Health professionals are most often housed in community sites but often have responsibilities to provide support or consultation to early childhood programs. Whether they work directly on site or in a different community site, their goal is to make sure children are healthy enough to participate fully in their learning, feel safe in securing needed health care, and that program staff have the capacity to integrate healthy physical and social emotional development into daily routines. Some health professionals such as therapists provide direct services to children in Birth to 3, early childhood special education, and kindergarten settings. Specifically, the range of responsibilities of these professionals may include the following:

• Serve in a liaison capacity to other health professionals and community organizations;
• Provide education, consultation, and technical assistance on health, mental health, nutrition, safety, and child development;
• Establish partnerships to address ongoing issues of health and safety;
• Establish and maintain health-service programs;
• Provide individual consultation and therapy to children to support their full inclusion in the program
• Manage care for the health needs of individuals in community settings such as schools and child care;
• Develop and implement individualized health, nutrition, and behavior plans for students;
• Collaborate with others within and outside early childhood settings to manage a successful health service;
• Educate students, families and groups to help them achieve optimal health; or
• Participate in a peer review or other types of evaluation

The Careers 4 Wisconsin website http://www.careers4wi.wisc.edu/index.asp contains information about many health careers. This site provides information on the typical wage for the position and the employment outlook, including current job openings.

Child Care Nurse Consultant
An exciting and rather new role for registered nurses is that of a child care nurse consultant. Registered nurses with a Baccalaureate degree, interest and experience in public health, community health, or pediatric nursing may wish to pursue additional information regarding this consultant role. Pediatric nurse practitioners may also be qualified.

Public School and/or Head Start Nurse
Local school boards determine who will provide school health services. They may directly employ registered nurses and other health personnel or contract with another organization. A School Nurse Certification credential is offered through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Head Start programs also designate a staff person responsible for ensuring that all Head Start children receive health services. This person may be a nurse or possess related professional training.

Child Life Specialist
Child life specialists in health care settings strive to promote optimum development of children and their families, to maintain normal living patterns, and to minimize psychological trauma. As integral members of the health care team in both the ambulatory care and inpatient settings, child life staff provides children opportunities for gaining a sense of mastery, for play, for learning, for self-expression, for family involvement and for peer interaction. Child life specialists work with the child, family, and health care team to optimize the child’s response to medical treatment and care.
Requirements for a child life specialist position include a Bachelor’s degree, as well as supervised experience in a health care setting. A child life assistant requires an Associate degree or community college diploma in a related field. This person may work only under the direct supervision of a child life specialist. A child life administrator requires a Master’s degree.

Occupational Therapist (OT), Physical Therapist (PT) and Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP)
These therapists work with children with disabilities, developmental delays, or special needs in homes, child care settings, Head Start, public schools, and other settings. They provide valuable support to ensure optimal child development and to enable children to benefit from inclusive settings. They may be hired directly, be contracted through a therapy organization, or work on a consultation basis. Their responsibilities include:

• Conducting appropriate evaluations of children and preparing written reports
• Participating in meetings as a member of the team
• Participating in the development of individualized plans
• Providing direct and indirect therapy to children
• Collaborating with other personnel regarding therapy plans and children’s needs
• Recommending adaptive equipment and assistive devices
• Traveling to homes or other settings to provide services to children and
• Maintaining records of services provided

Occupational Therapist: Occupational therapy focuses on facilitating children’s participation in daily living activities such as self-help, play, and learning. The services are designed to improve each child’s functional ability at home and in other environments. Qualifications include a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in occupational therapy from an accredited school; initial certification from the National Board; and a current occupational therapy license from the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing. A current occupational therapy license from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is required for public school practice.

Physical Therapist: Physical therapy focuses on a child’s ability to move as independently as possible in the environment. Qualifications include a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in physical therapy from an accredited school and a current physical therapy license from the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing. A current physical therapy license from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is required for public school practice.

Speech-Language Pathologist: Speech-language pathologists are professionals trained to prevent, screen, identify, assess, diagnose, refer, provide intervention for, and counsel persons with (or at risk for) articulation, fluency, voice, language, communication, swallowing, and related disabilities. In addition to engaging in activities to reduce or prevent communication disabilities, speech-language pathologists also counsel and educate families or professionals about these disorders and their management. Speech-language pathologists must complete a supervised clinical practicum and receive a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology from a college or university approved by the National Examination for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (NESPA) examining board, or have completed education or training that the board determines is substantially equivalent to the completion of those requirements. Employment as a speech-language pathologist will require a license from the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing and/or the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Occupational Therapy (COTA) and Physical Therapy (PTA) Assistant
Occupational therapy and physical therapist assistants work under the direction of a therapist licensed in their area. They follow a treatment plan developed by the therapist. Essential job functions include:

• Assisting with data collection and evaluation
  
• Providing direct services according to a written treatment plan that the supervising therapist develops
  
• Recommending modification of treatment approaches to the supervising therapist to reflect changing needs
  
• Communicating and interacting with other team members, families in collaboration with the supervising therapist
  
• Maintaining treatment areas, equipment, and supply inventory as required
  
• Maintaining records and documentation as the service plan requires, and
  
• Participating in the development of policies and procedures in collaboration with the supervising therapist

Occupational Therapist Assistant: Qualifications include successful completion of an accredited occupational therapy assistant program; initial certification from the National Board and a current occupational therapy assistant license from the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing. A current occupational therapy assistant license from Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is required for public school practice. This position requires an associate degree and licensing by the state of Wisconsin.

Physical Therapist Assistant: Qualifications include successful completion of an accredited physical therapist assistant associate degree program. A current physical therapist assistant license from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is required for public school practice.

Mental Health Therapist
Mental Health Therapists are licensed clinical social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists. They may work individually with children and families or serve as a consultant in an early childhood setting to support staff in creating nurturing environments that promote healthy social emotional development for all children. They have interdisciplinary training and understand how sensory, motor, affect, memory, speech and language and cognitive domains intersect and mutually influence development. Specific roles of the mental health therapist include the following:

• Dyadic and individual therapeutic interventions for caregivers, infants, and young children with specific mental health needs
  
• Establish a nurturing relationship based on trust and respect of family/child strengths
  
• Provide ongoing, intensive treatment with parent/child dyad
  
• Team lead or co-team lead in coordinating and treating the need for all allied disciplines
  
• Provide consultation to other interdisciplinary team members who are not mental health providers

Nutritionists
Many programs for young children provide meals and nutrition information for families as an important part of the program. Nutritionists/dietitians guide the program in meeting the nutritional needs of children and families. The nutritionist might design and implement a nutrition program that meets the nutritional needs and feeding requirements of each child, including those with special dietary needs and children with disabilities. The nutritionist will work with the program to gather nutrition-related information such as:

• Height, weight, hemoglobin/hematocrit;
  
• Information about family eating patterns, including cultural preferences, special dietary requirements for each child with nutrition-related health problems, and the feeding requirements of infants and toddlers and each child with disabilities
  
• For infants and toddlers, current feeding schedules and amounts and types of food provided, including whether breast milk or formula and baby food is used; meal patterns; new foods introduced; food intolerances and preferences; voiding patterns; and observations related to developmental changes in feeding and nutrition. This information must be shared with parents and updated regularly; and
  
• Information about major community nutritional issues
  

The Nutritionist will also provide education for staff, parents and children. This position typically requires a bachelor’s degree and an American Dietetic Association registration, and 1-3 years of dietetic experience.