YCOT Certified Family Partner

Under the direction of the Youth Crisis Outreach Team (YCOT) Supervisor the YCOT Certified Family Partner(CFP) provides information to clients or supporting staff in the delivery of social services including training or mentoring others. A CFP is an experienced, trained primary caregiver to an individual with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance who provides peer mentoring, education, and support to the caregivers of a child who is receiving mental health community services.

The family Partner will provide services to families with children ages 3-17 who have emotional, behavioral, or mental health disorders and are being served by YCOT. The youth served will currently or recently have experienced a mental health crisis. The CFP will explore unmet family needs and explore possible community resources to help the youth and family have better treatment outcomes.

The CFP assists the parent/caregiver in becoming an advocate for the child, provides guidance in utilizing existing services and developing/organizing natural resources within the family and community. The CFP assumes a peer-mentoring role, engages the family in the Recovery Process, and provides on-going training to the parent/caregiver to sustain success. The CFP can assist in the development of the Recovery Plan with strengths, needs, skills, supports and resources.

The position will provide community-based services in the youth's home, at school or other community locations. This position will report directly to the YCOT Clinical Supervisor . This individual must be able to work within a multi-disciplinary treatment team and have excellent engagement, time management and organizational skills. Family Partners are not clinicians, but work alongside, complement, and enhance the work of the clinical team.

By drawing on their own lived experience navigating behavioral health systems can inspire hope and model relationships built on respect, trust and validation. By sharing their own lived experiences, family partners help caregivers by providing education and emotional support. Walking alongside the family on their journey, the family partner is an ally and advocate for caregivers of children with mental health concerns.

• Serves as a peer mentor to parents and caregivers, providing informal emotional support and shared lived experience.
• Research and share community resources with families that meet their specific needs; assists parents, caregivers, and consumers in accessing social support services.
• Teaches families and caregivers effective advocacy skills.
• Facilitates caregivers' ability to work collaboratively with professionals in the community.
• Co-responds to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis with other YCOT members.
• Responds to various community and Center locations to provide support to family members during a crisis episode, including but not limited to schools, detention centers, hospitals, and private residences.
• Ensures families receive appropriate follow up following a crisis intervention.
• Attends all YCOT team meetings and trainings.
• Maintains certification by completing a minimum of 20 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) every two years.
• Supports individuals experiencing a crisis by promptly connecting them with appropriate programs and services, such as the Youth Crisis Outreach Team (YCOT), Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT), YES Waiver, MST and/or other applicable resources. Ensure seamless coordination to facilitate timely intervention.
• Remains with individuals, when deemed safe, to provide support and maintain a calm environment until specialized crisis staff or emergency personnel arrive to take over intervention efforts. Adheres to safety protocols to prevent escalation of the crisis situation.
• Participates in debriefing sessions with the immediate supervisor or designated staff following a crisis event. Collaborate with the team to review the incident, identify lessons learned, and ensure all HHSC guidelines and Center policies are followed.

• Must have either
  1) a High School Diploma; OR
  2) a High School Equivalency Certificate (GED) issued in accordance with the law of the issuing state.
• Must be a parent or legally authorized representative (LAR) who has at least one year of experience raising a child or adolescent with an emotional or mental health issue. (They may be a birth parent, adoptive parent, foster parent or family…