YCOT Certified Family Partner

YCOT Certified Family Partner

McKinney, TX 75069

Salary Range $16.35 Hourly Position Type Full Time Education Level High School

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.

Education, Training, & Experience (including licensure & certification)

• 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 member standing in for an absent parent or a person chosen by the family or youth to have the role of parent).

• They must have at least one year of experience successfully navigating a child-serving system (i.e. mental health, juvenile justice, social security and/or special education system).
• A Family Partner must receive specialized training and pass a Certification exam within one year of hire to be Certified, demonstrating that she or he has the competencies necessary to successfully navigate systems of care and help other families successfully navigate those systems.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Can think clearly and logically, to deal with potentially dangerous and/or emotional situations, and utilize de-escalation techniques.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed care principles and strategies.
• Knowledge of community resources, of case management principles, objectives, standards,…