Home Visitor of the Year: Azuzena Flores in Sioux City, Iowa
One of Azuzena Flores’ favorite home visit activities is to encourage a parent and child to hold opposite ends of a towel and bounce a beach ball up and down. The game builds motor and counting skills, while eliciting lots of giggles in the process.
She remembers one child who asked everyone who came to his house for several weeks to get in on the game. He had a score to beat.
Another game uses a plastic container with poked-out and color-coded holes. The children insert pipe cleaners in the holes to learn colors.
Flores is known for creating simple, creative and engaging games for her home visiting clients. It’s one of the reasons she is an inaugural Home Visitor of the Year.
“Azuzena’s positive energy is a detectable force,” said colleague Brynn Friedrich. “She brings her work team and the families she serves a dedication and willingness that comes from within. Her eagerness to improve her own practices makes her a life-long learner. We hope she stays in the field of service to the children and families of Iowa forever.”
Flores serves as a Parents as Teachers (PAT) Parent Educator at the Community Action Agency of Siouxland in Sioux City, Iowa. She entered the home visiting field by happenstance.
After eight successful years in the Marine Corps, Flores was enrolling her children in the local Head Start program when a friend told her about a teacher’s assistant position. But during the interview, the team at Community Action Agency of Siouxland saw potential in her for another kind of role: home visiting.
“I came in for one thing and left with a totally different position, but I think it was the best decision because I love what I do,” said Flores.
Flores maintains a case load of about 20 families that she builds through word of mouth. She brings her experience growing up in a Hispanic household with six children to her work. Flores is also bilingual, which helps her connect with Spanish-speaking parents.
She loves the opportunity to help convey early childhood and parenting best practices, while also helping families navigate other questions like taxes or navigating complicated forms.
“One of the biggest things is it's more than just a visit,” said Flores. “We are partnering with parents.”
Her own two children are proud of their mom when other kids run up to Flores for hugs when they’re out in the community.
Flores’ team at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services are proud of her recognition as a Home Visitor of the Year as well.
"She is dedicated to helping others and passionate about fostering lifelong learning for her clients,” said Alexius Aguiar, Iowa’s PAT State Leader. “Her approachable nature makes it easy for families to build meaningful and trusting relationships with her. Her bilingual skills are a valuable resource in the community she serves."
Flores is a Certified Family Support Professional and found value in the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professional’s online courses. The modules around mental health were especially helpful to her as she navigated stigma about the subject in the Hispanic community.
“No matter how long you've been doing this job as a home visitor, there's always more to learn and the classes are very beneficial,” said Flores. “Sometimes taking a class opens your eyes to more and different perspectives. And you're like, ‘Oh, I didn't think about it that way.’”
Flores is one of five family support professionals from across the U.S. being honored this week as part of the first-ever National Home Visiting Week observance.
“Home visitors do a lot more than what's on our agenda – more than what we're supposed to do,” said Flores. “We go above and beyond and I think this is a really neat job that needs more exposure. Because we really do have an impact on families.”
Learn more about the Community Action Agency of Siouxland.