Job Location

Italian Home for Children is committed to providing employees with excellent benefits and recently increased salary ranges! At IHC, we are creating communities where all children, adults, and families are embraced and empowered to reach their full potential. Join IHC and become a part of a supportive, caring, and committed team that is making a difference every day. Are you ready to help? Are you prepared for professional growth opportunities? Apply Now!

Benefits Include:

• Generous Paid Time Off, including vacation, sick, personal, and up to 12 holidays
• Employee referral bonuses up to $1000, Productivity & Retention Bonuses
• Annual Training Allowance
• Reimbursement for exam fees and licensure for Independent Clinical licenses
• Comprehensive Health, Dental, Vision and more
• Free Parking on Campus

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Parent/Caregiver Peer Support Partner or Family Partner position is designed to work in home and community settings to provide individualized strengths-based peer-to-peer support, education, and guidance. The mentor is expected to work with the family and clinician to develop and implement interventions and activities that work towards the goals of increasing self-sufficiency and reliance of the client as an individual and the family unit as a whole. The Family Partner is expected to model self care skills for parents/caregivers to follow, and to support them in the practice and implementation of those skills. This position is part of a team that is comprised of the clinician, a therapeutic support paraprofessional, and a young adult peer mentor. This is a part or full time position requiring evening and weekend hours. This position also provides the opportunity to lead and co-lead activity and skills based groups for youth with behavioral health concerns.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the duties and responsibilities that will be required of the position, but additional responsibilities may be required. Employees are expected to perform job related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Interventions/family treatment

• Use lived experiences as a parent/caregiver of child with mental and behavior health issues to inspire hope in parents/caregivers
• Recognize appropriateness and usefulness to share personal history if it assists the caregiver in reaching their own objectives and greater health
• Use lived experience in accessing mental and behavioral health resources for your child to help parents/caregivers navigate the levels of care and educational needs
• Assist the clinician in observing and assessing overall family/child functioning in the context of trauma informed care and strengths-based training
• Provide individualized coaching and modeling for caregivers with deference to their cultural identity; strategize ways for family to communicate in healthy ways
• Work closely with multidisciplinary team to ensure activities and interventions increase parent skills and build family cohesion
• Implement family therapy strategies with children, siblings, caregivers, and natural supports to prevent the need for higher level of care and out of home placements
• Support the parent/caregiver and youth in developing strategies for self-care and identifying respite options
• Work with the family to identify their highest priority needs and goals, to use in goal setting with clinician
• Help the family widen their team of natural supports

Documentation

• Complete review of all team and outside collateral documentation
• Develop Family Action Plan identifying approaches designed to improve family functioning and parents skills
• Document contact with and observations of the family in progress notes in the electronic health record

Collateral Contact

• Assist the family in utilizing community resources and natural supports, especially during times of transition, to identify more permanent solutions
• Work as part of the larger service team and collaborate at regular team meetings to discuss progress
• Perform interviews with youth, family, school personnel, other providers, state agency workers, natural supports, and any other people working on the child’s team
• Observe child initially and periodically in school setting; attend team/IEP meetings to support family

Other Duties:

• Travel without restriction to children’s homes and throughout the community; possibly have the family travel in your vehicle
• Actively participate in weekly individual and group supervision and attend weekly team meetings
• Follow all agency safety protocols and youth’s safety plan when needed
• Lead and co-lead groups of anywhere from four to eight youth with focus on skill building, sharing resources, and practicing self-care

• Must have lived experience of being a parent or caregiver to a child with mental and behavioral health issues, and experience accessing available mental and behavioral health services
• Associate degree in a human services field; must be from an accredited program, and at least 1 year of experience working directly with youth who have experienced serious emotional disturbance or other developmental/behavioral health challenges OR a high school diploma/GED and at least 2 years of experience working directly with youth who have experienced serious emotional disturbance or other developmental/behavioral health challenges
• Demonstrate safe, professional, and ethical behavior by adhering to practices that promote integrity, dignity, and emotional health centered on communication, accountability, and learning opportunities
• Attentive to professional boundaries and the rights and self-determination of others
• Demonstrate good judgement in sharing lived experiences with the intent to inspire youth
• Commitment to highest quality of strengths based, family system clinical care
• Strong clinical documentation skills; excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Superior organizational skills and strong attention to detail and accuracy
• Demonstrated ability to clinically and professionally model, teach, and support
• Superior collaboration and teamwork skills
• Flexibility in action, thinking, and scheduling
• Demonstrated ability to accept and give critical feedback
• Able to make good decisions quickly in crisis situations
• Patience, empathy, compassion
• Sound and appropriate judgment, especially during crises
• Discretion regarding confidentiality of clients/their histories, families, and co-workers
• Skilled in working autonomously to meet clients’ needs, complete documentation, make own schedule, and reach productivity expectations
• Strong commitment to Italian Home’s values, philosophy and mission
• Reliable vehicle, proof of registration and insurance, and driver’s license
• Bilingual candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and electronic medical records
• Maintain strictest confidentiality with respect to agency, employee and client information; adhere to all HIPAA guidelines and regulations