Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.

As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City’s yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.

Our Agency’s five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:
1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a “response-ready” organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods
3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness
4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women’s health
5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change

Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.

PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Division of Family and Child Health (DFCH) of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is charged with the creation and oversight of programs, policies, services, and environments that support physical and socio-emotional health, and promote primary and reproductive health services, health equity, social justice, safety and well-being for New York City families and children. The Division is comprised of the Bureau of Maternal Infant and Reproductive Health, the Bureau of Early Intervention, the Office of School Health, and the Bureau of Administration. The vision of the DFCH is that every child, woman, and family recognizes their power and is given the opportunity to reach their full health and development potential. We encourage qualified applicants with demonstrated commitment to social justice, particularly racial, gender, and LGBTQI+ equity to apply.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

-Travel to Elementary Schools and Community-Based Organizations (CBO) to conduct vision screening.

-Assist in setting up and breaking down vision screening equipment for vision screenings.

-Assist students selecting proper eye frames donated by Warby Parker.

-Record, tally and enters screening data accurately into the Office of School Health’s database known as ASHR (Automated Student Health Record) and prepares referral packets for parents of students who fails screenings.

-Attain updated telephone numbers from schools for students who fail vision screenings.

-Schedule visits to the public schools and assisting the optometrist at each scheduled session.

-Maintains and transports equipment to and from schools.

-Communicate with students and staff in a courteous manner and assists Screening Team Leader as directed.

-Identify appropriate methods for reaching parents and encouraging them to follow up on child’s failed screenings.

-Public Health Advisers assigned to Eyeglasses Unit are responsible for inventorying, processing, delivering and distributing eyeglasses to students citywide and are also required to assist with educating parents about children’s need to use prescribed glasses if required.

-Assist other units within the Vision Screening Program.

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, including or supplemented by twelve semester credits in health education or in health, social or biological sciences; or

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, and six months of full-time satisfactory experience in a health promotion or disease intervention/prevention program, performing one or more of the following: interviewing, conducting field investigations, assessing health risks,
making referrals, or collecting and analyzing epidemiological data; or

3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State's Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization and four years of full-time satisfactory experience as described in “2” above; or

4. Education and/or experience equivalent to “1,” “2” or “3” above. Undergraduate college credit can be substituted for experience on the basis of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for one year of full-time experience. However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, and either twelve semester credits as described in “1” above or six months of experience as described in “2” above.

Additional Requirements
A. To be assigned to Assignment Level II, candidates must have, in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements listed above, at least one year of experience as a Public Health Adviser (School Health), Assignment Level I, or
at least one additional year of experience as described in Qualification Requirement 2 above.

City wide travel is required.

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.