MIECHV Family Support Worker at Sieda Community Action in Ottumwa, IA

MIECHV Family Support Worker

Location: Ottumwa, Iowa

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 Wapello County and will serve Mahaska County.

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.

DUTIES: (Essential Functions)

• Performs complex varied duties requiring advanced skills.
• 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.

INDEPENDENT ACTION:

• Receives periodic supervision regarding task guidelines and completion.
• Self-schedule all tasks and visits within timeframes specified by MIECHV and Sieda.

• Make service provision decisions concerning both tasks and completion within MIECHV program and Sieda guidelines.
• Seek supervision from the MIECHV Program Manager and/or Economic and Family Support Services Director regarding task guidelines and completion.

DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY

• Limited independent decision-making authority.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING:

• Obtain certification that requires additional hours of job-related training.

• Healthy Families America Certification is a requirement of the MIECHV Program. This training must be completed within the first 6 months of employment or as soon as offered by HFA.
• The National Certification Exam for Home Visitors is a requirement of the MIECHV Program. This exam must be passed, and certification must be obtained within 1 year of employment.
• Following the passing of the NCE and their first year of Employment, Sieda requires that MIECHV

staff with an AA will begin working towards their BA, which must be completed within 4 years of their employment start date.

• Obtain all training and background checks required for agency/model/funder within required timeframes.

PROGRAM REPRESENTATION:

• Requires varying levels of interaction with staff, enrolled participants and other agencies in a role where they represent a single program.
• 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.

PROGRAM DESIGN AND PLANNING:

• Involved in the planning of a limited area within a program reflective of his/her job responsibilities.
• 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.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

• None

OTHER REQUIRED SKILLS/ABILITIES:

ORGANIZATIONAL EXPECTATIONS: (Essential Functions)

• Support and model the agency’s mission, vision, and values.
• Maintain a regular attendance pattern to assure continuity of services and adequate staff coverage.

• Demonstrate professional behavior at all times including personal appearance and maintaining an orderly functioning office area.
• Treat all individuals in a courteous, non-judgmental, reasonable and confidential manner.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

• Ability to speak comfortably and effectively one-on-one and in group settings.

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret documents relating to the program and agency.
• Ability to write accurate, timely and quality documentation of services.
• Ability to speak to families in a way that is both respectful and compels positive change.
• Ability to relate to families using a strength-based model at all times.

REASONING ABILITY:

• Ability to define barriers, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to recognize conflict and work towards a solution.
• Ability to interpret and follow policies/procedures and maintain contractual compliance in the delivery of program services.

• Ability to establish and maintain professional boundaries, while providing supportive services.
• Ability to be proactive and use forward thinking in addressing barriers, conflicts and setbacks.
• Ability to assist families with developing a family goal plan that is individualized and attainable.
• Ability to be solution focused.
• Ability to connect and engage with enrolled families consistently.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate, stand, walk, climb stairs, use hands and arms, drive, crouch and sit.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move 20 pounds.
• May require sitting on the floor to demonstrate/evaluate a child development skill.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to extreme cold and extreme heat, unkempt homes, household insects/pests and animals, poor ventilation and unhygienic environments.
• This job requires working in people’s homes where the environment is out of the scope of the workers’ control.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:

The requirements listed below are representative of the education, experience, knowledge, skill, and/or ability required to be considered for this position.

●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.

OR

●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.

TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY:

• 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.

For questions please contact Sue Wolver at swolver@sieda.org. Applications will be accepted until end of business on September 4, 2026