Family Peer Advocate

Emma Bowen Community Center is seeking a Family Peer Advocate for our Early Childhood Clinic.

Family Peer Advocates have ‘lived-experience’ as the parent (biological, foster, adoptive) or primary caregiver of a child/youth with a social, emotional, behavioral, mental health or developmental disability. They receive training to develop skills and strategies to empower other families. They foster effective parent-professional partnerships and promote the practice of family-driven and youth-guided approaches. Lived experience is extremely valuable when working with families in need of resources, support and advocacy.

Description of Duties and responsibilities:  

• providing information and referral 
• engaging families in services 
• working with families to discern their strengths, needs, and priorities 
• providing 1:1 assistance to help families connect to and participate in services  
• accompanying parents to meetings to assure their voice is heard 
• increasing parents’ feelings of self-efficacy 
• reducing stigma and feelings of isolation 
• serving as members of child and family planning teams 
• helping families identify goals and track progress 
• supporting families to develop ‘informal’ networks of support 
• participating as the FPA in specific evidence-based treatment models  
• empowering parents by increasing their knowledge and skills 
• coaching in constructive self-advocacy skills 
• coaching in effective parenting strategies 
• initiating and supporting parent support and skills groups 
• helping families learn about special education services, procedures, and rights 
• serving as cultural brokers within organizations and systems 
• helping families understand mental health diagnoses, medication, and treatment options  
• facilitating effective family-provider partnerships 

 Skills:  

• Great interpersonal skills  
• Conflict resolution  
• Bilingual (Spanish/English) 

Qualifications:  

• Have a high school diploma or GED (or document comparable skills). 
• Complete the Family Peer Advocate Credential or Provisional Credential  

Amount of Travel: 50% of the time  

Schedule: Monday-Friday 10am-6pm. Hybrid

Posted On: March 22, 2024