Child Care Specialist (Bilingual)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Arlington County requires all applicants to thoroughly complete each section of the application, including prior job responsibilities, duties, and supplemental questions. While you may attach a resume, it will not replace a completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Arlington County's Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking a bilingual Child Care Specialist as part of the Child & Family Services Division and this position will be responsible for licensing, inspecting, and monitoring child care centers, family day care homes, and private schools located within the County to ensure enforcement of child care regulations and the provision of quality teaching and learning experiences in early childhood education programs. The purpose of this position is to support Child Care Services to protect and ensure the overall health, safety, and welfare of children in child care settings. The Child Care Specialist may spend approximately 50% of the time traveling within Arlington County to conduct on-site inspections and investigations.

Specific duties include:

• Processing prospective applications for childcare centers, family day care homes, and private schools to determine eligibility for licensure and approval by following established office policies and procedures;
• Enforcing County regulations, as well as federal, state, or local laws at child care centers, family day care homes, and private school programs through routine monitoring and inspection;
• Conducting investigations to determine the validity of child care related allegations of both licensed and illegal child care operators;
• Developing written inspection reports to identify any violation(s) and conduct follow up inspections as needed to ensure compliance;
• Conducting Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) observations at publicly funded licensed programs in Arlington County, to include the completion of written observation reports and program feedback sessions;
• Making referrals to appropriate agencies such as Child Protective Services;
• Providing technical assistance and training to child care providers, center directors, and/or staff;
• Liaising with professionals from agencies and organizations connected to the early childhood education and child care population; and
• Delivering orientation sessions to promote awareness of child care operational responsibilities to those applying for child care licensing.

Arlington County DHS is committed to delivering client services in an effective, equitable, respectful, and trauma-informed manner. Our staff is dedicated to ensuring our clients are approached, engaged and cared for in ways that demonstrate competency, sensitivity and awareness of factors which impact the client experience including but not limited to: cultural identity, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity, religious/spiritual ascription, physical capability, cognitive and literacy levels, sexual orientation, and linguistic needs.

Minimum:

• Bachelor's degree in child development, early childhood education, psychology, social work, or a closely related field;
• Some experience in childcare or other educational settings with children, administering a childcare facility, administering child care regulations, or a related field; and
• Bilingual ability in English and Spanish.

Desirable: Preference may be given to candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

• Child care licensing, including the ability to interpret and apply child care regulations, as well as any local, state, and/or federal laws regarding regulatory compliance; and/or
• Communicating with customers from diverse backgrounds.

Special Requirements

Background Check: A pre-employment criminal records check will be conducted. It may include checks of the following: criminal record, driving record, education, professional licensure, and credit history. You may be required to sign a release authorizing the County to obtain your background information. A pre-hire federal background check and State of Virginia Central Registry check will also be completed before hire.

Driver's License: This position will require the regular operation of a vehicle under the ownership of Arlington County Government. The applicant must possess, or obtain by the time of appointment, a valid motor vehicle operator's license from the applicant's place of residence or ability to use alternative modes of transportation. If the applicant possesses or acquires a license, the applicant must authorize Arlington County to obtain, or the applicant must provide, a copy of the applicant's official state/district driving record.

Employment restrictions: To ensure that dual relationships are avoided and that employees who are also clients do not relate to their service provider as co-professionals, employees will not be hired by the County to provide or support services to the team or program in which they are current clients:

• You cannot concurrently receive behavioral health services from Arlington County Community Service Board (CSB) programs while employed in an Arlington County CSB program (exception Crisis Intervention services).
• At least 24 months must have passed between receipt of CSB services from Arlington County and employment in an Arlington County CSB program.

Additional Information

Work Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Occasional evening and weekend hours will be required for training sessions with child care providers and staff.

Your responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are considered part of the selection process. Please do not enter "see resume" as a response to the questions.

Each section of the application must be completed. A resume may be attached; however, it will not substitute for the completed application.

This position is eligible for County government employee benefits that include health, dental, vacation and sick leave, commuter transportation subsidies, tuition reimbursement, as well as a generous retirement plan.

For more information on Arlington County's generous benefits and retirement plan, click here.

Arlington County is committed to advancing diversity, equity, access, and inclusion across all our services, activities, and programs. Learn more about our commitment.

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