Parent Coach - Antelope Valley Partners for Health

Department: Welcome Baby (WB)

Hours: Full-time, occasional evenings, and weekend work required

Reports To: Parent Coach Supervisor

Job Summary: Parent Coaches will conduct the prenatal and postpartum visits in the home. Parent Coaches are responsible for supporting families, conducting assessments and providing parent education in the areas of prenatal and postnatal care, breastfeeding, parent-infant attachment, child development, home safety and other maternal and child health related topics. They will also help identify client strengths, needs, barriers and risks and provide community resources for those needs and provide and model empathetic support and feedback when working with new moms, babies and family members.

Qualifications required: 

• Bachelor’s degree preferred in child development, social work, psychology, human development, public health education or a related field with at least one year of experience in maternal and child home visitation; or Child Development Associate (CDA) or associate in arts degree with maternal and child health experience and at least two years of experience in maternal and child home visitation. Bilingual, preferred. 
• Certified lactation educator (CLE) or certified lactation counselor (CLC) at a minimum; or certification must be completed within six months of hire; alternately staff may be certified lactation consultant (CLC) or international certified lactation consultant (IBCLC/RLC). 
• Ability to work a flexible dayshift schedule that includes some Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.  
• Current and maintained CA driver’s license  
• Current/maintained auto insurance 
• Own transportation for work-related purposes 
• Current and maintained infant and adult CPR 
• Meet basic health requirements, background check, and physical job standards 
• Must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 

Qualifications Preferred: 

• Ability to function as a member of a multidisciplinary team. 
• Ability to promote bonding and attachment between infant-primary caregiver.
• Ability to assess families across a broad spectrum of areas, recognizing professional boundaries and the need for consultation from other disciplines. 
• Experience working with families from diverse age, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. 
• Empathy, warmth, and the ability to establish ongoing supportive relationships with an ethnically diverse population. 
• Knowledgeable about local community resources and able to refer families to appropriate agencies. 
• Knowledge of normal fetal, infant, and toddler development; prenatal and child health requirements; and early childhood education best practices. 
• Familiarity with the effects of domestic violence and parental alcohol and/or other drug abuse on family health, parenting, and general functioning. 
• Familiarity with the effects of perinatal depression on child development, parenting, and general functioning. 
• Skill in organizing and maintaining accurate records. 
• Skill in writing to articulate concepts and ideas in notes and reports. 
• Bilingual preferred, with the ability to communicate in the language(s) represented in the community to be served. 

Key Position Responsibilities:  

• Works closely with the Welcome Baby Nurses, other Parent Coaches, Parent Coach Supervisors, Project Manager, and administrative staff to provide a continuum of services. 
• Develops trust and rapport with clients and provides support using an empathic and client centered approach. 
• Adheres to all program guidelines, policies and protocols and actively works toward achieving the goals of the program. 
• Conduct client assessments using standardized tools for maternal depression, parent-infant attachment, social support, developmental milestones, and home safety, as well as other non-standardized client assessments. 
• Assesses infant feeding and provides assistance and support as needed. 
• Provides information to clients about maternal and infant health, breastfeeding, parenting, attachment, home safety, family planning, child development and other related topics using a client-centered approach. 
• Identifies appropriate resources for clients and provide referrals as needed.
• Follows up with all needed referrals and resources for clients. 
• Attends and participates in all staff meetings, bi-monthly group reflective supervision, and weekly individual reflective supervision with Team Supervisor. 
• Completes all needed paperwork for each client in a timely and organized manner, including clear and well written progress notes. 
• Completes required data entry for each client in a timely manner.
• Participate in periodic Peer to Peer workshops, webinars and conference calls, and Welcome Baby and Home Visitation regional meetings. 
• Complete Welcome Baby training required for Parent Coach 
• Other duties as assigned 

Working Conditions: 

• Primarily in-home with families and in-office environment. 
• At times, working with overburdened, often high-risk families of low economic and varied cultural backgrounds, living in high-risk areas 
• Employee will be required to sit, perform repetitive physical and mental activities, have face to-face and telephone contact with individuals, work with others in a group or team, and work with external customers or the public.  
• May be required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. 
• Work may be performed under stressful and emotional conditions.