Family Connector (Mental Health Services)

Overview

The ACCS Family Connector promotes the full integration and functioning of Persons Served (PS) needed to live successfully in the community. Provides outreach, information, referral and direct support services to families and other community members who identify as supports of the PS. Orients and serves as primary liaison to PS families and members of their social network. Enhances PS social supports. Works to involve family/friends in PS life and Treatment Plan interventions as appropriate. Creates and sustains Team’s Family Advisory Council.

Responsibilities

The essential job duties/responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to the information listed below:

 

• Creates a welcoming environment for parents, families, and other community members who identify as supporters in which families/supporters are respected and valued. Orients them to the services their loved one may receive from ACCS; shares personal experiences with and engages their participation in helping the PS to meet their ACCS goals. Functions as primary liaison for PS families (following HIPAA authorization by PS).

• Provides outreach to and collects current and historical family/supporters’ information with focus on understanding the PS family/supporter relationships and their impact on the PS.

• Provides family psychoeducation to families, supporters, and guardians. Refer families/supporters to resources in the community for family support and education when appropriate, including NAMI Family-to-Family groups.

• Collaborates with PS and their family members/supporters to determine how they can best support the desired level of family participation in the PS treatment. Addresses family/supporters needs who want to be engaged and are welcomed by the PS, engaged but not welcomed by the PS, and who are not engaged but PS would like them to be.

• Trains and mentors' staff in maintaining a family/supporter perspective in their work.

• Participates as member of intervention team for assigned PS. Delivers interventions identified on the Treatment Plan targeted at skills building in life domains including but not limited to activities of daily living, medication administration, symptom reduction, health and wellbeing, employment, education, socialization and recreation with supervision from clinically licensed Team members.

• Employs trauma informed, recovery-oriented, person-centered, culturally competent and strengths- based approaches and skills training techniques in their work.

• Provides competency-based clinical evidence-based practices and best practices to team members and GLE/SIE staff, including Motivational Interviewing; Harm Reduction and Addiction Treatment; Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT); Housing First; Stages of Change; Seeking Safety, Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), and Cognitive Behavioral interventions, as well as the development of Safety Plans and Crisis Prevention and Response Plans, and 8 Dimensions of Wellness.

• Performs evidenced-based clinical and recovery-oriented interventions for PS, including Motivational Interviewing; Harm Reduction and Addiction Treatment support; Screening; Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT); Housing First; Stages of Change; Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP); Seeking Safety and Cognitive Behavioral interventions.

• Promotes healthcare and employment and education services access for PS.

• Promotes engagement, housing permanency, community tenure, achievement of greater self- sufficiency and successful completion of service for all PS.

• Provides thorough and thoughtful documentation of PS needs and services.

• Creates and sustains the ACCS Family Advisory Council if families/supporters’ express interest in joining.

• Participates as member of Family Connector Community of Practice Workgroup for continuous role-specific competency development, mentoring and learning.

• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

 

Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong commitment to the right and ability of people served by ACCS to live, work, have meaningful relationships and receive the clinical treatment, resources and supports needed to thrive in their community of choice.

• Skill in helping people integrate into the community through use of natural supports and basic community resources.

• Willingness to share personal experience of having primary responsibility for, or substantial involvement with a family member receiving services through the mental health system.

• Ability to maintain strong professional boundaries while engaging in strategic self-disclosure of relevant personal experience.

• Knowledge of PS and family/supporter engagement strategies

• Knowledge of Family Support and Family psycho-educatio