SCOPE OF WORK

Support a program-wide culture that promotes all children’s mental health, social and emotional well-being, and overall health, including children with disabilities. 

Support activities in collaboration and consultation with agency personnel, including:

• Assist the program to implement strategies to identify and support an individual child or a group of children with mental health and social and emotional concerns utilizing Miami-Dade County Head Start recipient selected approaches. 

• Assist teaching teams and home visitors, to implement positive behavior support strategies with fidelity through the use of consultations, observations and modeling. 

• Utilization of the prescribed screening and assessment tools designated by Miami-Dade County Head Start that will be used to screen children within the first 45-days of enrollment.

• Collaborate with internal Social Service team to ensure parental consent for mental health consultation services is obtained during the enrollment process. 

• Assist in obtaining parental consent for individualized clinical services as appropriate.

• Develop a minimum of one (1) community mental health partnership agreement which facilitates access to additional mental health resources and services for program families. Work in partnership with assigned social services, mental health, and disabilities staff to locate appropriate providers.

• Provide direct early childhood mental health consultation services utilizing a multidisciplinary team approach which directly engages teachers and parents.

• Provide guidance and support to teaching teams, home visitors and other relevant staff to implement positive learning environments, effective classroom management, responsive caregiving for infants and toddlers and supportive teacher practices for all children. 

• Consult and collaborate with education, disabilities, and other pertinent team members on assessing a child’s strengths and needs, addressing prevalent child mental health concerns (internalizing and externalizing behaviors), and creating developmentally appropriate activities and intervention plans based upon multiple sources of information. 

• Lead multidisciplinary team in developing individualized intervention plans for supporting children with social, emotional, and mental health concerns that will be used in the classroom and at home, which are child and family centered and culturally appropriate.

• Assist classroom staff, home visitors with implementing strategies on intervention plans. 

• Develop a consistent schedule to follow-up with teaching team, home visitors, other pertinent staff, parents, and therapist/interventionist concerning progress, strengths, and needs, of intervention plans, as outlined in the Child Mental Health Policies and Procedures. 

• Ensure that child mental health activities are integrated into curricula, lesson plans and daily routine.

• Conduct general classroom observations as outlined in the Child Mental Health Policies and Procedures. 

• Conduct individual child observations as outlined in the Child Mental Health Policies and Procedures.  Obtain parental consent for observation as needed.   

• Work in collaboration with the disabilities and education coordinators to help teaching staff to work with children with disabilities who may also have social, emotional, or behavioral concerns.

• Provide opportunities for parents to discuss issues related to their child’s mental health and social and emotional well-being and how to appropriately respond to their child and promote their child’s social and emotional development. 

• Facilitate opportunities for parents and staff to understand mental health and access mental health education, resources and interventions through consultations, referrals, and training. 

• Ensure that all referrals, follow-up, and ongoing efforts are documented on program selected forms and in electronic data entry system.

• Work with service area team members to ensure implementation of support to limit suspension and prohibit expulsion as outlined in the Miami-Dade County Head Start’s policies and procedures. 

Schedule

• A schedule of on-site mental health consultation is required to be communicated and posted at each site.  Mental Health Professional and program staff will ensure teachers and parents are aware of the on-site schedule. 

• The mental health professional will ensure hours are scheduled or adjusted to meet the needs of parents, when needed.