HealthySteps Specialist

Who we are

Community Healthcare Network (CHN) is a not-for-profit organization providing more than 65,000 New Yorkers with primary and behavioral healthcare, dental, nutrition, wellness, and needed support services.

Our network is made up of 14 federally qualified health centers throughout Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan, along with a fleet of mobile vans that bring health services to underserved people in need throughout New York City. We provide judgment-free, high-quality healthcare, without regard to race, religion, orientation, gender identity, immigration status or ability to pay. We turn no one away.

What we offer

Growth and development

Access to various healthcare professionals and benefits to deepen understanding and interest in the various disciplines involved in community health programming.

Supportive Team culture

Be a part of an interdisciplinary environment where your ideas and work are valued and encouraged.

Comprehensive benefits

Including health, dental and vision insurance, retirement plans, employee assistance programming and more.

Position summary

The HealthySteps Specialist is an early childhood intervention specialist that works closely with the pediatric primary care team to provide interventions, referrals, and follow-up for families with patients ages 0-5. The Healthy Steps Specialist builds strong relationships with families and providers to increase the efficiency of the medical system and support team-based, comprehensive care.

Duties: And responsibilities:

Essential Functions

• Conducts team-based well-child visits before, during, or following the primary care provider; visits focus on monitoring development, social-emotional functioning, and relational health, and providing anticipatory guidance.
• Conducts home visits as needed for the assessment, care, and development of the child.
• Conducts consultations on a short-term basis for needs regarding development and/or behavioral concerns such as sleep, positive parenting, pickyeating, etc.
• Facilitates parent/caregiver groups.
• Creates and maintains community resource directory/database.
• Provides referrals and tracks follow-up, as appropriate, to help families make successful connections to key resources within the community.
• Coordinates with Prenatal Coordinators to seamlessly transition pregnant people into CHN pediatric and HealthySteps care once child is born.
• Participates (when appropriate) in community-wide early childhood and/or mental health meetings.
• Engages in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) initiatives to ensure the Healthy Steps model is delivered with fidelity
• Collaborates with HealthySteps implementation team to implement all eight Core Components including universal screenings, making positive parenting and early learning guidance information available, and adjusting workflows for optimal efficiency
• Provides consultation and/or facilitates training to medical professionals and all practice staff re: early childhood development, early relational health/infant early childhood mental health, and trauma-informed practice
• Maintain intensive databases required to meet HealthySteps fidelity metrics, including both internal and external referrals.
• Collaborates with the HealthySteps Implementation Team to complete required annual site reporting to the HealthySteps National Office at ZERO TO THREE, which may include analysis of both external database files and EHR data reports.
• Tracks caseload to ensure capacity to deliver the HS services within the risk stratified service delivery model. This includes ensuring exit criteria are met and that families and children are elevated to higher levels of care or referred to community providers if needed.
• Utilizes a family and patient centered approach with every assessment, treatment, supervision, and case conferencing.
• Carries a limited caseload of behavioral health patients (about 15 scheduled per week) with emphasis on parents enrolled in HealthySteps.

Education & experience required

• Master’s in Social Work (MSW) or Master’s in Mental Health Counseling (MHC)
• I - No license and no experience
• II – Minimum of two (2) years’ experience with parenting, child development, social work, mental health counseling, psychology, early childhood education, or early intervention.
• Licensed Master Social Work (LMSW) or Licensed Mental Health Counselor-Limited Practice (LMHC-LP)
• I – no experience
• II – Minimum of two (2) years of experience with parenting, child development, social work, mental health counseling, psychology, early childhood education, or early intervention
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker or Licensed Mental Health Counselor
• Plus advanced level of experience with parenting, child development, social work, mental health counseling, psychology, early childhood education, or early intervention.