Bilingual Family Child Care Specialist
2 Days Old
Start Early Lake County provides high-quality care, best-in-class education, and a stimulating learning environment to children from birth to five years old. As a program that serves low-income families, Start Early's research-based program helps children develop the literacy, language, early math, and social-emotional skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
We are recruiting individuals who want to join us in this mission and share a commitment to our core values of appreciation & respect, empowerment, diversity, excellence, learning, and communication.
Under the supervision of the Interim Site Administrator, the Family Childcare Specialist (FCCS) manages and implements the Family Child Care Option program within our Start Early Head Start program and in accordance with Early Head Start Performance Standards. The FCCS thrives on building positive relationships with providers in the assigned service area and visits family childcare homes weekly or as needed to ensure the effective implementation of all EHS/Head Start services. With a focus on empowering families, the FCCS keeps an updated list of qualified childcare providers, helping families easily find the perfect match for their needs. Responsible for the recruitment of FCC-licensed home providers to deliver services for eligible Early Head Start children.
Working Closely with your Site Administrator, you will:
- Provides onboarding to FCCH providers
- Conducts weekly site visits to monitor providers in the assigned areas, utilizing a monitoring tool.
- Regularly evaluates the quality of care provided in childcare homes and ensures that best practices are followed. Document observations, feedback, and action plans for improvement.
- Provides in-person training and technical assistance for all childcare home providers within the assigned area.
- Completes the Family Child Care Rating Scale assessment tool and establishes improvement goals for the home provider for quality improvement.
- Collaborates with Start Early - Early/Head Start Network to ensure that home providers are trained on program standards, DCFS state requirements, and Head Start Performance Standards.
- Supports providers obtaining a Child Development Associate Credential (CDA) and/or other state educational requirements.
- Actively recruits, enrolls, and re-certifies children in the Family Child Care Program according to EHSN ERSEA eligibility criteria.
- Collaborates with the Lake County Early Learning Center team to conduct family intakes for enrollment or appropriate referrals.
- Promotes parent involvement by providing informative program orientation to all families.
- Meets with parents to fill out the Family Survey or Family Partnership Agreements and helps them to locate and connect with community resources.
- Engages with the families to determine strengths and areas for growth. Works on goal-setting with the families
- Completes child screenings, assessments, and develops educational goals for each child enrolled.
- Handles a variety of administrative and clerical tasks, including data entry, document creation, spreadsheet management, and running reports from ChildPlus or other databases, while maintaining proficiency in various computer programs.
- Prepare and submit regular reports on site visits, assessments, and overall program effectiveness to management and stakeholders.
- Track progress toward achieving program goals and objectives.
- Ensures that all child and provider files and records comply with State requirements and Head Start Performance Standards.
- Assists in identifying children with special needs and facilitates referrals for assessment and appropriate services. Gathers necessary medical and educational information for documentation.
- Collaborates and supports providers to complete EHSN standarized assesment tools to observe and document child's learning assesments to develop educational goals for each child.
- Collaborates and supports providers with curriculum implementation, family conferences and home visits.
- Assists in conducting a regular program self-assessment as it pertains to the Family Child Care option.
- Facilitate connections between providers and necessary support services.
- Collaborate with the Family Engagement Team to maintains funded enrollment for the Family Child Care program.
- Facilitates transition of children from Early Head Start to Head Start and or local home school.
- Functions as a liaison with the Start Early Network and larger organization.
- Conducts monthly Community of Practice with Start Early FCCH providers.
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of community resources and services available for children and families.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Child Psychology/, Social Work, Child Welfare, Family Services.
- Preferred knowledge: Creative Curriculum, Coaching to Fidelity, Teaching Strategies GOLD, ECERS/ITERS/FCCERS and CLASS.
- Must have an excellent command of the English and Spanish language and grammar, both verbal and written.
- At least 3 years of experience in early childhood education, childcare coordination, or a similar role, preferably within Early/Head Start or similar programs.
- Strong understanding of early childhood development principles, ExcelRate Illinois, DCFS and Head Start program requirements.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive relationships with diverse families and childcare providers.
- Must be able to work with minimum supervision, work cooperatively with individuals in the child care field, and provide professional leadership in developing child care resources.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Proficient in using technology and software for documentation and reporting purposes.
- Valid driver's license and access to reliable transportation for site visits.
- This position will require regular travel to various childcare home sites within the designated area.
- Flexibility in hours may be required to accommodate childcare provider schedules and family needs.
- Biannual physical examinations, verification of Tdap, MMR and TB tests as a condition of initial and continued employment, along with a clear criminal background check (including fingerprints) completed prior to hire and every five years.
Salary: $51,825.00 - $60,000.00
Our generous benefit plan includes: Comprehensive Health Plans, Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion, Holistic Wellness Program, Professional Development Program, 401k Contribution, Paid Volunteer Days, 6-months paid parental leave and much more.
Start Early is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to our core values by creating an inclusive environment for all staff.
- Location:
- Waukegan
