START pairs a child welfare worker and a family mentor to support families identified during a child protection assessment or investigation as needing ongoing services due to parental substance use. When implemented with fidelity, START has shown improved outcomes for children and families. The model uses a variety of strategies — early identification of eligible families, rapid access to services, peer supports, intensive case management — to promote collaboration and systems-level change within and between child welfare agencies, substance use and mental health treatment providers, the judicial system, and other family-serving entities.
The goals of START are to:
- Ensure child safety and well-being.
- Prevent and/or decrease out-of-home placements.
- Increase parental recovery.
- Increase parenting capacity and family stability.
- Reduce repeat child maltreatment.
- Improve system capacity for collaborative, timely, and targeted services.
At the heart of the START model is the spirit of engaging families with compassion, understanding, equity, and hope for recovery. This philosophy is woven throughout — from supporting and holding each other accountable as a collaborative team, to empowering each member of the family unit.
Peer Support Roles:
To form the START model, a caseworker is paired with a family mentor — an individual in long-term recovery who has lived experience with the child welfare system. Family mentors bring a unique and invaluable skill set by virtue of their recovery experience and willingness to share it with families and other team members. The mentors serve as both advocate and role model — a personification of hope and inspiration, a living example of recovery.
Southeastern Integrated Care believes wellness is best achieved in our community by ensuring individuals receive adequate access to quality, integrated behavioral health and medical care resources. Integrated care is an approach to healthcare that involves blending medical care and behavioral health care, with the goal of improving the overall health and well-being of an individual. Southeastern Integrated Care focuses specifically on linking care involving primary, mental health, and substance abuse treatment through a team of qualified, licensed clinical professionals. Our team of clinicians work with consumers to coordinate engagement in their care to ensure proper management of medical and psychosocial needs.
Applicants must have a current NC Certified Peer Support Specialist Certification, and valid drivers license.
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.
Southeastern Integrated Care will be the Hiring Entity for these 2 peer support specialist positions.