POSITION TITLE: Children’s Mental Health Manager, Center Based STATUS: Exempt, FT GRADE: 5 SALARY: $73K-78K/yr DEPT: Youth and Family Potential PROGRAM: Children’s Mental Health

REPORTS TO: Director of Children’s Mental Health

SUPERVISES: Children’s Mental Health Consultants, Developmental Specialists

PURPOSE: Under the leadership of the Director of Children’s Mental Health Consultation, the Children’s Mental Health Manager will help lead the Children’s Mental Health & Disabilities Health team in the development of strategy, program design, implementation, and evaluation of children’s mental health and developmental consultation services to Head Start Childcare Partners. The Manager will participate in organizational wide initiatives, support, and cultivate the growth and future mindset of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.

COLLABORATES WITH: Children’s Mental Health Manager, Center Based; Children’s Mental Health Manager,Community and Home Visiting; Family Services & Education Teams; Youth and Family Potential Leadership

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Responsibilities:

• Leads and supervises team of Mental Health Consultants in providing classroom/child observations, reflective consultation, interdisciplinary planning for child support plans and training to Childcare Partners.
• Provides observations, reflective consultation, and leads interdisciplinary planning for child support plans and training to a caseload of Childcare Partner classrooms.
• Builds relationships with Site Directors at Childcare Partners and collaborates with them to support and monitor the implementation of Head Start/PFAE program requirements for mental health and disabilities, and provides program-level reflective consultation.
• In collaboration with Director of Children’s Mental Health and other Children’s Mental Health Managers, develops and leads innovative strategies related to reflective practice, trauma informed care/programs, and staff wellness for Childcare Partners and YWCA staff.
• Leads and supervises team of Developmental Specialists to ensure the completion of developmental screenings, timely referral and advocacy for children to receive early intervention and special education services.
• Collaborates with Family Services and Education Team to ensure program-wide education and support for families who have children with disabilities/developmental delays or suspected disabilities/developmental delays, including supporting the implementation of IFSPs and IEPS for children at Childcare Partner sites.
• Helps to develop and monitor the implementation of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with IDEA & Head Start Program Performance Standards, in the content areas of children’s mental health and disabilities.
• Manages all reports of program deliverables required by using COPA and other databases and established reporting mechanisms.
• Helps to develop and implement methods for program/service evaluation of outcomes and ongoing quality improvement.
• Oversees crisis management, support and direction to appropriate partners on challenging situations with children and families as needed, including oversite of expulsion prevention policy and procedures for supporting the inclusion of all children.
• Develops community relationships and obtains memorandums of understanding with local mental health agencies, Child and Family Connections (CFCs), and local school districts to strengthen referral networks and the delivery of clinical/educational intervention services to children and families in partner programs.
• Helps to lead and contributes to the Children’s Mental Health & Disabilities Team’s provision of ongoing training and education for early education providers and YWCA team members.
• Assists in grant management, including budget development and oversite, monitoring and reporting of deliverables, and planning for and participation in program audits.
• A minimum of fifteen (15) hours of professional training related to Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health and Early Childhood Education and/or to the responsibilities of the position is required annually.

Staff Management Responsibilities:

• Works in close collaboration with other center-based Children’s Mental Health Manager to lead team.
• Supervises Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants and Developmental Specialists and ensures a system of weekly reflective supervision and clinical supervision as needed.
• Leads recruitment and interviewing of diverse candidates for open Mental Health Consultant and Developmental Specialist positions.
• Ensures team receives ongoing training on best practices related to infant and early childhood mental health, child developmental screenings (ASQ, ASQ/SE,), strategies for working with diverse learners, and inclusive and trauma-informed teaching practices.
• Stays up to date on current trends and advancements in the field of infant and early childhood mental health and participates in state initiatives related to Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation.
• Participates in leadership meetings and collaborates with other leaders in Youth and Family Potential.
• Represents the organization in the community and builds a network of connections and support as well as promotion of YWCA services.

Leadership Competencies

• Mission Driven- demonstrates passion for supporting systems/programs/families with advancing equitable and inclusive policies/practices that serve and empower children, families, and early childhood educators.
• Self-awareness- including awareness of one’s own strengths and areas for growth; awareness of and commitment to address biases; ability to identify and appropriately manage emotional responses to the work.
• Reflective supervision and practice- values a reflective approach to work and can create reflective opportunities for others.
• Develops and motivates others – has a passion for supporting the development of others through modeling, coaching, and mentoring.
• Relational and Team Oriented-builds strong relationships of mutual trust and respect with colleagues and with external partners/stakeholders.
• Team Oriented- fosters effective teams and collaborative interactions and supports staff in having a sense of belonging.
• Cultural responsiveness- demonstrates humility & curiosity about cultural backgrounds, and a commitment to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion; ability to work collaboratively with individuals from various education, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.
• Leads with vision – has an inspiring vision for the future of the organization, leading with courage and willingness to take risks in the service of impact.
• Decision making – Action oriented, able to set priorities, take initiative, and make timely decisions.
• Strategic thinking – Considers the future of the organization proactively and responsively; weighs diverse input to inform strategies, identifies innovative opportunities when relevant.
• Flexible- demonstrates resiliency and is open to change, new perspectives, manages ambiguity, and strives for continuous improvements.

NON-ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES: Participate in administrative and program meetings, as appropriate.

OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED: Other duties outside of the responsibilities of the position may be assigned, whether for a project, special needs task or other assignments, or participating in collaborations.

QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE:

• 2+ years of experience providing reflective supervision, managing teams or other leadership responsibilities strongly preferred

• Minimum of five years of providing mental health services to children and families; experience providing infant and early childhood mental health consultation strongly preferred
• Strong knowledge of child development and infant/early child mental health
• Strong knowledge of early childhood care and education systems, including early intervention and special education
• Experience working with databases and collecting and analyzing data
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including presentation skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

EDUCATION:

• Master’s degree required in psychology, social work, counseling or a related field. Must include graduate education or experience in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Child Development (0-5 years).
• LCPC or LCSW strongly preferred, or eligible to sit for exam for clinical licensure.
• Must take Orientation to Illinois Model of Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation through INCRRA within first year of employment.

CERTIFICATION(s) REQUIRED: N/A

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Must complete and pass a background check from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), fingerprinting and a physical exam.
• Ability to travel between offices and sites in Chicagoland Area. (This position is based out of YWCA office in Waukegan and has need for regular travel to Childcare Partner sites primarily in Lake County. Occasional travel to YWCA office in Addison.)

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The essential functions of the position require the operation of computers and other office equipment and movement between offices. The noise level is usually moderate. Movement requirements include walking, stooping or kneeling. There may be a need to reach or to lift objects, such as packages or supplies. Communication needs include seeing, hearing, and speaking. There will be periods of sitting, holding a telephone and using computers. Reasonable accommodations will be made for an incumbent to meet the essential responsibilities of the position.

WORK SCHEDULE: Typical work schedule is Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, but may require working some nights and weekends based on program deliverables and organizational needs