Mental Health Consultant
When children's social and emotional health is compromised, it can create significant challenges for children leading to failure in school, inability to make and sustain friendships, and negative feelings about themselves. One in five children enters kindergarten with poor social development skills; it’s difficult for them to join others in play, they don’t have the ability to make and keep friends; and they do not positively interact with their peers. Children from the lowest income levels are the least likely to have positive social interactions upon entrance to kindergarten.
South Carolina Association of Community Action Partnerships (SCACA) is seeking highly qualified individual to serve as Mental Health Consultants for its Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP) Program. SCACAP provides Early Head Start child care services in nine (9) counties through thirteen (13) Child Care Partners across the state of South Carolina.
Potential candidates for this position should meet the following criteria:
Qualifications/Experience:
- Are licensed or certified mental health professionals
- Have knowledge of and experience in serving young children (birth to five years) and their families or mental health specialists, who have specialized training in working with families and very young children, (birth to three years)
- Has at least 3 years of experience working with young children
Knowledge and Skills:
- promote healthy growth in young children’s social and emotional development
- guide and support caregivers/teachers and parents in the child life to recognize, understand and support social and emotional development.
- have a firm grasp of social and emotional milestones and support strategies
- are confident and competent in modeling and coaching others to use similar practices
- help identify and work in partnership with families and caregivers to remediate problems that surface
- understands the characteristics of development and what is typical for children at different ages
- help families, caregivers, and teachers nurture each child’s growth
- assure worried parents that certain behaviors are a normal part of growing up.