Senior Specialist, Healthy Steps - The Brookdale Hospital Medical Center

HealthySteps, an evidence-based program of Zero to Three, helps to ensure that parents and their babies get off to a strong start in life. Through a unique approach that integrates a child development specialist into the pediatric care team, HealthySteps enhances the practice to support the health, well-being and school readiness of babies and toddlers and their parents. 

• Participate in team-based well-child visits with parents and their children ages 0-5 years alongside the physician. 

• Provide consultations to families and young children regarding developmental and behavioral concerns. 

• Provide anticipatory guidance to caregivers and other primary care providers around common concerns such as early learning, sleep, feeding, discipline, toilet training, etc. 

• Oversee implementation of all core components of the HealthyStepsprogram including:staff training, universal development and behavioral screenings for all children, maternal depression and family needs screenings. 

• Submit quarterly and annual data site as required by NYS OMH and HealthySteps. 

• Make positive parenting and early learning guidance information readily available to all patients and staff. 

• Provide referrals and ensures follow-up as appropriate, to help families make connections to key resources within the community. 

• Document all patient activity and care coordination in patient recordsin accordance with program and hospital policies. 

• Work closely with pediatric providers around care coordination, goal setting, counseling, coaching, and education about key aspects of a child’s development. 

• May facilitate skills and/or support groups. 

• May conduct intensive Infant Mental Health assessments and provide on-going dyadic therapy intervention to families experiencing relational or behavioral challenges and/or exposure to trauma. 

• May support administrative responsibilities. 

Education:

• Master’s Degree in psychology, social work, counseling or related field required.

Experience:

• Experience and knowledge about early childhood growth and development, parent–child relationships, early childhood and infant mental health, and family systems theory. 
• Experience evaluating the development and social well-being of infants and children less than 3 years of age. 
• Experience with play therapy or dyadic treatment intervention a plus. 
• Previous experience in the medical field preferred. 

Licenses/Certifications:

• Licensed Professional in New York Staterequired (LCSW, PsyD, PhD highly preferred). 

Knowledge and Skills:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills. 
• Demonstrated expertise in child development. 
• Demonstrated commitment to working with underserved populations in a community setting. 
• Ability to work with people of many cultures. 
• Displays sensitivity to the service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics. 
• Ability to take initiative and willingness to learn. 
• Ability to work well both in teams and independently. 
• Strong motivational interviewing skills. 
• Commitment to a family-centered, strengths-based approach to care. 
• Ability to collect and enter data for program management, evaluation, and reporting purposes.  
• Strong organization skills. 
• Must be empathic, supportive, and patient. 
• Experience in the use of technology (Excel, Word, Outlook, EHRs, etc.). 
• Bilingual (Spanish) a plus. 

Physical Requirements:

• Position requires prolonged periods of sitting, standing, reaching, and walking throughout the working day.   
• Positionmay require travel to multiple locations. 
• Position will be required to stoop, bend, lift, and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds. 

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of  One Brooklyn Health (OBH) and The Brookdale Hospital Medical Center (BHMC).

OBH and BHMC are an equal opportunity employer, it is our policy to provide equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, military status, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or handicap or other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.