Parent​/Caregiver Certified Peer Support Specialist

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The job of Certified Peer Support Specialist
- Parent/Caregiver is to help, support, and coach parents or caregivers raising children who experience emotional, behavioral, substance use, and other challenges. In Mississippi, a person wanting to become a peer specialist must complete a 5-day training program and pass a written exam, but the “lived experience” a peer has come not from a book or training program but from having “walked the walk.”

A peer specialist must be aware of, able to publicly describe, and role model to others, the things that they learned that helped them to recovery.

• Utilizing unique lived experiences, the Certified Peer Support Specialist –Parent/Caregiver shall:
  • Teach and model the value of every parent/caregiver’s strengths and lived experience;
  • Model effective communication skills and self-help strategies;
  • Establish and maintain a peer relationship rather than a hierarchical relationship.
• Utilizing direct peer-to-peer interaction and a goal-setting process, the Certified Peer Support Specialist
  - Parent/Caregiver shall:
  • Encourage parent/child voice and choice during the development and implementation of plans;
  • Assist parent/caregivers in navigating the various child serving systems;
  • Assist parent/caregivers in identifying resources for their children;
  • Empower parent/caregivers to have the confidence to be self-advocates;
  • Support parent/caregivers in exploring sources of support and community resources that are available to them;
  • Appropriately document activities provided to parent/caregivers in either their child’s records or program records.
• The Certified Peer Support Specialist
  - Parent/Caregiver shall maintain a working knowledge of current trends and developments in the fields of children’s mental health, system of care work, family-driven practice, and family-run organizations by:
  • Participating in coaching and continuing education with Families as Allies;
  • Reading books, current research articles, and other relevant material;
  • Joining and/or engaging with family-run organizations, including through social media;
  • Attending authorized local and/or national seminars, conferences, and trainings related to the field of peer, parent and/or family support.
• The Certified Peer Support Specialist
  - Parent/Caregiver shall serve as a resource for promoting resiliency by:
  • Assisting parent/caregivers in obtaining services that suit their child’s resiliency needs;
  • Helping parents/caregivers enhance relationships with community partners;
  • Helping providers and other non-peer staff who are working with a child and parents understand the importance of integrating family-driven practice in services and supports within a system of care;
  • Assisting non-peer staff in identifying programs and environments that are conducive to family-driven care;
  • Supporting families in engaging with Families as Allies and other family-run organizations.

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Certification as a Certified Peer Support Specialist or ability to obtain certification within 6 months of hire.

Preferred:

• Previous experience providing peer support services.
• Previous experience in a mental health crisis setting.
• Experience with electronic health record systems.

You may also pick up an application at Human Resources (2915 Canty Street, Pascagoula, MS 39567)