Exploring Roles in the Early Childhood Community

          I am currently the center director for an early childhood care and education program in a hospital-based organization.  I enjoy my role, and I especially love working for Intermountain Healthcare.  Three key communities of practice for my role include my hospital organization’s administration and support teams, as well as the State of Utah’s Office of Childcare Licensing, and the Care about Childcare (Child Care Resource and Referral) networks that provide ongoing quality guidelines and professional development to my team and myself.  I do not intend to leave my current position because I am very fulfilled and happy where I am.  However, I did research other roles that have either previously interested me or that I might have an opportunity to pursue in the future.  Because I love the supportive community of practice that I work for, I first explored a couple of roles that are available in the early childhood field within the corporation I am currently employed. 

Hospital-based Child Life Specialist

            These early childhood professionals are trained to give emotional support to help families and children overcome the challenging experiences of being treated in a hospital environment.  They help children cope with treatment, pain management, and/or stress through therapeutic play, education and self-expression activities.  They also provide educational information, support and guidance to family members, as well as educate hospital staff and other caregivers about the needs of children under stress.  The requirements of this job include a Master’s degree in the field of early childhood, as well as Child Life Certification and medical experience through an internship program in a qualified hospital program.  It is essential that an Child Life Specialist has effective and empathetic communication skills and a strong knowledge of not only early childhood education, but medical terminology and practice in order to offer support to pediatric patients and their families.

Administrative Director of Child Care Services – Corporate Health Care

            The Administrative Director of Child Care Services provides expertise, training and consultation to the hospital corporation regarding multiple hospital-owned child development centers and the development of child care initiatives and policy.  This position ensures operational effectiveness and that quality standards are met by departmental staff including the health, safety, care and developmental education of the children attending the organization’s child development centers.  The Administrative Director supervises and mentors the directors of each child development center, and assists all the directors in operational, team engagement, professional development, and quality processes.  This position requires a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Development and at least five years experience directing multiple childcare sites.  This position also requires a strong emphasis on business management and leaders skills, strategic planning, collaboration with other hospital organizational services, curriculum and policy development, and the ability to educate and train adult learners.

State of Utah – Five County Director of Child Care Resource and Referral

            The Director of the Five County Child Care Resource and Referral (Care about Childcare) collaborates with several government agencies to provide support to families and child care providers.  These agencies include the Department of Workforce Services, Office of Childcare and the Five County Association of Governments.  The professional duties of this role involve improving and supporting quality childcare in Southern Utah by overseeing professional training and conferences for early childhood providers, overseeing grant programs and quality initiatives, and offering referral and education services to families looking for quality early childhood care.  Requirements needed for this role include a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, strong communication and collaboration skills, experience with grant writing and implementation, organization to maintain a database of child care and education providers and families, extensive early childhood knowledge to develop training curriculum for providers, and the ability to train and supervise adult educators who provide ongoing early childhood professional development.