Community Health Care Worker

POSITION

DESCRIPTION:

The purpose of this position is to provide active, hands-on peer support to parents/caregivers of youth receiving services. Effective peer support should be friendly, helpful, accessible and flexible. Peer support may be delivered in individual or group settings at the agency, in family homes or in community environments. The role of the Parent Partner is to provide peer support but also to work collaboratively to support systems change by increasing family involvement and decreasing unintentional bias about parents.

• Bachelor's Degree and 1 + yr. of experience OR
• AA Degree and 2 + yrs. experience working with children or families with complex needs.
• Registered and Insured automobiles
• Valid CA Driver's License

• 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 direct experience with child serving systems (i.e. mental health, child welfare, probation and special education).
• It is optimal for the Parent Partner to have experienced the level of care with their youth equivalent to program assignment.
• Must have life experience as the parent of a youth with emotional or behavioral challenges. Education in the area of social services is optimal but not necessary.
• Demonstrates an ability to maintain a non-judgmental attitude towards families.

All of the responsibilities listed below are considered essential functions of this position. Additionally, this position is expected to ensure that the core operating values and the strategic direction of the agency are adhered to.

• Decide collaboratively with the facilitator details about the initial engagement meeting with the family
• Introduce yourself as a peer who is the parent of a child with emotional or behavioral challenges and explain the role of the Parent Partner.
• Encourage the family to share their own story including their culture, beliefs, and situation.
• Consider the family's story to identify family strengths, possible team members, and what parts of the Parent Partner's story would be helpful for the family to hear.
• Effectively share your own story in a way which builds connection, confidence, and hope for the family relevant to the family's culture, beliefs and situation.
• Participate collaboratively in identifying potential team members and what might motivate them to participate in the team process.
• Explore the parent's situation regarding the need for rest, relief, and safety and work collaboratively with the facilitator to develop and support stabilization.
• Work collaboratively with the family and facilitator to determine potential team members, both formal and informal, and decide who will invite them.
• Decide with facilitator who will contact potential team members to hear their perspectives on family strengths and needs.
• Secure agreement with family about the attendance of team members at the first child and family team meeting.

• Explain the parent's perspective, culture, and beliefs in a way that increases understanding by others while decreasing differences and highlighting similarities.
• Check with team members to ensure they understand the parent's perspective and reassure others that having differences is acceptable.
• Periodically facilitating the Wraparound process, as appropriate, including presenting and explaining the list of strengths prepared prior to the meeting and asking the team to identify additional strengths during the meeting.
• Assess the level of support that is needed by the parent based on the families support network, their ability to involve their support network, and the ability of the parent to be heard by others.
• Meet with the family regularly and consistently in order to encourage and support an understanding of their vision for the future.
• Work with the parent to develop plans/strategies of how the Parent Partner can support the parent during meetings to ensure the parent's culture, beliefs, experience, voice and choice are heard by the team and are incorporated into the Child and Family Team Plan or Plan of Care.
• Share information with other wraparound team members about the parent's perspective, culture, and beliefs including how the parent experiences…