at The Family Place in Norwich, Vermont, United States
Job Description
Position Purpose
The Specialized Child Care Coordinator’s (SCC) primary responsibility is to provide oversight and support for eligibility, consultation, and content expertise regarding the provision of specialized childcare services and supports. SCC serves families, early childhood educators, and children six weeks through age 12 with specialized child care needs. The specific populations include children with open cases with the Family Services Division (FSD) of the Department for Children and Families (DCF); children with special physical, behavioral, and/or developmental needs; and families experiencing significant stressors. The SCC will work to increase the state’s Specialized Child Care capacity and increase the placement stability and inclusion of children with identified needs. Visits take place in the child's natural environment such as home, community-based programs, or other community settings.
Key Accountabilities
Program Responsibilities (70-80%)
Service Coordination
- Serve as primary service coordinator for CIS clients and families whose primary service need is high-quality early childhood programs
- Consult with service coordinator on cases where child care is identified as need for a child and where extra support is needed to ensure child can access child care setting successfully (eligibility for financial assistance, special accommodations, or transportation)
- Process enrollment in CDDIS for children/families receiving a Financial Assistance Program benefit for a specialized service need in accordance with all Child Care Financial Assistance Program regulations, policies, documentation, and timelines.
- Assist families with navigating the Child Care Financial Assistance Program and identifying and enrolling with a specialized child care provider that best matches their child and family.
- Facilitate the review of the Family Support Child Care Financial Assistance applications in CIS Intake Teams utilizing required forms, communicates information to the family, both verbally and in writing, maintains CIS documentation of the CIS team’s decisions and scores, along with the date of the meeting and team signatures for CCFAP files.
- Provide home visits as necessary to families, with or on behalf of the primary service provider when childcare is identified as part of the child’s plan.
- Provide no less than 2% monthly Direct Service time to Family Support Subsidy caseload (Actual case load will be determined based on One Plan, etc. with supervisor)
- Facilitate and participates in development, review, and evaluation of the One Plan, 6-month and Annual reviews, and other team meetings as necessary).
- Participate in community teams/multi-disciplinary teams to address barriers and gaps and ensure continuity of services.
- Assist caregivers/families to stay connected to a medical home and collaborate with medical providers in regard to the One Plan.
- Develop a knowledge base of community resources to share with caregivers/families and providers.
- Provide outreach and expertise to the Family Services Division and other community partners on Specialized Child Care policies, practices, and procedures to support families and children with identified specialized needs.
- Provide orientation to new DCF Family Services Division (FSD) social workers about CIS services/referrals, CCFAP payment policies and procedures, and selecting SCC programs when placing children.
- Ensures on-going working relationship and establishes regular scheduled time to be present at the Hartford DCF office.
- Coordinate and support the enrollment of children with protective services needs through ongoing communication with childcare provider, Family Services Division, and caregivers
- Consult with families and their teams (including Family Services Division caseworker) to support access to and placement stability in high quality childcare settings.
Transportation Coordination
- Administer transportation per the CCFAP Transportation Policy.
- Assist families and coordinating rides through the CDD contracted transportation vendor for children eligible under a Specialized Child Care service need and CCFA regulations.
- Authorize transportation in CDDIS (as applicable) and keeping monthly records of children receiving transportation, including service start and end dates
- Maintain regular and ongoing communication with transportation vendors, families, and early childhood education program staff to ensure demographic information and schedules for children are current, accurate, and communicated regularly
- Work with families that receive transportation services to develop goals to support transition from transportation services, as applicable
Specialized Child Care Provider Access and Supply
- Increase and recruit high-quality early childhood education programs interested in being designated as Specialized Child Care programs. This is accomplished through outreach, visits, and collaborative work with other entities working with childcare programs.
- Provide technical assistance to potential and current Specialized Child Care programs to support the successful enrollment and healthy development of children with specialized needs.
- Provide consultation to support the continuity of care for children with identified needs in their Specialized Child Care programs.
- Conduct on-site visits to early childhood education programs to ensure they meet the standards as outlined in the Specialized Child Care Agreement (Part 3 and Provisional Part 3).
- Providing CIS orientation and outreach to regulated programs and supporting programs with understanding CIS services and how to make a CIS referral
- Work with the provider to identify resources and supports necessary to improve program quality.
- Provide technical assistance to providers applying for Special Accommodation Grants
Documentation
- Maintain file on each child ensuring all documentation, releases, and consents are completed in a timely manner.
- Document all services in a timely and accurate way for billing and reporting purposes as required by Contracts and/ or PCC; this includes data entry in TFP data base.
- Review and revise care plans when appropriate and necessary. Implement changes as needed.
- Assist with program evaluation, improvement plans, or other related activities as required.
