Family Support Specialist

Background

The (new) Urgent Crisis Center (UCC) is a walk-in, police or ambulance psychiatric crisis stabilization program designed to triage, stabilize, and assess youth who are experiencing a psychiatric crisis, and then link the youth/family to a lower level of care within the community. This is a fast-paced environment that operates 365 days a year. As part of an interdisciplinary team, the Family Support Specialist will support and guide the family as they work through their child’s mental health crisis.

Responsibilities

• Welcome families to the Urgent Crisis Center and ensures a smooth transition through the intake process, including identification of language preference and connections with existing providers.
• Uses the core principles of WRAP to support families in developing their crisis plan with the UCC team.
• Aid in gathering screening and clinical data required to support the crisis intervention.
• Follow up with families with permission to support the crisis plan and coordination with services.
• Aid families in obtaining needed resources, including referrals to FAVOR network of support and training.
• Aid families in accessing culturally appropriate resources to support them in crises, using their proactive and reactive safety/crisis plan.
• Aid in outreach efforts in the region to facilitate referrals through schools, community organizations, and regional collaboratives to broaden awareness of the UCC and Wellmore as a whole.
• Maintain records on all UCC children and families. Comply with all documentation guidelines established by Wellmore.
• Maintain confidentiality in management of records and communications regarding families – including obtaining appropriate consents to release information.
• Support families through community meetings and settings as needed, providing advocacy and guidance.
• Develop knowledge of existing community resources and educate families on resources that will best meet their needs.
• Provide families with advocacy in community meetings and settings as appropriate.
• Inform families about available Family Support Groups and other “natural supports” available to them in the community.

Qualifications

• Holds a degree in a human service field (e.g., social work, marriage and family therapy, counseling, or psychology, etc.). Persons with a degree in an unrelated field or without a college degree may be considered if they have at least 3 years’ experience working with families and knowledgeable about community resources and services preferred.
• The Family Support Specialist must have the skills necessary to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of the families to be served by the program. Bi-lingual (Spanish-English) may be required.
• Experience with advocacy, special education services and policies, and work with children and families is preferred.
• Parents of their own special needs’ children are encouraged to apply.
• Must be capable of both working independently and as part of a team.