FAMILY SUPPORT WORKER

Family Support Worker - 64005667

This position provides basic mom-to-mom breastfeeding education, encouragement, and support to WIC pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum participants. The incumbent manages an assigned peer counseling caseload, maintains routine contact with participants, supports breastfeeding initiation and duration, works within the peer counselor scope of practice, and promptly yields and refers concerns that require professional assessment or clinical care.

Your specific responsibilities include:

• Breastfeeding peer counseling and caseload management.
• Counsels assigned WIC pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum participants on normal breastfeeding matters in the clinic, by telephone or approved virtual methods, and through hospital or community visits when assigned.
• Manages an assigned caseload and completes initial and follow-up contacts at intervals established by the local agency, including approved availability outside normal clinic hours up to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends.
• Provides basic, client-centered breastfeeding information and encouragement to help participants establish breastfeeding, address common barriers, and prevent or manage common concerns within the peer counselor scope of practice.
• Uses approved educational materials and counseling techniques to help participants prepare for breastfeeding, build confidence, recognize normal infant-feeding patterns, continue breastfeeding during common life transitions, and work toward their individual feeding goals.
• Maintains strict confidentiality and provides respectful, culturally responsive support in accordance with Department of Health, WIC, HIPAA, and data-security requirements.
• Peer counseling documentation and service reporting.
• Documents individual and group breastfeeding contacts in the appropriate FL-WiSE breastfeeding screens and completes approved prenatal or postpartum contact forms when system access is unavailable.
• Keeps accurate records of participant contacts, attempts, follow-up plans, referrals, and outcomes; scans completed contact forms into FL-WiSE as required.
• Accurately records time and services in EARS or HMS and completes required reports, logs, and paperwork within established timeframes.
• Breastfeeding classes support groups promotion and outreach.
• Facilitates or assists with approved prenatal breastfeeding classes, breastfeeding support groups, peer-led education, outreach events, and special breastfeeding promotion projects.
• Distributes approved materials, reinforces consistent WIC breastfeeding messages, and helps connect eligible participants with peer counseling services and appropriate community resources.
• Provides breastfeeding support outside the clinic environment when assigned and permitted by local protocols.
• Referral coordination and continuity of breastfeeding support.
• Recognizes paraprofessional limitations and promptly yields and refers medical, medication, nutrition, high-risk, or complex breastfeeding concerns to the Designated Breastfeeding Expert, CPA, health care provider, or other appropriate professional.
• Follows the local referral process, communicates relevant information to authorized staff, documents referrals, and resumes basic peer support when the participant is referred back.
• Maintains regular communication with the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Coordinator regarding caseload needs, participant concerns, and follow-up priorities.
• Training meetings and quality improvement.
• Attends required orientation, breastfeeding training, in-services, staff meetings, workshops, and competency reviews; reads assigned materials and incorporates supervisor feedback.
• Participates in observation and documentation review by the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Coordinator and follows all Department of Health and WIC policies related to confidentiality, data security, attendance, travel, telework, and time reporting.
• Peer counseling program support, travel and other duties.
• Assists with monitoring, issuing, organizing, and restocking approved breastfeeding supplies and educational materials; completes a monthly inventory of supplies and promptly reports inventory needs to the Breastfeeding Coordinator.
• Checks participant messages and assigned communications; maintains peer counseling forms and educational materials; and travels between approved clinic, hospital, community, or outreach locations as scheduled.
• The employee may be required to travel to the Immokalee office when needed to support program operations, staffing needs, meetings, training, outreach, or other assigned duties.
• Assists with approved peer counseling projects, participant engagement activities, and routine program support that directly benefits the Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program.
• Performs other related duties as assigned that are consistent with the position classification, required training, BFPC funding requirements, and the peer counselor scope of practice.

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Must have breastfed at least one baby.
• Knowledge of basic breastfeeding practices, common breastfeeding concerns, normal lactation, and the boundaries of the breastfeeding peer counselor role.
• Ability to provide respectful mom-to-mom support, use client-centered communication, protect confidentiality, and work effectively with participants from varied backgrounds.
• Ability to recognize concerns outside the peer counselor scope of practice and promptly use the local yield, referral, and follow-back process.
• Ability to learn and accurately use FL-WiSE, EARS or HMS, Microsoft Office applications, telephone systems, and other approved program technology.
• Ability to organize a caseload, prioritize follow-up, maintain accurate records, meet deadlines, travel between assigned locations, and work independently within established procedures.
• Ability to communicate clearly in person, by telephone, and in writing; language skills and cultural familiarity aligned with the participants served by the local agency.

Minimum qualifications:

• Incumbent may be required to work before, during and/or beyond normal work hours or days in the event of an emergency.
• Emergency duty required of the incumbent includes working in special needs or Red Cross shelters, or performing other emergency duties including, but not limited to, responses to or threats involving any disaster or threat of disaster, man-made or natural.

Preferred:

• Valid Florida driver license when travel between Naples & Immokalee WIC sites or community locations is required.

Location: Naples, Florida