Child Development Specialist

Title: Child Development Specialist
Reports to: Sr. Program Manager (Early Head Start/ Head Start)
Status: Non-Exempt / Hourly / Full-Time / In-person
Location: Oakland, CA
Pay: $27.5/ hour

***$1,000 Sign-on Bonus!*** Receive 50% after 1 month, and 50% after 6-month probationary period.

Our Mission and Vision

The Brighter Beginnings mission is to “support healthy births and successful development of children by partnering with parents and helping to build strong communities“. Our mission gains its strength from our core belief that, “Every family matters, and every child deserves a happy, healthy future.”

Our History

Brighter Beginnings is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and has been responding to the needs of families in resource-poor neighborhoods since 1984 when our work began in response to the alarming differences in mortality and illness rates among African American babies compared to other children.

Brighter Beginnings has grown into a respected and well-connected organization with locations in Oakland, Richmond, Bay Point, and Antioch. We have a multi-cultural, bi-lingual staff of passionate and committed family-service professionals; in fact, many of our staff came to this work because of the challenges they faced in their own families.

About the role

As a Child Development Specialist (CDS), you will support the Oakland families in your caseload, working with children ages 0-5 years old and their caregivers in our Early Head Start/ Head Start program. You will get to work with parents/caregivers to enhance their ability to fill the role of primary nurturer of their child, and to prepare the child for Pre-K and Kindergarten.

In this role, you will visit your caseload weekly in 90-minute home visits. You will work to promote positive birth outcomes, enhance child development, and promote healthy family relationships. You’ll maintin contact with your caseload of families to integrate services into the family setting, such as health, nutrition, family services, mental health, special services, parent education and resources/referrals. This role also requires writing notes and entering data after every visit with a client.

Our CDS’s receive top-tier supervision and support. You’ll receive in-depth training on the curriculum designed to deliver child growth and development, health, educational, and nutritional information. In addition to regular 1:1 and group meetings, you will receive annual trainings to continually grow professionally.

Candidate Requirements

• Advanced degree in Social Work, Psychology, Child Development, or some college with work experience, including twelve (12) post-secondary semester units or equivalent quarter units in early childhood education or child development
• Experience working with children from 0-5 years old
• Bilingual in Spanish/ English is required
• Strong computer skills and writing skills
• Valid driver’s license, acceptable driving record, reliable vehicle and car insurance. After conditional offer letter, must complete a background check and have no history of abuse/neglect.

Ideal candidate attributes

• Experience working doing home visitation
• Excels in assisting families to develop case goals and plans.
• Ability to teach, nurture and empower program participants.
• Ability to work independently with a strong teamwork commitment.
• Good interpersonal, communication, time management and organizational skills.
• High ethical standards.
• Experience working with diverse populations.

Core Responsibilities:

• Maintain a caseload of about 12 families. Schedule, conduct and document weekly home visitation sessions with participating caregivers and their children
• Implement developmentally appropriate parent and child activities per the EHS/HS curriculum
• Coordinate with teammates to implement group socializations twice monthly
• Coordinate with caregivers to ensure that prenatal, well-child exams, immunizations, health and dental screenings, and nutrition assessments are complete and necessary follow up occurs
• Complete family all required assessments with families in a timely manner
• Meet deadlines for required paperwork, documentation and grant reports
• Collaborate with community partner agencies to access services for participating families

Benefits

We are proud to offer competitive wages and benefits to our employees. Please feel free to inquire during the interview process. As a summary, we offer:

• 100% employer-paid health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance!
• Competitive wages and friendly environment
• Two weeks of vacation (increase after 1 year of employment)
• 13 paid holidays
• Sick leave accrual
• Optional employee-paid dependent health coverage
• 403b retirement account with matching
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Employee Assistant Program (EAP)

Notes: You may be a great Child Development Specialist if you have a background in any of the following: Family Advocate, Social work, Case management, Preschool Teacher, Case Manager, Outreach, Human Development, Early Childhood Development, Nanny, Childcare, Infant Development, Preschools, ABA, Spanish, español, Mam. 

Brighter Beginnings is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity and inclusion. At Brighter Beginnings, employment decisions are made regardless of sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, genetic information or ancestry, protected Veteran or military status, or other characteristics protected by law.

If you require alternative methods of application or screening, you must approach the employer directly.

All applicants that are offered a conditional offer of employment will need to complete a background check. For positions with client/patient contact, you must have a TB clearance and a physical assessment by a physician of your ability to complete job duties. Additional requirements are an immunization records (including MMR, Hep B, Varicella, TDAP, Covid-19). All positions require applicants to have a valid California driver’s license, be listed under car insurance as a driver, and a clean driving record (as defined by our insurance carrier).