ACT Team Peer Support Specialist

LINES OF AUTHORITY: This position is supervised by SMI Clinical Site Supervisor and/or Clinical Director. This position does not supervise any other personnel; however, the position requires participation in peer review activities.

POSITION SUMMARY: The purpose of this position is to provide peer support, health coaching, role modeling, and mentoring to seriously mentally ill individuals in the clinic system. Individuals in this position must be persons or family members who are or have been consumers of the behavioral health system. They will function as part of the ACT team and assist clients in achieving optimal independence in the community through supportive service provision. The position requires a high level of flexibility in serving high-needs clients in both office and community settings. This position will be expected to maintain an acceptable level of service provision as measured by billable hours/service value.

Principal Duties/Responsibilities

• Provides assistance to identified enrolled members to help them effectively utilize the service delivery system by assisting clinical team members in developing plans of care, identifying needs, accessing supports, partnering with professional staff, and overcoming system barriers. Competency demonstrated by direct observation and record review.
• Engages with the client, family and other involved parties through face-to-face and phone interactions and works with the client and family to build trust, encourage hope, and ensure ongoing engagement in behavioral health services.
• Assists enrolled members in coping with the stressors of disabling conditions by modeling and practicing recovery principles, including hope, empowerment, responsibility, mutuality and self-determination, in all activities. Competency demonstrated by direct observation, record review, and role play.
• Demonstrates ability to teach/train recovery tools (i.e., WRAP, Recovery Planner, etc.) as evidenced by direct observation and record review.
• Assists clients in developing natural supports and community living as evidenced by direct observation and record review.
• Models personal responsibility, self-advocacy, and hopefulness through appropriate self-disclosure/telling of their recovery story, how needs are respectfully met, and how a belief in themselves is maintained, as evidenced by direct observation and record review.
• Coordinates with supervisor and ACT team members in establishing scheduled activities with clients, required supervision time and completion of required training as evidenced by direct observation and review of supervision and training logs.
• Coordinates and communicates regularly with immediate supervisor and ACT team members and participates in regular staffings regarding client progress. Competency demonstrated by direct observation, supervision, and review of clinical record.
• Completes required clinical documentation in compliance with agency standards as evidenced by record reviews/audits, supervision, and review of internal reports.,
• Demonstrates responsiveness and flexibility in identifying and providing services to ACT team clients, as evidenced by record review and direct observation.
• Provides case management, peer support services and other Covered Behavioral Health services, in accordance with the BHSP, meeting the agency's direct service provision standard of 1248 hours per year, as evidenced by clinical record review and direct service provision reports.
• The employee must work well under pressure meeting multiple and sometimes conflicting deadlines. The employee shall, at all times, demonstrate cooperative behavior with colleagues and supervisors.
• Provides customer service to internal and external customers and stakeholders.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Able to effectively de-escalate clients using techniques as trained and outlined in approved crisis intervention model.
  
  

Primary Contacts

• Frequent interaction with clients and their family/support.
• Interfaces with peers, clinical team members and supervisors, and internal/external customers and stakeholders.
• Collaborates with community resources/referral agencies.
  
  

Position Requisites

Qualifications and Experience

Required

• High School Diploma or General Education Diploma (GED)
• 21 years of age or over
• Valid AZ driver's license and proof of insurance
• Certified in CPR and First Aid
• Able to work flexible hours
• Must have successfully completed Peer Support Training Course with a passing score on Recovery Competency Test; must provide documentation of successful completion
• Understanding of client/family-centered and ACT models of care
  
  

Skills/Abilities

Required:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Good interpersonal skills including the ability to instruct or coach others individually and in a group setting in the development of recovery skills.
• Ability to maintain a calm, non-defensive, supportive attitude during crisis or potential crisis situation.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Demonstrate ability to dress and behave professionally.
• Ability to seek and utilize supervisory feedback and direction.
  
  

Preferred

• Organizational skills.
• Demonstrates appropriate decision making skills.
• Good health and stress management skills
  
  

Requirements For Special Populations

Persons conducting assessments and/or providing treatment to special populations are able, through training and experience as well as through agency-specific observation or testing of performance to:

SUBSTANCE USE

Staff responsible for providing services to substance using members has appropriate training, education, experience, performance and demonstrate competency.

Staff must be able to gather and assess information about:

• The relationship of each member's physical status to the substance use.
• The nature of the emotional compulsion to use alcohol and/or other drugs.
• The intensity of the member's preoccupation with using alcohol/and/or other drugs.
  
  

Staff Must Also Demonstrate Competency In Their Ability To

• Interpret information about a member's use of alcohol and/or other drugs.
• Develop a written summary and/or treatment plan based on member's problems and needs;
• Provide appropriate services.
  
  

CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Staff responsible for providing services to child and adolescent members have appropriate training, education, experience, performance and demonstrate competency.

• Staff demonstrates knowledge of growth and development of children and adolescents.
• Staff demonstrates their ability to develop treatment plans and services based on member's problem and needs.
• Staff demonstrates knowledge and skill in working with family systems.
  
  

SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL

Staff responsible for providing services to seriously mentally ill members has appropriate training, education, experience, performance and demonstrate competency.

• Staff has knowledge and ability to gather and interpret information about seriously mentally ill members.
• Staff understands the member's needs and the range, intensity, and duration of care, habilitation and rehabilitation required.
  
  

INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED

Staff responsible for providing services to members with intellectual disabilities has appropriate training, education, experience, performance and demonstrate competency.

• Staff has knowledge and ability to gather and interpret information about a member with an intellectual disability.
• Staff understands the member's needs and the range, intensity, and duration of care, habilitation or rehabilitation required.
  
  

Working Conditions

Physical Requirements

• Able to sit, stand and work for extended periods of time
• Able to cope with emotional demands as they arise
• Able to tolerate varying environmental conditions in community settings
• Able to hear ordinary conversation and phone communications
  
  

Equipment Operation

• Computer, mobile devices, printer, fax, copy machine and company vehicles
  
  

Environmental Conditions

• Air conditioned and/or heated office setting and clients' home
• Community settings with varied environmental conditions
  
  

Accommodation(s)

Mohave Mental Health Clinic, Inc., will provide reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, unless it would cause undue hardship. We define reasonable accommodation as any change in the work environment or in the way a job is performed that enables a person with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. We will make a good faith effort to list any special requirements in our job descriptions.