START Family Mentor

DAYMARK RECOVERY SERVICES INC•Reidsville, NC

2d•$16 - $20

About The Position

This is a grant-funded position located at Rockingham Center in Reidsville, NC. Daymark Recovery Services and Rockingham County Department of Social Services are working in conjunction to provide services via the START model. While this position will be hired under Daymark, it will be housed at Rockingham County Department of Social Services. Company Mission Statement: Our mission is to inspire and empower people to seek and maintain recovery and health. Daymark Recovery Services, Inc. is a mission driven, comprehensive community provider of culturally sensitive mental health and substance abuse services. Summary: The family mentor (FM) provides peer support to help families navigate through child welfare, court, treatment, and other systems while also providing hope and motivation to promote healing and keep children safe and families together. The FM will serve as a team member of the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) team, along with the START worker, START supervisor, and treatment providers to ensure seamless and efficient delivery of intensive wrap-around services to START families. The FM provides peer support to START parents and families and will serve as a team member in planning, supporting, and implementing strategies to develop a safe, nurturing, and stable living situation for families with substance use disorders (SUD). They provide information about SUD and recovery for the child welfare agency and community partners. The FM and START worker will make case decisions jointly with the family based on guidelines provided by the supervisor, established precedents, standard procedures and practices, reference materials, and/or organizational policy.

Requirements

Possess strong communication/interpersonal skills
Commitment to and passion for working with families and children, engaging parents, and making a difference in a compassionate and non-judgmental way
Ability to use a productive problem-solving approach, help others develop unique recovery approaches for themselves, utilize supervision and work well with START workers, think about challenges they may face in their job, and come up with ideas on how to address those challenges
Minimum of two years of recovery from a SUD. Knowledge of self-help programs and the process of SUD recovery
Prior lived experience (direct or indirect) with the child welfare system
Knowledge of or familiarity with basic office practices, how to carry out instructions in written or oral form, dealing with complex family issues, completing routine forms, and answering routine telephone inquiries
High School Degree, GED, or equivalent
Current driver’s license
No ongoing criminal activity

Nice To Haves

Experience as a former child welfare client with prior SUD history and treatment
Experience as a peer recovery specialist, parent advocate, or family mentor in any system
Certification as a peer recovery specialist (it is expected this will be completed within one year of the hire date)

Responsibilities

Accompany and/or transport parent and/or child to appointments involving SUD treatment, medical, educational, social services, court, and mental health
Meet with parents in home, community, office, or court in order to observe progress, provide emotional support, and coach on recovery, parenting, and related topics
Assist START worker and family to support recovery of parent
Participate in shared decision-making meetings with the family, and coordinate/link providers
Help extended family members understand SUD and recovery
Teach families skills to effectively navigate child welfare and other systems
Coordinate or provide assistance in crisis interventions and stabilization of families
Attend court with families as needed for out-of-home cases and orders or protective supervision
Converse with parents, other child welfare staff, other agencies, and general public
Connect families with community resources for housing, food, clothing, recovery, transportation and furniture as needed; assist in scheduling appointments as needed for family or child services; identify barriers (internal/external) to full family participation in community resources and help develop strategies to overcome those barriers
Provide continual exploration of family’s needs to empower the family to take ownership over their long-term successes and safety of the children
Assist families with learning self-advocacy and identifying and accessing natural support systems in the community
Maintain case history records and provide input for the development of case plans, child safety, and court reports; complete correspondence, records, or data entry for evaluation; assist families in completing necessary documentation
Attend committee meetings, staff meetings, case conferences, agency training, and conferences
Perform other related duties as required