Behavioral Health Specialist

The General Pediatrics division of the Department of Pediatrics is seeking a Behavioral Health Specialist to provide services within the Bayview Clinic as part of the High Five for Prenatal to Five collaborative early learning hub project. High Five for Prenatal to Five is a multi-site project focused on improving healthy equity through the provision of early childhood development supports within the context of pediatric primary care. On this project, the Behavioral Health Specialist will work as an early childhood development expert within the pediatric primary care team to provide screening, assessment, brief interventions, consultative services, education, referral linkages, advocacy, and follow-up for families with children ages 0-5. The successful candidate will build strong relationships with families and with members of the care team (e.g., attendings, residents, nursing staff, front-desk staff) to support team-based comprehensive care. As part of this position, the hired candidate will receive training and supervision in, and be expected to implement, at least three evidence-based models of care for young children, including Healthy Steps, the Chicago Parent Program, and the mothers and Babies Course.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Training/Professional Development Activities (on the job trainings)

• Participate in Healthy Steps training (Virtual Healthy Steps Institute)
• Participate in Chicago Parent Program training.
• Participate in Mothers and Babies training.
• Participate in regularly scheduled reflective supervision meetings.
• Participate in regularly scheduled longitudinal case-based learning sessions through the KKI-NECT Project ECHO model.

Clinical

• Promote Healthy Steps within the practice to families and providers.
• Support the practice in implementation of screening for social, emotional, behavioral and developmental concerns and family needs for families, 0-5 years old.
• Conduct appointments before, during, or following the primary care provider visits that are focused on monitoring development, social-emotional functioning, and relational health, and providing anticipatory guidance.
• Conduct consultations on a short-term basis for child/family needs regarding social, emotional, developmental and/or behavioral concerns (e.g., sleep issues, positive parenting, picky eating, tantrums)
• Maintain a child development support line and respond to call requests within the designated response time.
• Provide brief developmental and mental health interventions using established evidence-based interventions.
• Facilitate parent/caregiver groups using the Chicago Parent Program and Mothers and Babies curriculums.

Provision of Team-Based Care

• Serve as an active member of the High Five for P-5 Implementation Team and attend regular team meetings.
• Work with administrative staff to ensure appropriate scheduling of the Behavioral Health Specialist’s time in coordination with provider visits.
• Engage in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) initiatives to ensure the Healthy Steps model is delivered with fidelity.
• Collaborate with the High Five for P-5 team to implement all core components of the Healthy Steps model, Chicago Parent Program and Mothers and Babies interventions including universal screenings, making positive parenting and early learning guidance information available, and adjusting workflows for optimal efficiency.
• Maintain open communication with all members of the primary care team (residents, attendings, nurses, social workers, etc.)
• Work closely with pediatric primary providers around care coordination, goal setting, coaching, and education about key aspects of a child’s development.
• Provide consultation and/or facilitates training to medical professionals and all practice staff regarding early childhood development, early relational health, infant early childhood mental health, and trauma-informed practice.
• Participate in occasional trainings for the residents on the Healthy Steps model and early child development and socio-emotional health.

Referrals & Community Collaborations

• Create and maintain community resource directory/database.
• Provide referrals and track follow-up, as appropriate, to help families make successful connections to key resources within the community.
• Reach out to community providers within first 6 months in position to share about Healthy Steps, their role, and receive information to support referrals, warm handoffs, and ensure appropriate referral criteria is met.
• Participate (when appropriate) in community-wide early childhood and/or mental health meetings.
• Participate (when appropriate) in Project Advisory Board meetings.