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

After exploring national/federal organizations I am most interested in these three because they are dedicated to the welfare of children. I have used them throughout my career as early childhood professional to help me educate my staff and myself. They have provided me with so many resources that can benefit my professional career and my personal life as a mother. If you are familiar with these sites them you can definitely agree with my interests, if you are not I encourage you to explore them and sign up for their monthly newsletters.

The Child  Help National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD

http://www.childhelp.org/

The Childhelp organization aims to help at risk-children that suffer from abuse and neglect. They provide advocacy, treatment and community outreach programs that can bring awareness to how much support these children need due to their unstable environments. They believe that every child is unique and serve their own purpose to the world. They want to help these children to develop their self-esteem and promote self-worth as they grow and develop.

Childhelp believes that a child can heal when they are provided with unconditional love and support and their entryways all reflect one message “All Who Enter Here Will Find Love.” They aim to provide a safe and nurturing environment that help all children the best care possible.

The organization has several jobs opening that are available:

Activities Coordinator

• High School Diploma or equivalent; BA/BS degree is preferred.
• Experience in activity planning and recreation with children.
• One-year experience working with special needs children.
• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in the Commonwealth of Virginia only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position.

Activities Manager

• In addition to education requirements, employee must demonstrate, through prior work experience, competency in consistently exercising professional judgment and discretion in the execution and implementation of milieu management techniques and methodologies.
• Minimum of one year experience working with children and demonstrated competency and skill in the implementation of the Milieu Treatment Program preferred.
• Must have successfully completed all of the Alice C. Tyler Village new hire orientation and training requirements.
• Must be current on all mandatory annual retraining and in-services.
• Must participate in a minimum of 15 hours annually of in-service training applicable to specific job duties and responsibilities.
• Must possess a current certificate for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid.
• Must possess or willing to obtain a life guarding certification.
• National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (CTRS) strongly preferred.
•  

Direct Care Staff

• Must be 21 years of age
• Must have one of the following:
• Bachelors degree (preferred)

      OR

• Associates degree AND 3 months experience working with children

      OR

• High School diploma or equivalent AND 6 months experience working with children
• Must pass a complete background check
• Must possess a valid Virginia driver license
• Ability to write concise, accurate, and informative reports
• Ability to verbally redirect and/or de-escalate behavior to prevent or minimize the need for physical restraints
• Ability to participate in the therapeutic holding of out-of-control children ages of 2-15           
• Ability to empathize with children with special needs and from different backgrounds

These jobs are interesting to me because they require a skilled professional that is capable of working with children while promoting growth and development. The organization stress that you need to be a person with good standing and minimum educational requirements which after completely my Master’s Degree I would be greatly looked upon as an applicant. The only requirement that I would need to work on would relocation because these primary job offers are for Arizona and I would need a driver’s license. I do feel I would be a great candidate due to my commitment to the children and my eleven years of services. I have also completed child abuse workshops that provided me with value information as to how to approach children that have been abused or neglected. These jobs would be a good fit for me as I would be expanding my resume while learning about more prominent facts that can help me support children.

NCSEA (National Child Support Enforcement Agency)

http://www.ncsea.org/

NCSEA provides support to professionals, agencies and partner throughout the world to help them provide professional development, public awareness, communications as well as emotion and financial support to help parents provide for their children. This organization believes parents are not only financial responsible for the welfare of the children but emotional as well. They are obligated to provide love and support as they grow.

NCSEA helps children by advocating on their behalf to ensure policies that are enacted with benefits for them. They publicize child support programs to acknowledge the awareness and importance of such programs. They provide additional support and resources about child support to professionals and parent all around the world. They also promote education for parents to support programs that provide child support.

• Executive Director, El Paso County Domestic Relations Office
  Location: El Paso, Texas
  (Posted: July 9, 2014)
  The Executive Director of the Domestic Relations Office (DRO) is responsible for performing a variety of complex management, technical, and professional work directing and supervising the strategic operations and planning for the Domestic Relations Office. Responsible for establishing the strategic plan and goals and objectives for the DRO; developing policy; reviewing guidelines, procedures, rules and regulations; establishing priorities, standards, and measurement tools for determining progress in meeting goals; coordinating and evaluating program activities; and developing budgets; Collaborates and maintains communication with the Family Law Center and other county offices. The incumbent will advise Commissioners Court on matters pertaining to the DRO.
• Director, El Dorado County Department of Child Support Services
  Location: Placerville/Shingle Springs, California
  (Posted: July 7, 2014)
  El Dorado County is seeking a dynamic Child Support Services Director with exceptional management, interpersonal, and communication skills to lead one of the State’s most highly regarded county Child Support Services Departments. This at-will executive level position reports to the Board of Supervisors. The successful candidate for Director of Child Support Services will have the unique and exciting opportunity to continue to build upon the reputation and success of this Department, ranking in the State of California’s top 10 in meeting Federal Performance Measures for 9 of the last 11 years. The Child Support Services Department is supported by approximately 60 full-time capable employees with a fiscal year 2014/2015 operating budget of $5.9 million. 

Looking these two particular job openings, I am very much interested in them because they are very important roles in the organization. As a candidate I have to have high quality leadership skills and a solid foundation in business and communication. Having early childhood experience is a plus but I still need to be an established leader. I will be financial responsible for particular division and with that comes with numerous responsibilities. I would have to improve on my communication skills and as a team leader I have to refresh my skills on how to effectively manage a team. Being a good delegator is another important quality as I would be responsible for such a big department in the organization.

CDF (Children’s Defense Fund)

http://www.childrensdefense.org/

The Children’s Defense Fund is a non-profit advocacy organization that has worked to help children have the same and equal opportunities as others. Their work aims to remove children from poverty, ensure healthy lifestyles and prevent or remove them from unsafe environments. This organization is funded by private/public grants and other corporations that believe in our children. CDF has many locals and their advocate nationwide on behalf of children to bring awareness of their priority to the world.

CDF mission is to “Leave No Child Behind” because they all deserve a healthy start in life. This organization gives children the voice they need to be heard and represented because they are too young to voice their own opinions.

Job Position: Senior Public Policy Associate

The Senior Public Policy Associate is an integral member of the policy team, responsible for providing leadership and support for CDF-NY’s entire policy and legislative agenda. The successful candidate must be able to promote the integration of the policy work to ensure that CDF-NY is advocating for the whole needs of New York's children. This is a highly visible role; therefore, s/he must possess excellent written and oral advocacy skills.

The Senior Public Policy Associate is charged with assisting in the planning and implementing legislative campaigns, analyzing and drafting policy proposals, developing CDF-NY’s position on key legislation and drafting legislation, lobbying state and local policymakers, preparing and presenting testimony, analyzing city and state budgets to assess their impact on children and families, building coalitions and engaging community stakeholders.

After looking through their job opportunities which were very limited, I found this listing with a short description. I do not know how qualified I would be for this position but I love to strive for the opportunity to be involved and eventually determine the types of policies that are established and enforced. As for the other job opportunities that I am interested in I would definitely have to possess strong business and communication skills and once again the knowledge in the field of early childhood would be a great asset. These jobs would take lots of strategic planning and I would definitely need some training and essential workshop to build up my leadership skills. Every job takes time to learn and conquer but as long as I dedicate myself to learning new things I can achieve many new talents and preform to the best of my abilities. 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

NAEYC, AACTE, and ECM

I have chosen these three organizations because I am familiar with their purposes and goals as I have also used them to further my education as vital resources for finding information. They have helped me to learn how people come together to promtoe one cause. It is amazing what can be accomplished when we are working together to achiee the same goals.


National Association for the Education of young Children (NAEYC)

This organizations state three main goals:

1)Improving professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education.
2)Supporting early childhood programs by working to achieve a high-quality system of early childhood education.
3)Building a high-performing, inclusive organization of groups and individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children.

They also have provided a clean cut vision statements that they abide by since they were established:

1)All children have access to a safe and accessible, high quality early childhood education that includes a developmentally appropriate curriculum; knowledgeable and well-trained program staff and educators; and comprehensive services that support their health, nutrition, and social well-being, in an environment that respects and supports diversity.
2)All early childhood professionals are supported as professionals with a career ladder, ongoing professional development opportunities, and compensation that attracts and retains high quality educators.
3)All families have access to early childhood education programs that are affordable and of high quality and actively participate in their children's education as respected reciprocal partners.
4)All communities, states, and the nation work together to ensure accountable systems of high-quality early childhood education for all children.

This organization has been established to put children and their families first as we need to make sure that all their needs are met as they continue to grow and learn.

NAEYC
http://www.naeyc.org/

American Association of Colleges for Teachers Education (AACTE)
A national organization that was establish educator preparations programs that are dedicated to promote high-quality preparation that allows for teacher the capability of teaching all learners. This organizations aims to provide the resources that are needed to promote learning at every age and the preparation that will give learners the opportunity to receive high-quality educations form teachers that are effectively qualified.
Giving the children the opportunity to learn and grow with high-quality educations is the main purpose of the organization. They also provide scholarships and appropriate funding where it is needed to help support families and children that need extra support.

AACTE
http://aacte.org

Every Child Matters Educational Fund(ECM)
This organizations was established in July 20, 2001 as a non-profit organization that invests in the awareness of children, youth and families as a political importance. This organizations promotes and helps enforce the adoptions of policies to create opportunities such as :
1) access to affordable, comprehensive health care services
2) open up more early-care and learning opportunities such as after-school programs
3) prevent violence in homes and communities against children
4) eliminate poverty

ECM aims to accomplished these goals by policy-makers, letter to editors, radio ads, and newspaper ads that can bring awareness to the issues that area actively affecting our youth. They have established outreach programs, distributed resources and information that has been specific to state to state data. They have created numerous amounts of child advocates that help individual communities become more aware of what can be done.

This organizations aims to help children have the opportunity to succeed in life form the very beginning. It is important to them that we acknowledge the changes we can make and promote in our communities.

ECM
http://www.everychildmatters.org/index.php

All three organizations have job opportunities because they are all looking for professionals that want to help children. The most admirable skill that anyone should possess is the dedication to children and their future. You must be a professional, educated and advocate for all children that promotes awareness for all factors that can affect their development. I would hope I would be a positive assets to all these organizations should I have the opportunity to become a members or an associate in cooperation with their initial purposes.