Peer Mentor

Company: FRED FINCH YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES
Location: Oakland
Posted on: January 25, 2023

Job Description:

Description

Who is Fred Finch?

The Youth Partner/Peer Mentor is a primary agent for direct care and engagement of, youth, young adults and/or families in a community, home, or school setting. The primary role is to provide hope, one-on-one support, and mentorship to participants by sharing experience with recovery/resilience and expertise in navigating systems and programs (e.g., Regional Center, Children & Family Services, Special Education Systems, Juvenile Justice Systems, Behavioral Health Care Services, or Residential Centers). Along with the rest of the team, the Youth Partner/Peer Mentor is active in supporting and implementing recovery/resilience/wraparound philosophy and its individualized, strengths-based, culturally competent, family-centered approach. The Youth Partner works collaboratively with other program staff and the assigned Team to provide the best therapeutic care possible. The position is also responsible for documenting patterns of behavior and incidents and participating in training and supervisory meetings as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Direct Care and Interventions: 1) Provides one-to-one support and intervention as assigned to participant in home/school/other community setting; 2) Assists in development and implementation of positive behavioral interventions and implementation of treatment plan goals; 3) Assists participants to achieve goals; 4) Accompanies participant to scheduled meetings, work, or leisure activities as planned; 5) Facilitates transportation for participant to community activities, medical appointments, and therapy appointments as needed; 6) Assists participant with developing life skills in the areas of daily living including but not limited to social relationships, symptom management, daily activities, health, problem-solving, managing anger, conflict resolution, emancipation issues, and other areas of need as identified by the Team; 7) Observes and supports child and family during visits as needed; 8) Provides crisis response and support as needed to participants. 9) Provides mentoring and support to participants as assigned in daily meetings or by team.

Participant Services, Outreach and Engagement/Service Coordination: 1) May participate in various aspects of outreach to potential and current partners, which may include but are not limited to: outreach, marketing, reception, resource development, group leadership, and public speaking. 2) May be assigned responsibility for coordination, oversight and scheduling of activities with youth and families. 3) In collaboration with team, may participate in identifying relevant community resources and linking participants/families to those resources.

Documentation/Administrative Duties: 1) Maintains participant records in an orderly and timely manner. 2) Utilizes the Electronic Health Record system(s) or other computer- based means to effectively complete all clinical documentation. 3) Demonstrates knowledge of and meets all charting and billing deadlines. 4) Adheres to administrative and productivity goals (up to 65% depending upon program). 5) Participates in internal and community-based quality assurance as assigned. 6) Verifies all aspects of documentation meet or exceed county, state and federal guidelines. 7) Meets all HIPAA standards including but not limited to in exchanging information, keeping Protected Health Information (PHI) secure, and following procedures to protect electronic transmission/access to PHI at the agency and in the community.

Communication: 1) Responsible to communicate effectively with peers, participants, and supervisory staff. 2) Flexibly responds to daily client needs; 3) Available by cell phone during scheduled work hours and non-work hours when assigned.

Professional Conduct: 1) Maintains excellent professional boundaries and adheres to all professional ethical standards including abuse reporting, and maintenance of participant confidentiality. 2) Adheres to all agency and program policies including Boundary Code of Ethics, Core Competencies, Code of Conduct, Employee Handbook and state and federal regulations.

Professional Development: 1) Participates in weekly individual and group supervision meetings as assigned. 2) Participates in trainings and provides training as assigned.

Other Duties: 1) Other related duties as assigned. 2) May drive on agency business as required.

Qualifications:

Required

• Experience as a consumer of services: social services, mental health, residential treatment or group home placements, foster care services, wraparound services, community resources and educational services for youth with special needs.
• Prior youth advocacy experience desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to utilize de-escalation techniques that align with the trauma informed care model as part of intervention strategy for working with participants in crisis who are responding to triggers/stressors and/or demonstrating early indicators of distress.
  
  
• Demonstrated cultural responsiveness in working with diverse families and
• Basic computer and keyboarding competence with the ability to use Microsoft Office Suite and/or competency with electronic clinical documentation
• Clean driving record; current CA Driver's License or ability to obtain within 10 days after hire.
• Must have access to dependable transportation and personal car insurance, meeting minimum liability coverage required for position if driving for work or transporting participants.
  
  Preferred
  
• Fluency in prevailing language(s) of the community served.
  
  Physical Demands:
  
  The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet and, at all times, maintained within safe California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL/OSHA) standards.
  
  Communication:
  
• Communicates clearly and effectively, verbally and in writing, with co-workers, supervisors, and youth.
• Prepares clearly and concisely written reports and summaries.
  
  
• Must be able to comprehend, follow, and clearly convey instructions to others.
• Must be computer proficient and be able to work on a computer for up to 20 hours per week.
  
  Physical Activities:
  
• Possesses the ability to actively supervise participant recreational activities, including noncompetitive sports.
• Must be able to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer
• Must be able to bend, lift as much as 25 lbs., and walk up to a mile at one time.
• Must be licensed and have the ability and skill to drive cars, vans, or other vehicles. May require driving up to 4 (four) hours at a time.
• Must be able to respond quickly to emergencies, and to learn and implement self-defense maneuvers, and to physically monitor youth to ensure they don't hurt themselves or others. Job may be dangerous if the individual cannot assess and avoid threats posed by youth.

Keywords: FRED FINCH YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES, Oakland , Peer Mentor, Other , Oakland, California