Licensed Social Worker

Department BSD PED - Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

About the Department The Section of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP), within the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago and at the Comer Children’s Hospital is a Center of Excellence in developmental diagnosis, biomedical management, and family supports for children with motor, communicative, sensory, developmental, genetic, neurological, learning, and behavior disorders. The Section includes 3 Developmental and Behavioral Pediatric faculty members, two childhood trauma psychologists, 3 DBP subspecialty fellows, and nursing support.

The Section provides interdisciplinary assessment and biopsychosocial management practices to optimize child functioning, support families, and maximize prevention strategies across health, education, and community care systems. The Section serves as a resource for primary care practitioners, subspecialists, and community professional agencies for children at high risk for having suboptimal educational outcomes and those with complex medical and/or behavioral challenges. Their collective clinical expertise is coupled with research, educational endeavors, advocacy, and public policy activities geared to ensuring that children receive the information and supports for long‑term success.

The faculty’s clinical expertise, research contributions, and leadership roles within communities and professional organizations are recognized at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The clinical services provided by the Section include, but are not limited to, interdisciplinary diagnostic assessment of children enrolled in Early Intervention and diagnostic and treatment for children with a diverse array of childhood delays and disabilities (autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, feeding disorders, etc.).

The social worker supports the Developmental and Behavioral pediatric practice in two outpatient settings:
Woodlawn Social Services Center and Comer Children’s Hospital. At Woodlawn, the social worker will coordinate the Early Intervention Medical Diagnostic Assessment Team assessing children referred through Early Intervention. At Comer Children’s Hospital, the social worker will consult as needed on patients seen by the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatricians on various issues, which include but are not limited to school Individual Education Plan referral and modification, referral to social services including social security insurance, care coordination services through the Division of Specialized Care for Children, permanency planning, and obtaining services through insurance.

The social worker may also refer parents for services and report cases of concern for child abuse or neglect. The social worker will also lead a care coordination clinic where they will engage with telemedicine or in-person visits with the parent(s) to support obtaining recommended services, coping with disability diagnoses, planning for transition to adult care or alternative living arrangements, or discrete behavioral concerns such as potty training.

The social worker may also be involved in long-term projects that support the Section as a whole, such as developing resource lists for common referrals. The social worker may provide behavioral or emotional crisis intervention services or refer as needed for assessment elsewhere. The social worker will document care rendered and act as a resource to other Section personnel.

• Develops and updates resource lists to refer families for therapies, adult mental health and counseling services, and tips for commonly encountered challenges. (e.g.applying for Social Security Insurance, requesting an Individualized Education Plan, etc.).
• Documents developmental care in records.
• Attend all virtual and/or in-person appointments of the Early Intervention Medical Diagnostic Team.
• Coordinate the multidisciplinary visits of the Early Intervention Medical Diagnostic Team.
• Conduct intake process on each patient prior to their appointment.
• Compile all the…