Early Head Start Health Specialist

Programmatic / Operational

• Develops written health, environmental safety, sanitation, food service and emergency policies ensuring compliance with federal, state and local regulations.
• Develops and complies with a written health service plan to provide strategies for meeting the special needs of children with disabilities and their parents.
• Ensures the program provides services to disabled children with special needs. (10 children minimum).  This should represent at least 10% of the funded enrollment.
• Maintains detailed, accurate, up-to-date and confidential records including: child health files, health services tracking system and documentation of all activities.
• Develops and submits timely reports of component service provisions and activities to VP-EHS.
• Organizes and facilitates the meetings of the Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC).
• Participates in the program’s annual self-evaluation and federal monitoring.
• Maintains, updates, and improves systems, procedures, work plans, manuals, Program Information Report (PIR) and other relevant reports for the health component areas.
• Develops, presents, assesses, coordinates and evaluates component training as identified in the Early Head Start Performance Standards and Louisiana state regulations.
• Advocates for children and families throughout the service area.
• Participates in and contributes to all case management, parent education planning, supervisory, and management team and staff meetings.
• Communicates effectively and works collaboratively with diverse audiences when necessary.
• Adheres to all confidentiality policies and procedures.
• Attends career and professional development opportunities.
• Recruits and engages supporters to ensure the program secures required federal in-kind match.
• Provides staff training on all local, state, federal and program-developed health, safety and child care requirements.
• Collaborates with the Family and Community Partnership Specialist to recruit and enroll children with disabilities.

Child Development and Disabilities:

• With parental consent and no later than 30 calendar days from the child’s entry into the program, makes a determination as to whether each child has an ongoing source of continuous, accessible health care.
• Within 90 calendar days of child’s entry into the program, obtains determinations from health care providers as to whether each child is up-to-date on a schedule of age appropriate preventive and primary medical and oral health care.
• Ensures each child’s nutritional health needs are identified and documented.
• Implements periodic observations or other appropriate strategies for program staff and parents to identify any new or recurring developmental, medical, oral or mental health concerns of children.
• Facilitates and monitors oral health preventive care, treatment and follow-up, including tropical fluoride treatments for children.
• Facilitates further diagnostic testing, evaluation, treatment and follow-up plan, as appropriate for each child with a health problem or developmental delay.
• Tracks all referrals and services provided and monitors the implementation of a follow-up plan to meet any treatment needs associated with the health, oral health, social and emotional, or developmental problem of a child.
• Works collaboratively with parents to arrange necessary medical, dental, or nutritional examinations and immunizations.
• Obtains informed signed parental consent and release of information for all health, dental and nutritional services provided to children by the program or its contracted service providers.
• Identifies health, dental, emergency and nutrition service resources within the community and assists parents, as needed, in securing a source of accessible health care for their families.
• Monitors and assists with accommodation and implementation of IEP goals.
• Monitors the ongoing health status and needs of enrolled children by ensuring the completion of daily health checks, the administering of medications per the program’s policy and doctor’s orders, the implementation of the program’s short-term exclusion and re-admission policy.
• Designs and implements nutrition services that are culturally and developmentally appropriate, meeting the nutritional needs of, and accommodating the feeding requirements, of each child.
• With assistance of a Nutritionist, monitors the implementation of the menus and food services.
• Ensures timely and accurate reporting of Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) reimbursement claims.
• Ensures children are familiarized with all health services they will receive prior to delivery by assisting teachers with child centered activities in the classroom and instructing parents on how to prepare their children for such services.
• Refers children suspected of having an emotional or developmental concern to the appropriate service provider.
• Ensures the program-wide culture promotes children’s mental health, social and emotional well-being, and overall health by providing supports for practices, strategies and positive learning environments.

Family, Parent and Community Engagement:

• In collaboration with the VP-EHS, negotiates and develops written agreements and/or contracts with health related service providers.
• Builds community partnerships to facilitate access to additional resources and services as needed for children with health concerns.
• Collaborates with parents to promote children’s health and well-being by providing medical, oral, nutritional and mental health education support services that are understandable to individuals.
• Provides parents with ongoing support to assist them with navigation through health systems to meet the general health and specifically identified needs of a child.
• Provides professional leadership in developing community health partnerships through collaborations and negotiation.
• Collaborates with parents of children with disabilities to ensure the needs of their children are being met, including support to help parents become advocates for services that meet their child’s needs.