Peer Supports
Program Examples
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Humboldt County: Peer Support has proven to not only reduce the internalized stigma for clients, but has also had a de-stigmatizing effect for co-workers and community members. With the passing of MHSA, Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Behavioral Health (BH) programs have explicitly included elements of recovery, wellness, and resiliency-focused peer support. Peers have been active part of service provision teams in mobile outreach and inpatient and outpatient programs. The Hope Center, a peer-run empowerment center, has been supporting clients in their recovery goals since it opened in 2008. DHHS MHSA 2010 Innovation Plan focused on the development of transition age youth (TAY) peer support specialists in the integrated TAY Division. In 2014, DHHS adopted the three tier classification of Peer Coach I, II, and III. For the first time at DHHS, these job descriptions explicitly recognize the value of lived experience in a service delivery team and provide a career ladder for Peer Coaches. The community planning process determined that the infusion of peer support has shown success in engaging hard to engage clients, and that peer support has been successful at shifting community attitudes and beliefs through modeling resilience and recovery. Thus far in this Innovation Project, six Peer Coaches have been added to the outreach and engagement and housing retention team. They have been very successful in achieving goals for client success and have demonstrated the high value of peer support throughout the behavioral health system. (Pages 31, 32 of 2019/20 MHSA Update)
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Parent Partner Program (Humboldt County)
The Parent Partner Program’s vision is to provide support, encouragement, and hope to parents/caregivers who are feeling overwhelmed as they find themselves involved with a challenging and complex child-serving system. Parent partners develop and maintain a practice to increase opportunities for parents/caregivers to receive peer based support services as they encounter these county child-serving systems through strategic selfdisclosure of their lived experiences as parents of a youth with emotional, behavioral, mental health or substance abuse needs. Parent Partners provide support as a peer rather than an expert in the field and help to create conditions for parents/caregivers to feel empowered and confident as they navigate these county systems, making decisions that are best for their family and determining their course of action based on their families’ needs and goals. Parent Partners model effective personal interactions while supporting the development, reconnection and strengthening of natural supports for families. They serve as a mentor to improve parents/caregivers’ confidence and ability to self-advocate for and effectively manage the services and supports for their own family. They empower families to identify their own future vision of what their family can be, what they need most to achieve this future, and how they can use their strengths and culture to get those needs met. The Parent Partner Program employs three full-time and one part-time staff to provide supportive services to parents/caregivers involved in the DHHS system-Public Health, Child Welfare, Probation, and Behavioral Health, along with Humboldt County Office of Education. The most senior Parent Partner completed certification as a Parent Partner Coach through a National Wraparound Implementation Center Affiliate (NWIC), the Family Involvement Center of Arizona. The Certified Parent Partner Coach has also been credentialed by the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health as a Certified Parent Support Provider (CPSP). The CPSP credential is to ensure that people employed in this field meet consistent and high standards of performance when helping other parents who have children experiencing social, emotional or behavioral health challenges. Certification promotes ethical practice within the workforce so parents with experience in successfully helping their own children can support parents in their unique journey to make decisions that are best for their families without judgement, bias, or stigmatization. DHHS added a Parent Partner III position to take on more responsibility for training and mentoring staff. This position is currently filled by the Certified Parent Partner Coach. The Certified Parent Partner III Coach attends quality review meetings to represent the family voice with in DHHS policy and program development and implementation activities. We have two vacant full-time and one vacant half-time Parent Partner I/II positions. The County continues to contract with a Part Time Mentor with lived experience and dedicated involvement in the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), who teaches Parent Partners “NAMI Basics” and “Family to Family” curriculum to enhance and develop various types of skills and co-facilitate both the peer support groups and the Family Advisory Board. (from 2019/20 MHSA Update, pages 87, 88) |