Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant
The Home for Little Wanderers

Boston, Massachusetts

Posted in Not for Profit and Charities


This job has expired.

Job Info


When you join The Home for Little Wanderers, you join a team of professionals dedicated to creating better, brighter futures for kids.

For over 200 years, The Home for Little Wanderers has helped build stable lives and hopeful tomorrows for vulnerable children and their families. Our 25+ community-based and residential programs serve thousands of at-risk youths from birth to age 26. Many of these children have experienced abuse, neglect, trauma, or a disrupted family life. As the oldest child welfare agency in America, we provide them with safe surroundings, permanent loving relationships, and a secure path toward a better, brighter future.

The Home for Little Wanderers Center for Early Childhood was awarded an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation grant, funded by the Department of Early Education and Care. The focus of the grant is to strengthen the skills and capacity of educators, site administrators, caregivers, and families, to promote and support children's healthy social-emotional development from birth to school age. We provide services to Department of Early Education and Care licensed public, private and out of school time programs serving children ages 0-14 in Boston (Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, Roxbury, Roslindale, South Boston, West Roxbury), Brookline, Chelsea and Winthrop.

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is a prevention-based intervention that addresses the developmental, social-emotional, and behavioral challenges of children. The service is designed to build program capacity and school success by:

  • Identifying, preventing, and reducing the impact of behavioral and emotional distress of young children
  • Providing interventions and strategies that address concerning or challenging behaviors
  • Supporting programs' abilities to successfully retain children to prevent suspensions or expulsions using evidence-based approaches
  • Reducing educator stress/turnover

Consultants' knowledge-base and qualifications must be aligned with core competencies in Massachusetts for mental health and early education and care professionals (i.e., mental health clinicians, behavioral health specialists, or social workers). Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants have specialized training in:
  • Typical and atypical child development
  • Infant and Toddler Mental Health
  • Separation and Attachment Disorders
  • Developmental Disabilities in Children
  • Serious Emotional/Behavioral Problems with Young Children and their Families
  • Influence of Culture on Caretaking Practices
  • Child abuse and Neglect
  • Substance Abuse
  • Trauma Informed Care (TIC)
  • Grief and Loss
  • Pregnancy and Early Parenthood
  • Postpartum and Maternal Depression and other Mental and Behavioral Disorders in Adults;Family Relationships and Dynamics

Job Responsibilities
  • Provide short term social-emotional technical assistance, coaching and training to programs, classrooms or individual children utilizing evidence-based assessment and related tools such as Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT), Pyramid Infant-Toddler Observation Scale (TPITOS), MA Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers, MA Preschool Early Learning Guidelines, MA Curriculum Frameworks for Preschool and, Preschool and Kindergarten Social-Emotional Development and Approaches to Play and Learning, MA QRIS Standards, Environmental Rating Scales, Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Ages and Stages Questionnaire and Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (Deca-C).
  • Observe programs, classrooms, and individual children
  • Provide individual and classroom consultation, staff training and coaching to educators, site administrators and caregivers
  • Promote mental health and well-being through observation, consultation, training, and feedback
  • Establish relationships with adults in the lives of children to provide knowledge and skills to promote positive relationships and nurturing environments in the healthy social, emotional development for all children
  • Identify children and families in need of direct services through the collaborative efforts of the team
  • Support interventions for individual children and families that may include referrals for case management, clinical therapy of family support services
  • Consult with early educations programs and systems with an equity lens
  • Assist programs with implementing effective inclusive practices
  • Collaborate with community providers to create and maintain collaborative partnerships with programs to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of adults in children's lives

Required Skills
  • Highly engaging professional development presentation abilities
  • Application of principles of adult learning to design and deliver effective professional development
  • Readiness to learn new technology applications to support educator training

Personnel and Consultant Requirements

Required Personnel hired with grant funds must possess the appropriate qualifications, knowledge, skills, and licensure required for their position(s) as demonstrated by the following:
  • ECMH Consultants must have a minimum of a Masters' degree in a related field such as social work, psychology, family therapy, behavioral health therapist and 3-5 years ‘experience working in the field with young children. Exceptions will be allowed for a Bachelors' degree in a related field such as early childhood education, psychology, social work and or behavioral health therapist, and 3-5 years' working in the field with young children.
  • Consultants should be knowledgeable of DEEC licensing regulations, early learning standards, Head Start Standards and IDEA requirements and the resources and tools that EEC funded programs use to promote healthy social and emotional development; inform curriculum and instruction; measure children's developmental progress; and enhance program quality so that ECMH consultants can build further linkages for their ongoing practical use and implementation by programs, educators and families that they will serve.
  • Consultants must be able to demonstrate capacity to work in partnership and continuing relationships with programs, educators, families, and other community supports using collaborative approaches, adult learning theory, and facilitation skills to provide consultation, support, and psycho-educational training for early childhood and out-of-school time educational professionals.
  • Consultants must abide by all laws - both federal and state - relating to confidentiality of client information and follow appropriate confidentiality protocols regarding sharing of clinical information with program staff and other parties, maintaining all necessary releases of information in order to provide services.



Valuing Diversity



We are committed to excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion, while simultaneously creating a culture that supports those values. We believe the differences we bring enhance our ability to provide exceptional service and care to diverse children, families, and communities. Moreover, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging align with our values and our mission to help vulnerable children and their families build permanent, positive change.



What The Home Can Offer You



In addition to the chance to make a lasting impact on the lives of the youth we serve, The Home for Little Wanderers offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package including:


  • Generous time off including up to 20 days per year for new full-time employees, plus 11 holidays, 5 sick days, and 2 personal days
  • Health and Dental Insurance that is effective immediately upon hire
  • Extensive training to new staff
  • Tuition reimbursement of up to $2,400 per fiscal year
  • 403(b) Retirement Plan with employer match
  • Employer paid Long-term and Short-term Disability Insurance, plus Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
  • And more!


This job has expired.

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