State of Maryland

A WIC (Women, Infant and Children) Services Associate is the full performance level of work providing paraprofessional services to WIC clients such as income eligibility determination, health screening, health care and other referrals, and basic nutrition education.  Employees in this classification do not supervise other positions.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a designated higher-level administrative position.  The work may require travel to various locations, such as satellite clinics, to provide WIC services.  Employees are required to observe infection control precautions in order to prevent contamination and the spread of disease.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The WIC Services Associate and WIC Services Associate Trainee are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The WIC Services Associate Trainee learns to perform duties under close supervision while the WIC Services Associate performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.  The WIC Services Associate II is differentiated from the WIC Services, Lead in that the WIC Services, Lead assigns, reviews and approves the work of and trains lower-level WIC Services Associates.

Interviews clients to obtain socioeconomic, health and dietary information;

Performs and records height and weight measurements;

Performs and records biochemical measurements, such as hemoglobin or lead test;

Screens the health and nutritional status of clients and identifies problems that place them at nutritional risk;

Determines WIC eligibility and completes certifications;

Provides WIC food instruments, such as checks or EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards, to certified clients;

Provides general health and nutrition information to clients through individual and group sessions;

Evaluates the need for and refers clients to other health, food assistance and social service programs;

Enters client data into automated health files;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of Maryland WIC Program policies and procedures related to certification, nutrition education and food packages;

Knowledge of basic mathematics;

Skill in performing nutrition screening and identifying problems which place clients at nutritional risk;

Skill in providing nutrition education for clients relevant to their identified nutritional risks;

Skill in applying WIC Program policies and procedures to individual client problems or needs;

Ability to conduct client interviews to obtain accurate information necessary to determine WIC Program eligibility;

Ability to explain WIC Program, health and nutrition information to clients.

Education:   Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: One year of experience in health or human service delivery, performing tasks such as program eligibility determination, health screening, client referral services, or nutrition education.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute the completion of 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university for the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in Health Services classifications or Health Services and specialty codes in the health-related field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit D- Health and Human Service Nonprofessional classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime as provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.