Child Development Care Coordinator

First 5 Alameda County helps young children grow up healthy and ready to learn during the most important time in their development. We have nearly two decades of experience funding innovative programs and advocating for policies that produce better futures for our children. Our Vision is that every child in Alameda County will have optimal health, development and wellbeing to reach their greatest potential.

Join our amazing mission-driven team that in partnership with the community, supports a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities and improves the lives of children 0 to 5 and their families.

Our Child Development Care Coordinator Serves as the primary staff to the Help Me Grow (HMG) Phone Line and is responsible for connecting with, providing information to, and linking families to services and community resources that will support and/or enhance their child(ren)’s development.

• Responds to and processes a high volume of referrals and inquiries received by the Help Me Grow Phone Line which serves as an early childhood central access point for supporting early childhood development and social-emotional well-being.
• Consults as needed with referring providers regarding the developmental and behavioral concerns of children.
• Contacts families by phone to address developmental and behavioral questions or concerns and other family needs; assists families with understanding and supporting their child’s development, understand resources and services and empowers and educates them to navigate and advocate for their child(ren).
• Assesses child/family’s needs and eligibility for programs/services, identifies appropriate referrals, and coordinates referral of child/family to community resources, entitlement systems, services to address social determinants of health, other HMG components such as family navigation, and/or other agencies for family support and further assessment.
• Consults with service providers regarding potential referrals, appropriate referral pathways and community resources available to families.                          
• Conducts timely follow-up with families and providers to provide additional information and activities, monitor developmental progress, and ensure connection with services.
• Provides timely feedback to referral source on referral status and outcomes.
• Provides specialized consultation and guidance to pediatric providers, early care and education providers, child welfare workers, early intervention providers, and other agencies or individuals as needed in response to early childhood developmental and/or social-emotional screenings.
• Cultivates and maintains strong interagency relationships with community agencies/resources in order to ensure coordinated linkages to needed services.
• Enters maintains and reviews data on HMG Phone Line activities; analyzes data and makes recommendations to appropriate HMG committees and staff.
• Identifies systems barriers to service delivery and access, collaborates with HMG staff and appropriate partners to identify strategies to address barriers.
• Participates in informing and training providers and agencies in the use of HMG Phone Line services.
• Participate in relevant First 5 and community partner meetings as assigned.
• Additional duties as assigned.

What you need to succeed:

Knowledge of:

• General knowledge of child development (typical and atypical), developmental disabilities, infant and early childhood mental health, family support, and the social determinants of health
• Principles and practices of assessment and early intervention of children birth to 5
• Social service, health, education and developmental agencies and resources in Alameda County
• Entitlement systems for children birth to 5 and their families, including eligibility requirements
• Principles and practices of family-centered practice and interdisciplinary approaches to working with parents/families
• Awareness of the challenges that low-income and underrepresented families face
• Ethnically and culturally diverse communities, particularly those in Alameda County
• Strategies for identification and effective problem solving of systems issues
• Computer proficient with strong data entry skills; experience using Microsoft Suite, Office 365 preferred.

Ability to:

• Using the telephone as the primary mode of communication, work effectively with and outreach to ethnically and culturally diverse families
• Organize and plan work independently, manage multiple priorities, and work well under deadline pressure in a fast-paced role. 
• Promote basic principles of health promotion and preventive health care with an understanding and acceptance of differences in attitudes toward health care and services
• Gain confidence of and obtain personal and confidential data from clients, work with and safeguard confidential information
• Operate effectively and work collaboratively as part of a team
• Establish and maintain professional and effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work
• Communicate and present information effectively, orally, and in writing
• Exercise judgment within generally defined practices and procedures to select appropriate strategies and make effective decisions
• Think proactively, anticipate problems, analyze situations, consider alternatives and develop effective solutions
• Maintain accurate electronic and paper records and files in a timely manner, pay close attention to detail
• Meet attendance requirements of the position, be punctual and timely in meeting all requirements for work performance
• Adapt, with minimal or no advance notice, to changes in agency operations and work assignments or procedures

Education & Experience

Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

• A minimum of seven years of full-time progressively responsible experience in a public or private organization working with children (birth to 5 years old) and their families, including at least one year of experience in providing clinical assessment and/or consultation to at-risk families and/or providers who serve at-risk families
• Associate’s degree or equivalent of two years of college (90 quarter units or 60-semester units) from an accredited college or university in child development, social work, counseling, psychology, early care or special education, or related field that includes some coursework in child development and A minimum of five years of full-time progressively responsible experience working with children (birth to 5 years old) and their families, including at least one year of experience in providing clinical assessment and/or consultation to at-risk families and/or providers who serve at-risk families
• Bachelor’s degree in child development, social work, counseling, psychology, early care or special education, or related field that includes some coursework in child development and a minimum of three years of full-time progressively responsible experience working with children (birth to 5 years old) and their families, including at least one year of experience in providing clinical assessment and/or consultation to at-risk families and/or providers who serve at-risk families

Additional Requirements

• Ability to speak Spanish required
• Experience with ASQ, ASQ-SE, and M-CHAT strongly preferred
• Strengthening Families or similar training on best practices for working with families preferred

First 5 Alameda County Benefits 

We offer a comprehensive benefits package with health care options to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. These benefits include but are not limited to Medical, Dental, & Vision Coverage, $1,500 credit per year to spend on benefits, Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Employer Paid & Voluntary Life & AD&D Insurance , Long-Term Disability Insurance, Retirement Plans, Commuter Benefits, Employee Assistance and more.   

We also offer paid vacation, paid time off, and sick time. We have 10 paid holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year's as paid time off.