Certified Peer Specialist - Parent

The Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama, Inc.

JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION TITLE: Certified Peer Specialist – Parent (CPS-P)
WAGE CLASSIFICATION: Non-Exempt
SALARY GRADE: Certified Parent Peer Support Partner I
DIVISION: Children’s Albany Clinic
HOURS: Part Time - 20 Hours Weekly - As Assigned
SUPERVISOR: Program Director Children’s Albany Clinic
POSITIONS SUPERVISED: None

Position Description:
The Certified Peer Specialist – Parent (CPS-P) role is to provide intentional, authentic support to a parent or
primary caregiver of a child with emotional, physical, behavioral, and/or mental health challenges. The skilled
CPS-P’s unrelenting focus is on the parent/caregiver.

Primary Functions:
• Provide authentic and purposeful support to parents /primary caregivers
• Support parents/primary caregivers in achieving their identified goals
• Deliver intentional support activities that build on the strengths and resiliency traits of parent/primary
caregiver
• Collaborate with agency staff internally and representatives from community-based organizations and
child-serving systems in providing support to families receiving services.
Essential Skill Requirements: All six of the following PEARLS meta-skills competencies listed below should be
reliably and consistently demonstrated in each and every interaction with the parent.
Peer-based relationships:
• Must be able to introduce yourself to the parent/ primary caregiver and explain your role as a CPS-P.
• Ability to establish peer-based relationships by using strategic self-disclosure to build connection based
on understanding the parent’s experience.
• Ability to build a strong sense of connection based in equality, common respect and mutuality
• Ability to demonstrate active listening skills, empathetic responses and validate the parent’s experience
• Must be able to use person-first and strength based language in every interaction with the parent/primary
caregiver

Encourage Growth as a Peer:
• Ability to create conditions for parents to make decisions that are best for their family and determine their
course of action
• Ability to estimate right fit and match of support and follow through on a varied range of support activities.
• Support others to understand and appreciate the parent’s positions
• Understand the parent’s position, interests and preferences and actively support them
Actively Accept:
• Continually work to ensure the parent feels empowered and confident in their own decision-making ability
• Ability to extract functional strengths from the parents’ story and share them with family and other team
members
• Ability to actively accept parent’s decisions and communicate a sense of acceptance even when you
disagree
• Ability to manage personal bias and disagreement so it does not interfere with the support relationship
Respect throughout the relationship
• Ability to communicate a sense of respect that parent voice matters and deserves to be heard
• Ability to identify, extract and utilize the parent’s functional strengths and family culture to develop
individualized support plans
• Ability to communicate a sense of cultural humility in connecting with each parent
• Ability to identify unmet needs as a key to establishing understanding
• Ability to assist parents in reflecting on their own journey and encourage empowerment
• Ability to model a relational stance of respect and acceptance in all interactions with and about parents

Link with Others in Collaboration & Problem Solving:
• Build collaborative partnerships with others demonstrating a non-adversarial advocacy approach
• Participate as needed in team meetings
• Connect parents with other parents with similar life experiences to reduce isolation, shame and blame
and increase natural supports
• Ability to model a strength based approach and utilize collaborative problem solving techniques with
others
• Utilize parent strengths and resiliency traits in problem solving and brainstorming solutions
• Ability to recognize strengths of collaborative partners

Suspend and Interrupt Bias & Blame:
• Strategically use own life experiences to empower others to suspend their own bias about parents

Education and Certification:
• Education: Must have High School Diploma or G.E.D. + 2 years’ experience with the target population or
BA or Associate’s degree (in human services) + 1 year experience with the target population.
• Certificate/Licensure: Current Alabama driver's license and maintain a good driving record.
• Must be a parent / primary caregiver with lived experience who has raised or is currently raising a child
with emotional, behavioral, physical or mental health or substance abuse needs, has experience
navigating at least two child-serving systems, and meets the requirement to function as a BHT, or BHPP

Minimum Expectations:
• Ability to relate well to clients, a multi-disciplinary staff and the community, ability to work with a team.
Must demonstrate and continue to show merit.
• Must read, understand, and abide by agency Policies and Procedures, Employee Handbook and Training

Expectations:
• Must work the days and hours necessary to perform all assigned responsibilities and tasks, including
nights and weekends. Must be available to communicate with supervisors, clients, vendors and any other
person or organization with whom interaction is required to accomplish work and project goals.
• Must be punctual and timely in meeting all requirements of performance, including, but not limited to,
attendance standards, work deadlines, and beginning and ending assignments on time.
• Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Must have basic typing/computer processing skills
• Must have good organizational and time management skills
• Must be at least 21 years’ old
• Must be able to obtain fingerprint clearance card. Must have a valid driver’s license, dependable
transportation and proof of automobile insurance
• Provide support and reassurance, followed by information, to assist parent/primary caregiver in navigating
child-serving systems and community resources
• Attend at minimum bi-monthly individual supervision with Program Manager and monthly group
supervision sessions with Clinical Director
• Performs other related duties as required. (Related duties as required are duties which may not be
specifically listed in the duties and responsibilities description, but are within the general occupational
series and responsibility level typically associated with the employee’s class of work.)

Training:
• Completion of a DMH approved Parent Peer Training Program.
• Professionally accepted management of aggressive/assaultive behavior and crisis intervention
techniques:
o The training must have been within the past 2 years, and the training must have been conducted
prior to working alone with youth.
• Infection control: Staff shall be trained prior to working with youth and annually thereafter.
• Initial training on the following topics:
o Diagnostic categories.
o Classes of psychotropic medications.
o Recovery orientation.
o Interaction with consumers and families.
• Abuse and neglect and all state laws pertaining to abuse and neglect including reporting required by the
Department of Human Resources. Training is required prior to working alone with youths and on an
annual basis.
• Tuberculosis training must be completed prior to working alone with youth and annually thereafter