Family Advocate Peer Support

Nexus-Woodbourne Family Healing is looking for experienced parents/caregivers of youth with emotional or behavioral challenges to serve as an active, hands-on, trauma-informed, and family-guided Family Advocate Peer Support to our client's parents/caregivers.

At Nexus Family Healing, we embrace diversity, promote equity, and foster inclusion. As a national mental health organization, we serve a diverse group of youth and families, and we strive for our workforce to support and represent that diversity.

Schedule/Travel/Pay:

• Full-time on-site opportunity
• Regular use of personal vehicle for local travel will be required as needed for the transportation of clients and families.
• Pay range: $23 – $25 per hour

Position Summary:

The Family Advocate Peer Support provides active, hands-on, trauma-informed, and family-guided peer support to parents of youth receiving services while collaborating with families, team members and service providers. The Family Advocate Peer Support’s role is to increase family involvement within the program, connecting families to formal and informal resources, and advocating for families to decrease unintentional, programmatic, and institutional bias toward caregivers.

Primary responsibilities:

• Manages and coordinates positive family involvement in the treatment process using trauma-informed, strength-based, and client-driven engagement techniques.
• Creates community relationships to enhance resource and referral opportunities for the youth and their family and/or caregivers.
• Connects with all families entering program to engage and build involvement.
• Participates in the initial family information-gathering and assessment process to help identify needs and assist in the development of treatment goals by recommending actions, accommodations, and services for youth and their family members.
• Works with families, caregivers, and treatment team members and all informal and formal supports to assist and support individualized family plans and treatment goals during and post-treatment, to ensure successful family involvement, advocacy, and representation, and provide resources, which may include housing, financial and food resources.
• Attends and participates in a variety of meetings to help support and advocate for the well-being, needs and resources for caregivers and youth. Meetings could include, but are not limited to: IEP meetings, clinical consultation, staff meetings, treatment plan reviews, and court hearings.
• Provides and assists with ongoing advocacy for families during the treatment process and with other providers involved in the family’s life. Role models skills and provides coaching so families can learn to advocate for themselves.
• Delivers consultation and training to treatment team members to enhance the delivery of family-driven care and positive family engagement techniques, as needed.
• Provides parent skill-building education, consultation, and role modeling; leads/co-leads parent support groups.
• Acts as a resource for families and responds to family crises in a prompt, effective, and collaborative manner.
• May coordinate and conduct family-finding activities to help youth establish a strong support network and support permanency as needed.
• Submits timely documentation in the electronic health record regarding work with families.
• Facilitates the linking of youth and families with appropriate community services, and follow-ups. Consults and collaborates with community services to ensure families receive appropriate services and works with families to help them make and keep appointments.
• Meets with the family and youth (virtually or in-person) as determined and prescribed by the treatment plan and family’s engagement level.
• May coordinate the distribution and completion of family and youth satisfaction surveys.
• May conduct discharge follow-up calls to inquire about sustained success following care.

Required Education and Licensure:

• High School diploma or equivalent and must be at least 21 years of age.
• Must be the biological, adoptive, kin parent, or non-related family member of a youth with emotional or behavioral challenges or has had systems experience with their child in a child serving system (i.e. mental health, child welfare, probation and special education).
• Must have experience with Children’s Mental Health systems such as DHS, DOC, social services, probation, or the Department of Mental Health.
• Completion of a successful background check.
• Currently have or be willing and able to successfully complete the Department of Human Services-Approved Certified Family Peer Specialist Training and certificate exam.
• Valid driver’s license required. Must meet state regulating agency and Home Office driving requirements.

Preferred Education and Experience:

• College coursework in behavioral/mental health field.
• Experience working with families and trauma-exposed children or adolescents.
• Experience with a child in a residential treatment facility.

At Nexus Family Healing, our voices and actions are focused on recognizing, affirming and respecting people of every race, ethnic background, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender expression and faith.

Our ICARE Values:

• Innovation: Leading the way and implementing creative, cutting-edge ideas and approaches
• Compassion: Listening, honoring differences, and showing respect, kindness, empathy care, and concern
• Agility: Exhibiting flexibility and adapting quickly
• Responsiveness: Being quick, positive, and accurate
• Excellence: Demonstrating quality results that surpass ordinary standards

APPLY TODAY TO BE CONTACTED BY OUR RECRUITING TEAM! When you work at Nexus, you have the opportunity to change lives — including your own!

Keyword: Parent Partner