Early Intervention Occupational Therapist - The Dimock Center

Early Intervention Specialist- Occupational Therapist

You are a compassionate, hard-working individual who thrives in a close-knit team environment and is committed to serving families in a culturally rich, urban community. You have experience with infant toddler development and family support and are comfortable balancing clinical and administrative responsibilities in an upbeat, fast-paced work environment.

The Dimock Center is a federally qualified community health center that heals and uplifts individuals, families and communities. Our vision is to redefine the model of a healthy community by creating equitable access to comprehensive health care and education. We promote a culture of respect, excellence, equal opportunity, and commitment to our employees and the communities we serve.

The Dimock Center’s Early Intervention Program provides home and community-based services to children aged birth to three and their families with a unique focus on social justice and the concerns and priorities of urban families. Providing developmental assessment, family-led service planning, and routines-based intervention to children and families across a variety of settings, our EI program maintains a culture rooted in the tenants of Presence, Trust, Mutual Respect, and Playfulness.

Job Description

The Early Intervention Specialist – Occupational Therapist provides collaborative, family led developmental services to enrolled children ages birth to three and their families with a focus on fine motor, sensory, feeding and self care development. Services are provided across a variety of settings that are natural to the client families’ routines, including in home, community and center-based settings. The EI specialist maintains assigned level of direct clinical contact, and participates in a number of activities including, but not limited to: service coordination, developmental assessment, transition planning and direct clinical service across settings.

Required Education and Experience

Advanced degree and licensure in fields as determined by the Department of Public Health Operational Standards as follows:

Advanced Degree in Occupational Therapy and Current Massachusetts licensure

*Applicants who are fluent in Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, or Haitian Creole are encouraged to apply

Essential Functions

Provide service coordination including but not limited to: Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) development, eligibility assessment, timely transition, resource and referral services and ongoing family support

Provide regular, collaborative clinical services to assigned EI clients as indicated by the IFSP across environments that are natural to the families’ routines

Monitor and manage clinical timelines as indicated by the DPH Operational Standards and EOHHS

Maintain client records through timely and thorough documentation of clinical services, through entry into the EICS (electronic record) and paper documentation

Utilize interpreters via telephone and in person to communicate with families in their preferred language

Serve as a resource to the team in identified areas of expertise

Obtain parental consent for documented clinical activities

Maintain ongoing collaboration and communication with the multi-disciplinary EI team

Maintain caseload that allows for meeting assigned level of billable productivity

Maintain timely and accurate entry of billing and corresponding documentation.

Competencies

Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of typical and atypical infant toddler development within developmental domains, and maintains knowledge of related current research on brain development

Ability to work effectively with parents, guardians and other adult family members to identify family needs, priorities and resources

Ability to create individualized family interventions with regard for diverse populations, including a variety of races, cultures, creeds, sexual orientations and family constitutions

Acts as a resource in individual discipline/ area of expertise in several contexts including: to other staff, in community and to families enrolled in the program

Demonstrates effective documentation skills, is able to write and maintain progress notes, evaluation reports, service plans, and discharge reports as directed.

Understands and executes effective service coordination for identified children, including interagency case coordination, monitoring of IFSP service delivery, transition/ discharge planning, arrangement for consultation/ auxiliary services and referral as needed

Demonstrates effective written and verbal communication skills

Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills

Functions well as a member of an interdisciplinary team

Demonstrates understanding of word processing, web based data entry, and email/ scheduling software

Work Environment

This job operates across multiple settings, including client homes, community settings (child cares, playgrounds, medical appointments), in an office environment, via telehealth (phone and video conferencing) and in a clinical center-based setting with clients of diverse backgrounds, nationalities and ages.

Physical Demands

Duties may require standing and walking, or sitting for long periods of time, and/or reaching.

Might need light weight to moderate lifting

Travel by car or public transportation

Walking/ Climbing stairs in the community

Physically support infants and toddlers for positioning and safety

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

M-F, 9-5

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)