As an early childhood education professional, it is my
responsibility to be aware of the local, regional, state, and national
resources available to the children and families that I serve. I keep abreast
of those resources, but I’ve never really looked at how I may fit into those
organizations. I am quite happy and comfortable in the positions in which I am
currently employed. In addition to working as an education specialist for early
head start, I’m also an adjunct instructor at a local community and technical
college. Both positions satisfy many of my professional passions. Therefore,
exploring local, regional, and state agencies and organizations in order to
gain information about how I would fit into them, was a new experience.
I began my search regionally. The Regional Family Resource
Network is a nonprofit organization that coordinates meetings for community
members that include families and community representatives. The members are
encouraged to collaborate with each other and to reach out to other resources
to improve human service locally. I find this community of practice
particularly appealing because it enlists local families to be on the board of
directors. Soliciting ideas from families who are in the thick of any issues
seems to be the best way to solve human service issues. This is a community of
practice that offers only volunteer opportunities. I would be eligible as a
community member, a family member, or as a resource professional. I need only
contact a member of the board of directors to request the location of the next
meeting to become involved. More information is listed on their website at http://www.regionalfrn.org.
I next researched a state funded program called West
Virginia Birth to Three. This is a statewide early intervention system that provides
intervention services to children under the age of three who have a delay in
their development, or may be at risk of having a delay, and their family. Evaluated
children who show a delay in one or more developmental areas, or who are
considered “at risk” due to environmental factors such as poverty or other
family stressors are eligible for services. Because I advocate strongly for
early intervention services for children and frequently praise the benefits, I
believe that I could feel passionate about this type of service. They have
openings for all related professionals, therapists, and specialists. I could
quality for a developmental specialist or a service coordinator which both
require a bachelor’s degree in child development or related field, along with
experience working directly with families. More information for West Virginia
Birth to Three and their related service can be garnered at http://www.wvdhhr.org/birth23/.
The final resource I chose to review is the local child care
resource and referral agency. This agency works with families, early childhood
programs, and community organizations to provide families with the information
and resources they need to choose a high quality early childhood program for
their child(ren). The agency also provides financial support for eligible
families for child care fees and parent training opportunities. Working with
families who struggle to make ends meet, requires me to contact this agency
frequently. They are very helpful and I find them to be an invaluable resource
to families and other community agencies. Helping families identify quality in
early care and fund tuition to gain access to that quality would be very
fulfilling for me on a personal and a professional level. There were no
positions available at this time but I am qualified for many of the positions
in the agency. Two that I would consider applying for would be Early Childhood
specialist- Infant/Toddler or Family Services Coordinator. Both require a
bachelor’s degree in early education and two years supervisory experience. For
more information on the local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency for my
area, please visit http://wvdhhr.org/link.
References:
Dear Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI loved your post! I think working with families and children during early intervention is a noble position and that you would be more than qualified academically to do so. What do you believe would be some personality traits or skills that you should have, aside from your education, in order to be successful at such a position. Early intervention can be difficult for some families who are in denial of their child struggling in certain aspects. How would you address such issues? I'm curious to know your viewpoint, because I've experienced such situations. Thanks! And excellent post!!!
Raina
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your information about the childcare resource and referral agency. These types of services are so important in getting parents to work and off of public assistance. Quality childcare allows families to flourish and become independent.
Dear Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI too gathered information about the Child care resource and Referral agency here in Nashville. Likewise, at this time there are not any openings at this time. When I lived in Texas, I was a Resource Consultant with the CCR&R program there. What I liked most about being a CCR&R Resource consultant was being an outside eye. I made it clear to the vendors in my caseload that my role was not to intimidate them but to offer feedback about their strengths and suggestions for making improvements. But what I liked the most was conducting training and developing rapport with the vendors.