Family Peer Support Specialist Mental Health

Maryland Coalition of Families•Baltimore, MD

About The Position

Maryland Coalition of Families (MCF), a statewide nonprofit founded in 1999, is hiring two full-time Family Peer Support Specialists to serve families in Baltimore City. The specialist must have personal lived experience as a parent or caregiver of a child or youth with a mental health challenge. After training and orientation, the specialist provides family peer support, education, systems navigation, advocacy, coaching, information, referrals, and follow-up. The specialist must live in Baltimore City and may also support other jurisdictions as assigned by their supervisor. The role helps parents and caregivers navigate behavioral health, social, legal, educational, and health care systems. It includes assessing families’ strengths and needs, connecting them with community resources, explaining their rights, advocating with stakeholders, and supporting their participation in care planning. The specialist also facilitates educational workshops, builds partnerships with service providers and agencies, represents MCF on committees and boards, promotes MCF programs, documents services, and pursues continued learning in family peer support. This is a 40-hour-per-week position paying $18 per hour. MCF provides equipment, mileage reimbursement, and paid training. Benefits include paid time off, health, dental, vision and life insurance, an FSA, long-term disability insurance, a 401(k), and an employee assistance program.

Requirements

Personal lived experience as a parent or primary caregiver of a child or youth with mental health challenges.
Must live in Baltimore City.
High school diploma or equivalent.
Familiarity with state and local resources and how to access them.
Ability to build and maintain productive partnerships with agencies and providers.
Active listening skills and ability to provide non-judgmental, strengths-based peer support.
Ability to work independently and contribute positively to a team.
Strong organizational skills and ability to follow through.
Strong written and oral communication skills.
Strong computer skills, including efficient use of internet searches to identify resources.
Ability or willingness to learn Salesforce or another database.
Current Maryland driver’s license and access to a personal vehicle; in-state travel is required.
Successful completion of a background check.

Nice To Haves

Some combination of college education and professional work experience.
Prior experience assisting other families in obtaining services and supports for a child or family member.
Familiarity and comfort with public speaking and community outreach.

Responsibilities

Provide support, guidance, and education to help parents and caregivers navigate behavioral health, social, legal, educational, and health care systems.
Conduct strengths-based, non-judgmental, solutions-oriented assessments and help families identify needs and develop plans to address them.
Create family engagement opportunities that help parents and caregivers develop natural support networks.
Explain community resources and facilitate access to services as needed.
Educate parents and caregivers about their rights in different systems.
Advocate with stakeholders on behalf of parents and caregivers to help ensure their needs are met.
Support parents and caregivers as equal partners in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating care or service plans.
Facilitate educational workshops for families and community partners on behavioral health and related topics.
Build and maintain partnerships with behavioral health and child-serving agencies, school systems, local behavioral health authorities, local management boards, and other providers.
Promote awareness of MCF programs and services as an organizational ambassador.
Maintain accurate and timely service documentation.
Keep up with emerging issues in family peer support and the program focus area through continued learning.
Represent MCF on state and local committees, commissions, teams, and boards to increase awareness and access to family peer support and contribute family perspectives to policy and systems discussions.
Contribute positively to a peer community focused on high-quality services for parents and caregivers.

Benefits

Generous paid time off: two weeks of vacation, two weeks of sick leave, three personal days, two floating holidays, and 11 holidays per year.
Health plans.
Dental insurance.
Vision insurance.
Life insurance.
Flexible spending account (FSA).
Long-term disability insurance.
401(k).
Employee assistance program (EAP).
Paid training.
Equipment provided.
Mileage reimbursement.