Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National and Federal Level

NAEYC – Early Learning Director

One of the national organizations that I found and have turned to for support on many occasions throughout my classes here are Walden is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

The NAEYC promotes the quality care of children birth to 8 years old through educational and developmental services. A position that is offered through the NAEYC is the Early Learning Director. The skills needed for this position are:

Ø  Preferred candidates will have at least five (5) years’ experience in early childhood education field including a minimum of 2 years classroom teaching and 2 years managing staff and program. Directly experience with ages Birth-to-3 years is strongly preferred.

Ø  BA in Early Education or Child Development, or a degree in a related field with at least 45 credit hours from an accredited college or university in Childhood Education. Must have current CPR and First Aid Training. Experience with children with special needs is wonderful, but is not required.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Head Start Director

Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government's principal agency for protecting health and providing essential human services to Americans.

Head Start Director - The director of any Head Start program is responsible for:

Ø  directing, managing, planning and coordinating programs

Ø  supervising teachers and students

Ø  coordinating and planning with other Head Start agencies

Ø  working with other employees to correct any problems and evaluate programs

Ø  choosing and training staff

The Director of a Head Start Program must have a master’s degree in Child Development, Human Development, Public Administration or a similar field. Directors must also have a Child Development Program Director Permit.

The Children’s Bureau – Community Liaison

On a federal level, The Children's Bureau is a Federal agency for children, and its’ primary responsibility is administering Federal child welfare programs. The Children's Bureau seeks to provide for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships within the state and communities. A position that sounds interesting to me is a Community Liaison. This liaison would serve in The Community Partners program which is a home based program that offers case management services and who will assist families in developing and meeting specific family centered goals. The liaison also helps families find and will help families discover and bond with local community supports and services, as well as providing families with assistance as needed, and being an advocate and support for the family. I love to go and work directly with parents and children in and out of the homes and feel that this would be a great fit for me.

Community Liaison requirements are:

Ø  Bachelors' Degree in a human service related field requires.

Ø  Minimum of 2 years experiences in with child/families

Ø  Must have a valid driver’s license and insurance.

Ø  Ability to work independently.

Ø  Good verbal and written communication skills.

Ø  Trained in child development.

Ø  Knowledge of community resource services and program.

Ø  Knowledge in areas of abuse/neglect.

Ø  Demonstrate an ability to handle any situation that arises during visitations.

Ø  Experience in empowering families, setting goals for clients, and assisting them in the process to change required.

Ø  Experience/ability to respond appropriately to culture differences in the community, staff, and clients is required.

Ø  Ability to perform general operations in computer word processing, email and texting, copier, telephone, and other various office machines is required.

References

Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/status/mission/mhhs.htm

National Association for the Education of the Young Child (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://www.naeyc.org

The Children’s Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

In searching for communities of practice within my area, I found the following organizations to be of interest to me.

http://www.taeyc.org

The Tennessee Association of Education of Young Children seems to offer many professional development opportunities with membership availabilities. This community of partners is made up of a board of members and I believe that this could open up an avenue for relationships with a community of learners that share the same interests and concerns. On a more local level, the AAEYC, located in Anderson County, works directly with Roane County and offers that same type of assistance. While you can become a member of these organizations, at times there are opportunities for working as a board member. There are opportunities to work as an advocate for early childhood education with other members of this organization to help become a voice for our children and their families with a variety of issues.

TAEYC Mission Statement

TAEYC exists to provide members with professional development opportunities and to advocate for best practice in the care, development, and education of all Tennessee’s young children.

TAEYC Vision Statement

Reaching potential together.
Value Statement

TAEYC values...

Collaboration with all members of the community
High performing organizational strategies
Inclusive environments for all children and adults
Leadership in child advocacy and public policy
Diversity in the early childhood community
Relationships with children and their families
Early care and education professionals who use best practices
National, regional and local alliances

http://unitedwayroane.org

United Way – United Way is an organization the helps children and their families in a variety of ways. This organization works toward bringing the communities together while focusing on what is most needed. Every day, United Way supported programs help provide a nurturing environment for children, health care for seniors who might otherwise go without, food and shelter for those facing tough times, safe havens from physical and psychological abuse, therapy for those coping with special challenges and so much more.

I have served as the representative for United Way at my school and have had the opportunity to be a part of meetings where we discussed needs for our children and their families. United Way of Roane County brings people together to focus on the most important needs in our community. Through our allocation process, trained volunteers determine the most efficient use of the community’s resources to meet local needs. The money that we as a county give, when designated, stays in our county and helps our children and their families. This program has been able to provide monetary supplements for a number of programs that are used for our very own children and their families. I think that it is great to be able to serve as a volunteer with United Way and even more wonderful to be able to see the money that we have given help those right here in our community. As far as skills needed for this opportunity, as a volunteer working with United Way, I was responsible for bringing a list of needs to the meeting so that we could discuss them and make decisions based on what was brought to the table.

https://www.secondharvestetn.org/

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee - Food for Kids - “Food for Kids is a collaborative effort between Second Harvest and area schools, with the goal of fighting hunger among young children in our 18 County East Tennessee community. Food for Kids provides backpacks filled with kid-friendly food for elementary aged children to take home after school or on the weekends.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee - Kids Cafe - “Kids Cafe is a collaborative effort between Second Harvest and various youth service providers.” In Rockwood, the Kids Café is held on Mondays at 5 PM at the Rockwood Housing Authority with the collaboration of the Rockwood Ministerial Association and the First Christian Church. “On Mondays at 5PM you can find a group [of volunteers] serving a free meal, and offering homework help, games, and friendship to children and youth.”

As the wife of a minister in the area, I am able to work directly with the ministerial association that takes care of the Second Harvest Backpack Program for our children. This is all volunteer and my job for this program is to help identify what children would benefit from receiving assistance through the Second Harvest Food for Kids Program.