Early Childhood Mental Health Clinician

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 Center for Early Childhood combines services formerly known as the Preschool Outreach Project or POP and the Rice Center. Through a variety of direct care services and training programs, The Center works with children, parents/caregivers, and professionals to help build and support strong social-emotional foundations for happy, healthy childhoods. The Center provides age-appropriate, culturally sensitive interventions for children and families in a variety of settings including our child-friendly clinic, homes, early education settings, shelters, and community spaces.

**Compensation**

Unlicensed or License-eligible: $30/hr
LCSW: $32/hr
LICSW: $35/hr

**How You Will Be Making a Difference**

The Clinician will be expected to carry a caseload of a minimum of 10 cases and serve a critical role in bringing specialized mental health support and services to very young children as they:

- Provide a full spectrum of holistic, family-centered, evidence-informed early childhood mental health services for children and their primary caregivers.
- Engage and assess the child’s needs in the context of their primary caregiving relationships, family values, cultural norms, and developmental/educational needs using standardized tools and best practices.
- Identify systemic barriers (including racism, poverty, immigration status, and multi-system involvement) to child and family progress, incorporating support for families experiencing these barriers into treatment plans and services.
- Center family voice and choice in all phases of service delivery.
- Collaborate with internal and external providers to coordinate behavioral and social support services.
- Support caregivers with meeting their own goals and mental health needs when appropriate.
- Develop and document treatment plans utilizing treatment modalities consistent with program goals and client needs including individual, group, and family sessions, play/expressive therapy, trauma informed treatment, and evidence-based practices.
- Facilitate groups and skill-building events for children, caregivers, families, and professionals.
- Act as an advocate for families, supporting parents as they advocate for themselves and their children. Help families develop the skills needed to navigate systems.
- Submit reports, documentation and billing in a timely manner. Ensure that documentation meets utilization review and quality assurance standards.
- Actively participate in training and learning opportunities to grow and develop personally and professionally.
- Demonstrate commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and The Home’s becoming an anti-racist institution.
- Actively participate in supervision and meetings including individual, group, and team constellations. Consult with supervisor and team members on challenging or difficult client issues.
- Provide on-call coverage and crisis intervention as needed.
- Required to maintain weekly productivity expectations.

**Qualifications**
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide a cover letter outlining their interest in working with young children and their families.
- Master’s degree in social work, mental health or related discipline
- Prior experience providing services to children 0-6
- Excellent cultural awareness and sensitivity
- Ability to travel to client homes and community settings in and around Boston (via personal transportation or public transit)
- Highly preferred:

- Ability to provide services in a second language; Identified need for Spanish and/or Haitian Creole fluency.
- Active Massachusetts licensure (LICSW, LCSW, LMHC, or LMFT)

**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.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed the