Program Development Specialist Jobs in California

L.E.A.P. for infants, Inc. (Learning Experiences & Alternative Program for infants, Inc.) provides In-home Early Intervention services to children from 0 to 36 months of age(birth to 3 years of age), and Parent Education.

L.E.A.P. for infants, Inc. mission is to enhance the lives of infants/toddlers and their parents or caregivers by using an individualized curriculum and innovative intervention plan according to the specific needs of each infant and his/her family. The core philosophy of the program is that the family is the essential element in the child's journey to reaching their developmental milestones. Whether it is a therapist illustrating sensory-motor techniques or an Early Intervention Specialist on the floor with a parent describing developmental play sequences, families are the center of services. We make use of different activities to enhance progress in each of the basic developmental domains; i.e., cognitive, gross motor, fine motor, communication, social-emotional, and adaptive skills.

Services are provided by the Child Development Specialist in the consumer’s natural environment (home), an important part of our program is parent involvement. Each parent is requested to participate in every session, as well as in the elaboration of the progress report. Parents are trained to develop experiences that help them interact positively towards each other, through teacher, parent, and child participation in activities as established in each progress report. Direct services are one-on-one interactions with a child and the family to provide parent education, intervention, and environmental support to a family. Note that the Child Development Specialist position is not an behavioral intervention position, but rather an educational position.

As part of the job description the Child Development Specialist writes a progress report for the consumer. The Child Development Specialist uses the Revised Gesell Developmental Schedules as the main testing instrument, to obtain the developmental levels and assess the progress of the consumers. In addition to the “Gesell” assessment tool, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, (or ASQ) and the Bayley III will also be used to assist the early interventionist and consumer’s parents to determine whether there is a delay in any developmental area.

L.E.A.P. for infants, Inc. works with the Westside Regional Center and service areas in Culver City, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, and Lawndale, The Child Development Specialist travels from home to home providing services in the above locations.

All candidates applying must have the following:

• Bachelors Degree in Child Development or related field, or a three year minimum of direct human service delivery and competency, or any combination equivalent to undergraduate work in education or a related field. Related fields consist of a background in Psychology, Special Education, Sociology, Medical or Therapeutic Sciences.
• Three year minimum of working with developmentally disabled and/or delayed infants 0 to 36 months.
• Minimum of 12 Early Childhood Development units.
• Must have a reliable transportation, and be able to cover a minimum of 15 to 20 radius of the location applying for.
• Available Monday-Friday (flexibility preferred and option to work on weekends)
• Language: Bilingual in Spanish and English (preferably)
• Knowledge of all developmental domains.
• Ability to establish educational and therapeutic relationships with consumers and their families.
• Ability to work independently, as well as in a team.

Part-Time or Full-Time:

All Child Development Specialist start as a Part-Time employee, with a possibility to be Full-Time in a month. Depending on the flexibility or how ready they are to take a Full-Time caseload. The Part-Time position requires for a Child Development Specialist to have a minimum of 10 hours per week (direct services). The Full-Time position requires for a Child Development Specialist to maintain a schedule of 35 hours + per week (direct services).

L.E.A.P. for infants, compensates for Mileage, Drive Time, 1 hour of report writing, and any required meetings.

Visit www.leapforinfants.com for more information on the program.

L.E.A.P. for infants, Inc. (Learning Experiences & Alternative Program for infants, Inc.) provides In-home Early Intervention services to children from 0 to 36 months of age(birth to 3 years of age), and Parent Education.