Job Summary:

The Early Intervention Specialist will serve as a team member and fill the role of child development service coordinator and family involvement specialist. The Early Intervention Specialist will provide multidisciplinary child and family assessments, service coordination, family support activities and education, and child- and family-focused interventions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervises classroom assistants and volunteers.
• Conducts performance evaluations that are timely and constructive.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Provides individual and group intervention for infants and toddlers from birth to three years old who have developmental delays or who are at risk for delays in the areas of cognitive, adaptive behavior, social-emotional, self-care, fine motor, gross motor, and communication development.
• Assesses family and child strengths/resources, concerns, and progress. Participates in multidisciplinary assessments; selects and administers assessment instruments and procedures appropriately; interprets and reports test results; completes assessment reports and sends to appropriate agency. Functions as coordinator for the assessment team.
• Acts as service coordinator for the family by scheduling, developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the intervention plan for each family on caseload, ensuring that appropriate procedures and timelines are followed. Provides families with information on current trends and practices related to the needs of their child.
• Provides supportive professional assistance to families. Facilitates parent-child interactions to encourage child's development; encourages parents to participate in as normal a lifestyle as possible by developing family strengths and resources; assists families to act as advocates for their child.
• Completes reports, routine documentation, and management procedures as required by agency policies. Provides consultation, training, and screening clinics for outside agencies and interagency groups.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated knowledge of child development, planning, and implementation of intervention programs for children and families.
• Demonstrated ability to enhance parental competence while encouraging families to rely appropriately on informal and formal outside support systems.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in human services preferred. Adequate level of education and/or experience may be substituted for a degree.
• Valid driver's license and insured automobile required.

Physical Requirements:

• Works in classroom and home-based environment.
• Much of the work is completed while sitting and/or crawling on the floor.
• Working conditions can be disagreeable and hazardous at times due to unpleasant living conditions (roaches, excrement on floor, unsanitary conditions, and unfriendly pets), hazardous road conditions (dirt and gravel roads that are not sufficiently maintained in adverse conditions), and classroom accidents (toileting, vomiting, spills).