Family Support Specialist

Pay range: $22 - $24/hour

Schedule:

Full-time, 40 hours per week, hourly position. Monday – Friday; some evening hours may be required.

Location:

Office is located in South Portland. Work will primarily be performed in the community, serving York and Cumberland county.

The Family Support Specialist (FSS) works closely with our Children’s Behavioral Health Home (CBHH) and High-Fidelity Wraparound programs to obtain desired outcomes at the family level. The Children’s Behavioral Health Home is an integrated approach for management of physical and mental health needs. For children with any emotional or behavioral disturbance, it offers a new reference of managed care. This service can also help the child and family access social services, transportation, and other supports.

Service planning is accomplished through individual services and natural supports around the child and family, based on their individual needs. The FSS’s primary role is to provide support and assistance to family members who have youth involved in the Children’s Behavioral Health Home by empowering all family members to bring their voice and choice into the process. This support utilizes life experiences to establish relationships, infuse hope, build natural and community supports, and assist with problem solving from a strength‑based perspective.

The FSS, with families, participates in service meetings, groups, and the community to maximize parent involvement throughout the CBHH and High-Fidelity Wraparound process. The secondary role of the FSS is to serve as a "values speaker" within agencies and organizations supporting all individuals to view services through a family's perspective. In this role, the FSS provides consultation to all team members in an effort to increase awareness and improve the effectiveness of family-professional partnerships.

The FSS is an individual who has a family member who is receiving or has received services and supports related to the diagnosis of a mental illness, and who is willing to self‑identify on this basis with BHH members. Work is performed, reviewed, and evaluated under the supervision of the Director of Youth Services.

* Ability to do some paperwork from home/remotely.

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• The FSS must be a family member of a person with complex emotional or medical needs that include involvement with mental health services.
• Has completed a designated Maine Office of Child and Family Services curriculum for peer supports and receives and maintains that certification or is willing to complete this certification upon hire.
• Familiarity with CBHH and able to provide support according to the values and steps of the process required.
• Ability to model strengths‑based approaches to problem solving required.
• Good communication skills and an ability to establish rapport with families and other Wraparound participants required.
• Ability to work a flexible work schedule, including evenings, and weekends required.
• Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office and Email is required.
• Must be able to successfully pass a criminal background, child protective service check & sex offender check.
• Must not be on the state or federal suspension and disbarment list.
• Normal office conditions such as sitting, with occasional standing, walking, reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching, typing and lifting up to 10 pounds.
• Driving may be necessary to attend meetings and trainings and for the occasional need to meet with clients offsite and within the program service area. This may include transportation of clients or driving to agency location to complete work.
• A good driving record…