Are you a socially conscious, dedicated individual who is committed to building a better future for children, families, and their communities? If so, join us as we support early childhood education programs across the country to create positive outcomes for the children and families served.
Job Summary:
The Mental Health and Wellness Specialist is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive
mental health and wellness strategy for children, families, and staff in the Early Head Start and Head Start
programs. This role integrates trauma-informed care, resilience-focused practices, and system-wide behavioral
health initiatives to ensure inclusive, supportive, and well-structured mental health environments.
The Specialist will provide coaching, professional development, and Mental Health consultation to educators,
families, and leadership teams while developing statewide policies, training materials, and tools to support
mental health and wellness.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
● Develops and implements a tiered, trauma-informed, and culturally competent MH and wellness framework for staff, children and families across our Home Visiting Program, Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS) program, ensuring strategies can be adapted to various needs and contexts.
● Curates and disseminates universal resources to help staff recognize and address mental, social, and emotional health challenges, including trauma, while promoting proactive intervention strategies.
● Identifies and integrates national best practices to enhance child MH and well-being, developing professional development activities that build teacher capacity to create supportive learning environments.
● Conducts research on family, staff, and child MH and wellness models, including HR-led staff wellness initiatives, to inform program-wide improvements.
● Designs delivers, and oversees training, technical assistance, and professional learning communities that support MH and wellness strategy dissemination and implementation.
● Facilitates and participates in internal and external meetings, events, and workshops, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and best practices in MH and wellness.
● Consults with HS and EHS staff to build their capacity to identify and support children with behavioral and MH concerns, offering guidance on effective intervention strategies.
● Coaches and collaborates with Behavior Workgroups to develop individualized behavioral support plans for children with challenging behaviors in classroom settings.
● Conducts mental health case consultations with Early Learning, Family Services, and families, providing tailored recommendations to address child MH or behavioral concerns.
● Performs classroom and center-based observations to assess child-teacher interactions, identify MH needs and/or behavioral needs, and determine if additional resources or interventions are necessary.
● Prepares observation and assessment reports and assists in coordinating referrals to community-based MH, LEA and Birth to 3 services for children and families.
● Engages families in MH education by providing information on emotional wellness, home learning activities, and intervention strategies while supporting their active participation in their child's MH care, at an individual and group level in collaboration with Family Services.
● Coordinate with Family Services and Health Team to secure health/mental health screenings for enrolled children and assist in identifying support for children with identified health/mental health concerns, in alignment with updated Head Start Program Standards (HSPS) and the organization's Internal Service Plan (ISP).
● Ensures fidelity of MH and wellness strategies across EHS and HS settings by conducting ongoing observations, providing feedback, and developing action plans for improvement.
● Serves as an on-site, confidential resource for staff experiencing a crisis or needing mental health and wellness support.
● Supervises, coaches, and evaluates Mental Health and Wellness Coordinators, providing ongoing guidance and professional development opportunities.
● Conducts Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) to develop data-driven intervention plans for children with significant behavioral challenges.
● Maintains real-time documentation of staff and family interactions, observations, and consultations in the program’s data system to ensure compliance and accountability.
● Provides ongoing consultation and training to strengthen staff capacity in recognizing, addressing, and responding to MH and emotional wellness concerns in early childhood settings.
● Works closely with Senior Leadership to share data, insights, and reports on the mental health and wellness needs of centers, ensuring data-informed learning, and continuous program improvement.
● Participates in assigned meetings, events, and training as required.
Non-Essential Duties:
● Performs all other duties (or functions) as assigned.
Job Specifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to carry out each essential duty in a satisfactory manner. The job specifications listed are representative of the education and experience, the physical requirements, as well as the knowledge, skill and/or ability (KSAs) that are generally necessary for the role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Job Requirements:
Education & Licensure:
● Master’s Degree in Social Work, Clinical Psychology, Early Childhood Education, or a related field required.
● State licensure or certification as a Mental Health Provider is required.
● Preferred: Experience with Child Study Teams, Part C, and IEP/IFSP state protocols.
Experience:
● Minimum 5 years of experience in child mental health, early education, or related fields.
● Proven experience designing and delivering professional development and training related to mental health and wellness.
● Expertise in trauma-informed care, behavioral health interventions, and culturally responsive mental health strategies.
● Experience working with children and families in ethnically diverse low-income communities is required.
● Physical exam and background checks are required for this position.
● Travel outside of the service area required up to 10% of the time for work-related meetings and functions.
● Must have a valid driver’s license, motor vehicle insurance and reliable personal transportation (mileage reimbursement available).
Skills & Competencies:
● Strong facilitation skills for professional development and coaching.
● Knowledge of national best practices in early childhood mental health and behavioral support.
● Experience in instructional design, including developing technical assistance resources and training materials.
● Ability to work effectively with diverse populations and demonstrate cultural competence.
● Strong written and verbal communication skills.
● Proficiency in Google Suite and data management systems.
Knowledge, Skills, &Abilities:
● Knowledge and understanding of infant and toddler mental health, with preference given to providers
with experience working in collaboration with early education teams to provide MH support.
● Ability to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
● Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing.
● Demonstrated computer literacy skills, especially using Google Suite apps; spreadsheets, basic
data management systems and internet navigation.
● Must be honest, dependable and able to meet deadlines.
● Self-motivated and able to work independently.
Physical Requirements:
● Ability to sit most of the time with some bending and reaching.
● Ability to stand, walk, and bend periodically.
● Ability to engage in repetitive movement of wrists, hands, and fingers – typing and/or writing.
● Ability to work frequently at close visual range (i.e. preparing and analyzing data and figures,
accounting, transcription, computer terminal, extensive reading).
● Ability to receive and respond to oral communication.
● Ability to exert up to 30 pounds of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects.
Work Environment:
● Work is generally performed in an office environment.
● Noise level in the work environment is moderate to occasionally loud (examples: business office with
computers and printers, light to moderate traffic, human voices).
● Standard office equipment generally used includes:
o Smartphone/Telephone
o Personal Computer (monitor, keyboard, and mouse), Laptop, or Tablet
o Printer/Photocopy Machine
o Calculator
o Fax Machine
● Will be required to operate a motor vehicle during duties.
We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and healthy workplace.
Why Acelero Learning or Shine Early Learning?
- Ability to make an impact in the lives of the children, families, and partners we serve
- Career growth and professional development opportunities
- Supportive working environment
- Average of 5 weeks of paid time off during 1st year of employment
- Comprehensive benefits, including 401K matching and 100% vesting program
We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and healthy work place.