.png){kind=logo}
Mental Health Advisor
Job Description
SUMMARY
The Mental Health Advisor is responsible for providing onsite mental health consultation to teaching staff and families within all SJB Child Development Centers. The consultations are intended to directly support the social-emotional health and development of all children in the classroom, and allow SJB staff to work effectively, responsively, and collaboratively with children and families with mental health concerns, challenging behaviors, and individual developmental differences. Additional responsibilities include staff training, creating nurturing and emotionally responsive environments, increasing staff effectiveness in their interactions with young children and families, and developing strong school/home alliances.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• Implement all aspects of the delivery of the SJB model of early childhood mental health consultation services to staff, children and families that includes system, program, center and child-level consultation to support child care.
• Enhance all relationships involved in the childcare setting.
• Strengthen staff effectiveness and their interactions with young children and families.
• Conduct consistent and ongoing consultation meetings/conversations, observations, assessments and other consultative/therapeutic activities.
• Establish and maintain strong collaborative and professional relationships with children and families with mental health concerns, challenging behaviors and individual developmental differences.
• Conduct in-person evaluative child observations and support the referral process for community-based services and resources, as needed.
• Collaboratively develop the center’s Child Success Plans and ensure their success.
• Support the social-emotional health and development of all children in the classroom.
• Develop and/or facilitate trainings on a range of early childhood mental health topics for consultation as part of consultation support.
• Cultivate positive and inclusive learning environments.
• Provide intervention with mental health or behavioral crisis as they arise while adhering to laws and regulation. Situations may be related to mandated reporting and suspected child abuse.
• Attend clinical supervision with Lead Mental Health Advisor.
• Attend required meetings.
• Other duties as assigned by the Educational Health and Supportive Services Director, Program Director, Chief Executive Officer, or Chief Financial Officer.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
• Ensure that mandated reporting laws and regulations are followed appropriately.
• Ensure the health and welfare of staff and children is maintained at all times.
• Mandated to report suspected child abuse.
• Ensure staff understand and follow agency procedures and reporting requirements related to health and safety standards.
• Report safety hazards and injuries immediately and ensure proper paperwork is completed in a timely manner.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
• Demonstrate understanding of early childhood mental health consultation as building the mental health capacities of teachers, staff, families and others who care for young children and utilize the principles of the consultative stance in the oversight and implementation of the program.
• Demonstrate the value of self-reflection and practice the examining of one’s own values, beliefs, assumptions, biases and experiences and how influence what bring to the consultative work, relationships and interactions.
• Ability to assist others in self-reflection and perspective-taking.
• Ability to support the mental health of infants, young children and the adults who care for them.
• Understand and embrace the complexity, ambiguity and process-orientation of consultative work.
• Understand and embrace multidisciplinary approach for working with young children, families and other caregivers and staff.
• Understand typical and atypical growth and development of young children. Understand cultural variations in development, teaching practices, childrearing practices and caregiver expectations.
• Respect diversity and embrace working with multi-cultural communities.
• Understand the influence of power, inequity and oppression as related to adult and child behavior and relationships.
• Communicate respectfully and maintain effective relationships with all staff, partnering agencies and other stakeholders.
• Ability to provide accept responsibility, set goals, work independently and in cooperation with others.
• Professional, self-motivated and self-directed.
• Effective and strong communicator. Ability to communicate clearly in English both verbally and in writing.
• Ability
About the Org
SJB Child Development Centers is committed to providing high quality learning environments to support the success and well-being of children and families in our diverse communities.
We believe all children, regardless of economic status, deserve investment by dedicated skilled professionals in warm environments, which educate, engage, and inspire. Since 1971, it has been SJB’s privilege to prepare children and families for brighter and more prosperous futures with innovative services transcending traditional childcare. By providing children with the care and education they deserve and parents with access to the resources they need, we work together to create a vibrant, thriving community.
