Head Start Health Specialist JOB ID# 14139

Head Start Health Specialist JOB ID# 14139 JobID: 14139 Position Type: CREC Early Childhood Education Date Posted: 6/29/2026 Location: CREC Head Start South Closing Date: 07/29/2026 Additional Information: Show/Hide JOB DESCRIPTION Since 1966, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) has been dedicated to providing innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective educational programs and services to meet the diverse needs of children and adults in Greater Hartford. Serving 33 member districts and reaching additional communities statewide, CREC supports approximately 12,000 students annually through more than 120 educational programs. Our offerings include professional learning and coaching for educators, specialized programming for students with diverse needs, and PreK-12 education across 16 interdistrict magnet schools. Additionally, CREC provides school construction, operations, and cooperative business services, while also delivering programs that help adults build real, job-ready skills. POSITION SUMMARY: Under the direction of the Assistant Director of Program Services, the Head Start Health Specialist supports the preventative and ongoing health, nutrition and dental health care of the children in Head Start and Early Head Start. The Health Specialist monitors documentation of children's preventive health care, including dental exams, physical examinations, screenings, and immunizations; Is responsible for the direction, planning, organization, and management of health service; Monitors the implementation of state and federal health and safety requirements described in the Head Start Program Performance Standards; Provides student, parent, and staff education in health and safety practices; Supervises and evaluates the performance of the Nutrition Coordinator and oversees content implementation. ESSENTIAL DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES: Duties/Responsibilities Manage all of the Head Start and Early Head Start requirements in the areas of health, and safety. Oversee the implementation of Nutrition services performed by the Nutrition Coordinator. Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal requirements relating to health, safety, and nutrition as outlined in the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Ensure each Early Head Start and Head Start child is up-to-date on a schedule of age-appropriate preventive and primary medical and oral health care, based on: the well-child visits and dental periodicity schedules as prescribed by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program for the State of CT. Coordinate and oversee the development and implementation of individual health and nutrition plans for children. Review the medical history of every child applicant to plan appropriate services. Provides clearance to enroll using the ChildPlus database to review health documents in the child's file. Attend pre-start meetings of children with medical or nutritional support, as needed. Serve as liaison to CREC Health Services regarding health and nutrition plans and services. Ensure, in partnership with the Family Services Team, that each family identifies a medical and dental home during their enrollment in the program. Provides resources to families in need of a medical or dental home. Ensure, in partnership with the Family Services Team, that each child's file includes documented medical and dental history and signed parental consent forms. Perform, monitor, and record required health screenings on each child. Maintain vital statistics, up-to-date records, and reports data regarding health services to children. Conduct regular health and sanitation inspections; monitor the physical environment of Head Start locations. Maintain health supply inventory; purchase items needed; arrange for health and dental services from third parties as needed. Ensure the program maintains compliance with all CACFP requirements. Plan and organize first aid training, medication administration, epi-pen training, and CPR…