Healthy Families America Home Visitor

County of Santa Barbara Health is seeking an experienced and dynamic individual to join our team as a Healthy Families America® Home Visitor for the California Home Visiting Program. If you’re bilingual in English/Spanish and have a passion for connecting with the community, this may a great position for you!

We are currently accepting applications to fill one (1) part-time (0.5 FTE) bilingual (English/Spanish) Home Visitor position with the Maternal Child Adolescent Health (MCAH) program. The current vacancy will be homebased in Santa Maria for part-time employment. Please note, this position will require travel throughout the County. County classification for this position is Health Education Assistant, Senior.

NOTE: We are also accepting applications to establish one employment list that will be used to fill current and future Full-Time, Part-Time, Extra Help and 1414* vacancies in multiple locations including Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Lompoc. Please select ALL locations you would like to be considered for initial employment.

Visa Sponsorship: Please note this position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship by the start date of employment.

BENEFITS: The County of Santa Barbara offers generous benefits. Click on the Benefits Tab above or to view more information.

In addition, applicants from other public sector employers may qualify for:

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  Retirement reciprocity
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  Time and service credit towards for an advanced vacation accrual rate

THE POSITION

Under general supervision, assists professional staff by conducting routine education classes for and by providing education and counseling to program participants of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program and the Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Program (MCAH), and other programs as needed; and performs related duties as required.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Health Education Assistant/Health Education Assistant, Senior is a paraprofessional class series.

Health Education Assistant, Senior is the advanced journey-level classification. Incumbents have major responsibility for counseling and case managing program participants on nutrition, breast-feeding, child development, and parenting skills in addition to conducting the routine educational classes, health and development screenings and performing other program support functions. Work assignments at the Senior level require a higher degree of technical knowledge, independent judgment, and skill to assess participants’ dietary intake and growth, child development, parent/child interaction, formulate plans for action, and provide consistent follow up and care coordination for program participants.

These classes are not part of a flexible-staffing series.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE will possess:

• Experience working with pregnant individuals and/or families with young children;
• The ability to speak, read and write in Spanish and/or a Mixteco dialect;
• Great customer service skills;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• An ability to establish trusting relationships;
• Acceptance of individual differences;
• Experience and humility to work with the culturally diverse families;
• Knowledge of infant and child development;
• Willing to engage in building reflective capacity (e.g., capacity for introspection, communicating awareness of self in relation to others, recognizing value of supervision, etc.);
• Infant mental health endorsement preferred;
• Experience with data systems, Microsoft Outlook and Word;

NOTE: The current vacancies require all candidates to be fluent in Spanish/English. Candidates who do not speak, read and write fluently in Spanish will not be considered for the current vacancies.

THE PROGRAM:

The California Home Visiting Program (CHVP) supports pregnant individuals and families with young children by providing voluntary, in-home services that promote healthy pregnancies, positive parenting, and early childhood development. Through one-on-one visits with trained professionals, families receive education, developmental screenings, and connections to community resources. CHVP focuses on strengthening family well-being, improving maternal and child health outcomes, and reducing risk factors such as substance use, domestic violence, and housing instability. By addressing both health and social needs, the program helps build strong families and healthier communities from the very beginning.

Examples of Duties

• Conducts routine individual and family education and demonstrations in the home on nutrition, child development, and health topics such as healthy snacks, dental health, and parenting skills; explains program rules and regulations, participant rights and responsibilities, ensures that the participants understand health concepts and information by initiating discussion and/or answering questions; distributes informational material to participants; assists staff in preparing educational materials, operating audio/visual aids, or displaying material on bulletin boards.
• Initiates and maintains regular and long-term contact with families.
• Provides case management to families with infants, children, and pregnant, breast-feeding, and post-partum individuals; delivers services to program fidelity and evidence-based curriculum; completes surveys and other screening tools to determine risks/needs of participants; documents participant’s progress and eligibility; identifies participants with potential problems or special needs and refers participants to a professional staff or to appropriate community resources as required; conducts the infant nutrition classes; assists professional staff with community outreach to promote the program.

Employment Standards

Completion of 9 semester units, 13.5 quarter units, or 9 continuing education credits in three of the following areas: basic nutrition; food and nutrition for infants; food and nutrition for preschoolers and toddlers; child development; and health education (at least one course in nutrition) AND,

• Two (2) years of paraprofessional experience in a community nutrition or health education program that required some interviewing/counseling; OR,
• Two (2) years of experience performing duties equivalent to a Health Education Assistant with Santa Barbara County that required some interviewing/counseling, OR,
• A combination of training, education, and experience equivalent to one of the employment standards listed above and that provides the required knowledge and abilities.

Additional Qualifications: Incumbents must be willing to travel to clinic sites, and work evenings and weekends. Bilingual skills may be required for some positions. Possession of a California Class C Driver’s License is required at time of appointment.

Knowledge of: nutrition principles and practices during infancy, childhood, pregnancy, and breast-feeding; health education methods and techniques; principles of human growth and development; the nutritional habits and cultural needs of program participants; interviewing/counseling techniques; group dynamics and human behavior; English usage and grammar; computer operations.

Ability to: conduct counseling sessions; learn rules and regulations pertaining to the program/assignment; assess the status/needs of clients, make recommendations for improvement, and make appropriate referrals; establish and maintain working relationships with individuals from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds; interpret and explain program rules and regulations; maintain client confidentiality; write case notes; effectively communicate program information to a wide range of people; make group presentations and lead discussions; work independently.

NOTE: The current position REQUIRE all candidates to be fluent in Spanish/English. Candidates who do not speak, read, and write fluently in Spanish will NOT be considered for the current vacancies. If you indicated on your application that you are bilingual, Human Resources will place you on the employment list for this job, which requires bilingual skills. Hiring departments may test you on your fluency. If you do not demonstrate sufficient fluency, your name may be withheld from future certifications, in accordance with Civil Service Rule 7.

Supplemental Information

APPLICATION & SELECTION PROCESS:

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  Review applications and supplemental questionnaire to determine those applicants who meet the employment standards.
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  Supplemental Questionnaire Rating. Responses to the required supplemental questionnaire will be evaluated and scored. Candidates’ final score and rank on the eligibility list will be determined by the responses to these questions. This process may be eliminated if there are fewer than 11 qualified candidates.

Candidates must receive a percentage score of at least 70 on the Supplemental Questionnaire Rating to be placed on an employment list. An adjustment may be made to raw scores based on factors listed in Civil Service Rule 6. Those candidates who are successful in the selection process will have their names placed on the employment list for a minimum of three months. At the time the employment list is established, all candidates will receive an email notice of their score on the examination, rank on the employment list, and duration of the employment list.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: The County of Santa Barbara is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants. Qualified individuals with disabilities who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process should contact the recruiter listed on the job posting. We require verification of accommodation needed from a professional source, such as a Medical Provider or a learning institution.

Recruiters will communicate with applicants by e-mail during each step in the recruitment process. Applicants are reminded to check spam filters continuously during the Recruitment & Selection Process steps listed above to ensure they do not miss required deadlines.

County of Santa Barbara Health (County Health) requires all employees working in direct contact with patients or clients in a high-risk environment to comply with the County Health Employee Immunizations policy. This can be accomplished by providing documentation of immunizations, submitting laboratory immune titers demonstrating adequate immunity, or obtaining required vaccinations. A list of requirements, based on the specific program, will be sent at the time an offer letter is presented to the selected candidate(s) and initial documentation will be required at this time.

Conditional Job Offer: Once a conditional offer of employment has been made, candidate will be required to successfully complete a background check, which includes a conviction history check, and satisfactory reference checks. The appointee may be subject to a post-offer medical evaluation or examination. The appointee must satisfactorily complete a one-year probationary period.

Disaster Service Workers: Pursuant to Governmental Code section 3100, all employees with the County of Santa Barbara are declared to be disaster service workers subject to such disaster service. Activities as may be assigned to them by their superiors or by law.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Statement

The County of Santa Barbara provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation of any type with regard to any characteristic or status protected by any federal law, state law, or Santa Barbara County ordinance. The County continues to be committed to a merit-based selection process and to eliminating barriers to attracting and retaining top qualified candidates. The County has a longstanding practice of providing a work environment that respects the dignity of individual employees and values their contributions to our organization.

APPLICATION AND SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE DEADLINE: 05/25/2026 at 4:59 p.m. PST; postmarks not accepted. Applications and job postings can be obtained 24 hours a day at www.sbcountyjobs.com.

Farrah Medrano, County Health Talent Acquisition Lead – [email protected]