START (Sobriety Treatment & Recovery Teams)
Family Mentor
JOB DESCRIPTION
Purpose/Role
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 will work closely with (child welfare) staff and the community in partnership.
Responsibilities/Tasks:
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.
Decision Making:
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
Transportation Coordination: [10% of Time]
- Accompany and/or transport parent and/or child to appointments involving SUD treatment, medical, educational, social services, court, and mental health connect parent with recovery supports and transportation resources.
Family-Centered Peer Support: [40% of Time]
- 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
- 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 of protective supervision
Service Coordination: [20% of Time]
- Converse with parents, other child welfare staff, other agencies, and general public
- Connect families with community resources for housing, food, clothing, and furniture as needed; assist in scheduling appointments as needed for family or child services
- Assist families in completing necessary documentation
- 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
Documentation and Family Plans: [10% of Time]
- Participate as an active member of the START team
- 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
Team and Community Meetings: [10% of Time]
- Attend committee meetings, staff meetings, case conferences, agency training, and conferences
- Promote coordination and linkage among providers with the local community
- Identify barriers (internal and external) to full family participation in community resources and help develop strategies to overcome those barriers
- Perform other related duties as required
Notice: This job description is not designed to cover all activities, duties or responsibilities that are associated with the position. Responsibilities may change and/or new ones may be assigned at any time to most effectively work towards Sunrise's Mission.
Competencies/Knowledge/Qualities
- Demonstrated commitment to the Sunrise mission, vision, and values.
- Professional and personal style consistent with the philosophy and team-oriented culture of Sunrise.
- High School Diploma or General Educational Development (GED)
- Knowledge and/or experience in the peer support field.
- Strong communication skills - verbal and written
- Appropriate personal & professional boundaries.
- Experience with direct participant contact and/or customer service.
- 2 years of personal recovery (mental health and/or substance use/abuse).
- Maintain healthy self-care and work-life balance.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 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
- One year of experience in the behavioral health and/or substance use fields
- Experience with Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) and applicable skills
Requirements:
- Maintain healthy self-care and work balance.
- 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
- Maintain peer support certification with North Carolina and all required CEU hours needed for recertification.
- Abide by PSS Code of Ethics
- Possess and maintain a valid NC driver’s license and proper registration and insurance on personal vehicle.
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Reports to:
- Samantha Bradley-Western Region Director
Supervisory Responsibility:
- None
Category:
Non-Exempt
Compensation:
$ 23.50 Hourly
Benefits: We offer all full-time employees
- Living Wage
- Direct Deposit
- Equipment and stipends are provided depending on the program
- Paid Mileage
- PTO (Paid Time Off) increases annually, 96 hours first year and 30-Day Sabbatical after 5 years
- 40 Wellness hours annually (prorated at time of hire)
- NC Delta Dental & Vision Insurance
- PCP (Primary Care Physician) Lantern Health membership
- 14 Paid Holidays
- Up to 4 hours for appointments per month
- Up to 12 counseling sessions annually with All Souls Counseling
TO APPLY:
Please send resume and references to acarlisle@sunriseinasheville.org