor develop and utilize lesson plans which reflect both mandated elements and parental and cultural influences, and which promote the social emotional, physical, and cognitive development of Early Head Start children.
- Individualize one-to-one, small group and large group activities to reflect the unique needs and strengths of all children in the classroom.
- Provide an atmosphere that promotes and reinforces parental involvement in the socializations.
- Work with appropriate agencies and other resources to develop Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP).
- Coordinate special needs staff in the classroom and develop a collaborative approach that benefits all children and meets the needs specified in the IFSP.
- Maintain visual supervision of children at all times while in attendance to socializations.
Documentation and Meetings (15%)
- Review each child’s goals and write comprehensive individual plans designed to promote current learning and attend to nutritional, health, and social issues.
- Develop and utilize teaching approaches and materials for use in the classroom and home.
- Maintain accurate written/electronic records including health information, assessments, IFSP documentation, screening instruments, anecdotal observations, and other required forms.
- Plan and facilitate parent meetings which provide education and information on current Early Head Start policy, curriculum development and program governance.
- Facilitate the election of Policy Council representatives at the socialization level.
- Communicate frequently with other staff and parents; serve as liaison among medical and social services in the community; act as advocate for Early Head Start families.
- Make referrals to service area experts. Participates on multi-disciplinary team meetings.
- Meet regularly with consultants and community collaborators to assure quality services.
- Enter data into the selected web-based system (Child Plus).
- Document completion of home visits.
Other (10%)
- Participate in recruitment activities.
- Conduct enrollments for families who have completed the eligibility process and have been selected to participate in the program.
- Attend meetings, trainings, etc. as needed or requested.
- Assist in special projects as related to Early Head Start.
Competencies
Safety - Actions, attitudes, and performance need to provide a safe environment for families, children, and our community to include:
Provide a safe environment for children by working with families, your team, and health professionals; help children to learn habits with their health and safety; follow compliance standards and expectations; gather information as necessary to clarify a situation and make decisions in a timely manner; manage own behavior to prevent or reduce stress and pressure, stay clear-headed and objective; prevent any workplace safety situation.
Quality - Actions, attitudes, and performance need to provide a high-quality early childhood education environment that families and our surrounding communities can depend on to include: meet the essential functions listed in the job description using the knowledge and skills the position requires; communicate clearly in all forms - oral, written, and nonverbal; create an environment that is supportive of each child's age-appropriate physical and motor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development; follow standards and expectations set forth by the organization and licensing and be prepared with enthusiasm each day; submit work that is free of error, on time, and dependable for any potential audit needs; present self in a positive and professional manner to develop relationships with each family; be open to changes such as new policies, procedures, and technology; uphold organization’s reputation, mission, and core values; carry fair share of the workload in relation to the position.
Personal and Professional Development - Actions, attitudes, and performance need to show a desire to grow as an Early Childhood professional to include: identify as a professional and conduct self as a member of respected organization and team; honor diversity in cultures, beliefs, and practices through interactions with others; prepare a professional development plan with the information, and/or training needed to complete the work; use appropriate tools, reporting, and technology to perform work; be the “subject matter expert” to provide guidance and solution; understand and perform expectations about what will be done and how.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required.
Minimum Qualifications- Must obtain a background clearance, physical examination clearance, and TB test clearance prior to hire and throughout employment.
Education and Experience –
Required: Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field. Must have knowledge and at least one-year experience in child development and early childhood education, adult learning, and family dynamics including knowledge of community resources and skill to link families with appropriate agencies and services. Experience must demonstrate ability to plan and implement home-based learning experiences that ensure effective implementation of the home visiting curriculum and promote children’s progress across the standards described in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five, including for children with disabilities and dual language learners, as appropriate, and to build respectful, culturally responsive, and trusting relationships with families.
Preferred: Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field. Candidates with a CDA and no less than one year of infant/toddler knowledge and experience are also eligible provided they continue taking courses/classes that lead to an AA degree in ECE or related filed.
Language Skills – Effective communicator with ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, take notes, and prepare business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, board of directors, and the general public.
Reasoning Ability - Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form. Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
Other Skills and Abilities – A collaborative and flexible style, with a strong service mentality; need to be seen as a team player who is committed to lifelong learning; hands-on with integrity and a desire to work in a dynamic, mission-driven environment; demonstrated commitment to the social sector with a passion for the organization’s mission is essential. Flexible scheduling is required to accommodate family needs and may include some night and/or weekend hours.
Computer Skills - Prior experience and proven ability to utilize Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Microsoft Word, is required. Strong computer skills required.
Travel - Must be able to travel in and out of community. Current, valid Driver’s License and proof of auto insurance required.
Physical Demands – Regularly required to stand or traverse around service or storage area, stooping, squatting, lifting, carrying, pushing and climbing, and use hands, fingers, and vision to lift, carry, or hold items and drive a vehicle. The employee must be able to lift 45 pounds. Corrected vision and hearing aids may be used to have capacity for normal range required for seeing/hearing children, greeting visitors, and interacting with others. Working conditions include tasks that involve possible exposure to blood, bodily fluids or tissues; possible exposure to communicable diseases. Be aware of the cognitive, social and physical needs of children. This position works indoors and outdoors. Risk involved with travel on main highway, side streets and rural roads during business travel, including evenings and weekends. Possible exposure to communicable diseases. Must be able to travel, enter, and exit a vehicle without assistance and withstand exposure to adverse weather conditions.
EEO Affirmative Action Statement:
It is the policy of SALFCS to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, SALFCS will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.