Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Specialist

Mountainhomemt; Missoula (MT); On-site; USD 32,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Mountain Home seeks Child Development Specialists who provide trauma-informed, developmentally responsive care to children 0–5 within Mountain Home Montana's integrated Child Development Center and family support program. This role supports emotional, developmental, behavioral, and daily care needs through structured routines and collaborative teamwork.

Responsibilities include implementing individualized strategies, maintaining safe environments, and coordinating with therapists and staff to

Qualifications

• Education in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Social Work, Psychology, Counseling, or related fields preferred.
• Experience working with children ages 0–5 in childcare, educational, behavioral health, or family support settings preferred.
• Understanding of trauma-informed care, attachment, co-regulation, and early childhood development.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries while building supportive relationships with children and families.
• Strong communication, teamwork, and organizational skills.
• CPR/First Aid certification required or willingness to obtain within designated timeframe.
• Registered on the Montana Early Childhood Project and up to date on yearly education requirements

Responsibilities

• Provide trauma-informed, developmentally responsive direct support to children ages 0–5 through structured routines, purposeful play, responsive caregiving, emotional co-regulation, and relationship-based interventions.
• Support children’s emotional regulation, developmental growth, attachment, social engagement, and daily care needs while recognizing behavior as communication and responding using trauma-informed and therapeutic approaches.
• Support implementation of individualized behavioral, developmental, emotional regulation, sensory, and therapeutic strategies as directed by treatment team members and program leadership.
• Prepare food and support meals, snacks, toileting, diapering, hygiene, transitions, and rest routines in a manner that promotes emotional safety, consistency, developmental support, and trauma-informed caregiving practices.
• Maintain safe, sanitary, organized, and developmentally appropriate childcare environments in accordance with Montana childcare licensing regulations, Mountain Home protocols, and childcare safety expectations.
• Support implementation of social-emotional learning activities, therapeutic programming, sensory supports, emotional regulation interventions, and developmentally supportive routines within the childcare environment.
• Collaborate closely with therapists, case managers, peer support staff, residential staff, childcare staff, and other interdisciplinary treatment team members to support continuity of care, therapeutic consistency, program participation, emotional safety, and family stabilization goals.
• Participate in childcare consultations, case coordination activities, trainings, Focus Week activities, and professional development. Participate in treatment team discussions or meetings as assigned.
• Provide behavioral observations and clinically relevant feedback to treatment team members regarding emotional regulation, attachment patterns, developmental concerns, caregiver-child interactions, behavioral presentation, participation patterns, sensory needs, and responses to therapeutic interventions.
• Build collaborative and professional relationships with caregivers while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, confidentiality standards, and trauma-informed communication practices.
• Complete behavioral observations, incident reports, attendance tracking, childcare documentation, and other required records in accordance with program expectations and organizational policy.
• Rotate into classrooms, childcare spaces, and program coverage assignments to support staffing coverage, client participation needs, and operational continuity.
• Promote a childcare environment that functions as an integrated extension of the behavioral health treatment environment and supports client participation, family engagement, emotional regulation, and therapeutic stability.
• Maintain reliability, professionalism, flexibility, teamwork, and other job-related responsibilities as assigned.

Job description

Mountain Home seeks Child Development Specialists who provide trauma-informed, developmentally responsive care to children 0–5 within Mountain Home Montana's integrated Child Development Center and family support program. This role supports emotional, developmental, behavioral, and daily care needs through structured routines and collaborative teamwork.

Responsibilities include implementing individualized strategies, maintaining safe environments, and coordinating with therapists and staff to