Family Support Specialist

Family Support Specialist

Spectrum Health & Human Services respectfully partners with adults, children and families as they recover from behavioral, emotional, mental health and/or substance related disorders by offering individualized and meaningful opportunities of hope, empowerment and support to achieve self-defined improvements in their quality of life.

Location:

326 Orchard Park Rd

The Family Support Specialist provides family peer advocacy services within Spectrum Health & Human Services' Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). The Family Support Specialist guides parents, caregivers, and family members of children and youth receiving behavioral health services by using relevant lived experience, system knowledge, advocacy, engagement strategies, and family-centered support. They work as part of the CCBHC interdisciplinary team to promote family voice and choice, increase engagement in services, assist families in navigating behavioral health and community systems, support crisis planning and stabilization, and strengthen natural supports.

Services are provided in a manner that is trauma-informed, culturally responsive, strength-based, and aligned with the family's goals and the child/youth's treatment plan. The role is intended to provide peer-based support, education, advocacy, and system navigation from the perspective of a parent or caregiver with relevant lived experience.

• Demonstrates knowledge of and commitment to Spectrum's mission, values, policies, and standards of professional conduct.
• Uses personal lived experience as a parent or caregiver of a child/youth with social, emotional, behavioral health, mental health, substance use, developmental, medical, or cross-system needs in a purposeful, appropriate, and professional manner to support, educate, and empower families.
• Promotes family voice, family choice, self-advocacy, self-efficacy, and empowerment throughout the service planning and treatment process.
• Engages parents and caregivers in a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, strengths-based, and family-centered manner.
• Supports outreach, engagement, and re-engagement efforts for children, youth, and families who are new to services, at risk of disengagement, or experiencing barriers to participation.
• Participates as a member of the interdisciplinary CCBHC team and collaborates with clinicians, care coordinators, psychiatric providers, nurses, crisis staff, and other team members to support coordinated, family-centered care.
• Assists families in identifying strengths, needs, priorities, natural supports, barriers, and goals that may impact the child/youth's treatment, recovery, stability, and overall functioning.
• Assists families in understanding and navigating behavioral health, education, medical, social service, child welfare, juvenile justice, crisis response, and other child- and family-serving systems, as applicable.
• Supports parents and caregivers in understanding school-based supports and processes, including 504 Plans, Individualized Education Programs, school meetings, behavioral supports, attendance concerns, re-entry planning, and communication with school personnel.
• Assists families in preparing for school-related meetings by helping them identify questions, concerns, strengths, needs, and priorities they may wish to discuss.
• May attend school meetings, including 504, IEP, re-entry, attendance, behavioral, or support planning meetings, when requested by the family and appropriate consents are in place.
• Supports families in preparing for and participating in treatment planning meetings, service coordination discussions, appointments, discharge planning meetings, crisis planning meetings, and other service-related discussions.
• Provides parent/caregiver skill development, family support, and psychoeducation related to advocacy, communication, problem-solving, system navigation, crisis prevention, service engagement, and accessing appropriate supports.
• Provides pre-crisis and crisis support to families, including assistance with identifying early warning signs, developing family-centered crisis or…