MIECHV Family Support Worker

Sieda Community Action•Fairfield, IA

About The Position

Sieda Community Action’s Economic and Family Support Services Unit is seeking a Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visitation Family Support Worker. This position is based in the Wapello County office located in Ottumwa. The MIECHV Family Support Worker is responsible for initiating and maintaining regular, possible long- term (up to five years) contact/support with families. This programming will occur primarily within the family’s home; each visit should last for at least one hour. The interventions should be family-centered and strength-based and directed at establishing a trusting relationship; assisting in strengthening the parent-child relationship; assisting parents in improving their skills to optimize the home environment; improving the family support system; and increasing the family’s ability to problem solve and advocate for themselves and their children. The MIECHV Family Support Worker will assist the family in establishing goals and a plan for their accomplishment. The MIECHV FSW will identify needs and barriers to success and refer to other programs/agencies for comprehensive care.

Requirements

Requires completion of an associate degree in early childhood/Education/Social Work/Family Services or related field from an accredited college or university and 5 years’ experience working with children and/or families.
A bachelor’s degree in early childhood/Education/Social Work/Family Services or related field from an accredited four-year college or university and 2 years’ experience working with children and/or families.
Requires moderate level computer knowledge and experience.
Ability to enter documentation and data into databases required by agency/funder/model.
Ability to use Google and Microsoft software applications/programs (calendar/Gmail/docs/sheets/drive/Word etc.) with minimal training and perform simple maintenance to keep computers operational.
Ability to invite/schedule/attend/present virtual meetings using various platforms (Zoom, Google Meet, Webex etc.)
Ability to maintain and operate a laptop computer and agency issued cell phone.

Responsibilities

Provide home based services/conduct home visits/complete assessments and screenings in accordance with the program’s model (Healthy Families America-HFA) to parents/caregivers, infants and children.
Address areas of growth identified during the initial assessment of the family and collaborates to set meaningful program goals.
Provide trauma-informed services to ensure safety/feeling safe for all participants.
Travel is required to meet MIECHV Program requirements.
Build trusting relationships with families through interpersonal skills, consistency and rapport.
Advocate for families to ensure they are supported and encouraged.
Support parents/caregivers in building healthy support systems.
Deliver services in a culturally competent manner. MIECHV FSWs will be sensitive to the service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics.
Encourage and teach behavior management techniques that are nurturing and effective.
Deliver high quality, comprehensive, in-home services to parents and children enrolled in the program to provide information and support services that maximize the likelihood of success.
Assist and educate expecting parents/caregivers about prenatal health and development to increase healthy, full-term births.
Provide information, programming, and other activities to MIECHV families specific to their service area. MIECHV FSWs connect/refer families to resources that help them reach their goals and address their needs.
Recruit and enroll families to maintain full caseload capacity.
Attend and participate in all supervision meetings and monthly staff meetings with the MIECHV Program Manager and/or the Family Support Services Director.
Collect data for compiling the monthly and annual reports. Submits data when needed to the MIECHV Program Manager and/or the Economic and Family Support Services Director.
Must be available to work varying work hours for special events/trainings.
Communicate all pertinent information to the MIECHV Program Manager and/or EFSS Director consistently and timely.
Other duties deemed necessary to support the MIECHV Program/Economic and Family Support Services/Sieda.
Actively engage with children whenever they are present.
Assist with transition, dual parent/caregiver involvement, referrals for: health, nutrition, mental health, accessing transportation, special needs and other barriers to success.
Develop and maintain working partnerships with other providers.
Inform other providers of program openings regularly.
A high level of parent/caregiver involvement in the lives of their children will occur.
Foster partnerships with other providers, represent Sieda and promote the MIECHV program by providing information, giving presentations and/or materials when able for coordination of services.
FSWs will assist families to develop and achieve meaningful goals which promote family stability and growth.
FSWs will plan and conduct monthly group socialization activities which promote healthy child-parent relationships as well as allowing parents and their children to come together to learn from one another.
FSWs will observe, record, and plan for the particular needs of the child and family as part of an on-going planning and group socialization program.
FSWs will work to see that enrolled preschool children will receive a full range of needed health, dental, nutrition, mental health, and other health related treatment and preventive interventions.