Empowering Home Visitors: The Iowa Model Reshaping Family Support
Located in one of the country’s leading states for home visiting, PJ West, interim director of Iowa Health and Human Services’ Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visitation (MIECHV) program, and Kelly Schulte, special project coordinator for MIECHV, have been long-time champions of family support professionals.
With Iowa and MIECHV – one of the premier home visiting programs in the country – held to such high regard in the industry, West and Schulte were the perfect candidates to help shape comprehensive tools and resources which would go on to form what the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals offers today.
Iowa MIECHV was an early adopter and requires programs to have Institute-certified home visitors within a year of hire, to be eligible for funding.
“The National Family Support Certification can help people in all related fields get what they need to serve the prenatal to five population,” Schulte said. “It bridges the formal education component with real, specific skills needed to serve families effectively.”
West is quick to add that data doesn’t paint the full picture, though. Currently, Institute users have two attempts to pass the exam to earn their certification. The exam is rigorous, but with proper studying using the pre-certification exam and modules to guide learning, it has a high success rate. West’s team also offers a quarterly study groups for staff as well.
But the Institute isn't just about testing; it's about continuous growth. Through innovative programs like Knock and the Relational Readiness Framework, there are free and advanced tools that address the real-world challenges home visitors face daily – including their ability to grow as professionals.
In fact, once resources are made available, they continue to evolve. There are now nearly 100 modules for home visitors to access, largely coming from state program feedback as challenges or learning gaps arise in the field.
“The best way to find out what home visitors need is to ask them,” Schulte simply put.
With home visiting services available in all 99 of the state's counties, the Institute has become prolific for the workforce and synonymous with professional development.
West and Schulte believe more states and programs should utilize Institute resources, knowing that it’s mostly an awareness issue.
“When we’re at the national conference, there are people talking about how much they need training on this or that…” West said. “We giggle to ourselves, because everything you’re asking for is already out there. The stuff you need and the stuff you want is living on the Institute.”
“Our home visitors told us they needed it, so we helped create it, and that means there are probably other home visitors out there that could benefit from it.”
Looking forward, both leaders are excited about the Institute's continued potential for growth. Schulte notes that the Institute's independence allows it to be "nimble and meet needs very quickly" in a rapidly changing landscape.
For West and Schulte, this is more than a job – it's a mission to support the professionals who stand beside families at their most vulnerable moments. As the field of home visiting continues to evolve, Iowa is a shining example, proving that with the right support, training and recognition, family support professionals can truly transform lives.