Family Support Specialist
ALBERTINA KERR CENTERS
Summary
As a Family Support Specialist, you'll use your personal lived experience and professional skills to help parents and caregivers navigate challenging systems, build confidence, access resources, and advocate for their children and families.
Job description
What You'll Do
- Build trusting relationships with parents, caregivers, and families through peer support and shared lived experience.
- Partner with families to identify goals, develop advocacy skills, and strengthen their voice in treatment and service planning.
- Help families navigate behavioral health, education, healthcare, developmental disability, child welfare, and community support systems.
- Attend meetings alongside families, including treatment team meetings, school meetings, IEP meetings, and community-based services meetings when appropriate.
- Connect families with community resources such as housing supports, benefits, respite services, transportation assistance, and support groups.
- Collaborate with therapists, care coordinators, medical providers, schools, and community partners to support engagement, stabilization, and successful transitions in care.
- Assist with safety planning and crisis prevention efforts as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Maintain timely, accurate documentation and support families in achieving their identified goals.
Work Environment
- Hybrid work environment with both remote and in-person responsibilities.
- Services are provided in family homes, community settings, Albertina Kerr locations, and through approved virtual platforms.
- Some local travel is required to support families in the community.
Requirements
- Oregon Health Authority (OHA) certified Family Support Specialist and active Traditional Health Worker (THW) Registry status, or ability to obtain certification and registry enrollment within 90 days of hire
- Meeting qualification criteria under ORS414.665
- Self-identified individual with direct experience parenting a child who is a current/former consumer of mental health or addiction services, or who has faced barriers to education, health, and wellness services due to mental/behavioral health issues
- May be a Peer Support Specialist or Peer Wellness Specialist certified under Oregon's Traditional Health Workers rules
- Complete an Authority-approved training program (e.g., 40-hour foundational training) and provide proof of completion
- Lived experience as a parent, caregiver, or family member of a child or youth with behavioral health, mental health, substance use, developmental, or complex healthcare needs
- High school diploma or GED required
- Demonstrated knowledge of community resources and family support systems
- Ability to work effectively with families from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic backgrounds
- Strong communication, advocacy, and relationship-building skills
- Proficiency with electronic health records and basic computer systems
- Ability to work occasional evening hours based on family needs
- Ability to respond effectively in situations involving emotional distress or behavioral health crises
- Ability to meet background check, and reference check requirements, and organization's driving requirements of having a current and valid driver's license and no more than two driving infractions in the last two years
Benefits
- Paid Medical, Dental & Vision
- Paid Basic Life & Accident Insurance
- Paid Internal Training
- Career Development
- 7 Paid Holidays
- Generous Time Off
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
- 24-hour EAP
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Company overview
Albertina Kerr Centers is a prominent nonprofit organization based in Oregon that provides comprehensive mental health and developmental disability services to children, youth, and families. Founded in 1907, the organization has a long-standing history of serving vulnerable populations in the Pacific Northwest region. Albertina Kerr offers a wide range of services including residential treatment programs, community-based mental health services, crisis intervention, and support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization operates multiple facilities and programs designed to address complex behavioral health needs while promoting recovery, resilience, and community integration. With a focus on trauma-informed care and evidence-based practices, Albertina Kerr Centers plays a critical role in Oregon's mental health service system, providing specialized care for those with significant behavioral health challenges. The organization collaborates with various community partners, healthcare providers, and government agencies to deliver integrated services that support individuals and families in achieving better mental health outcomes and improved quality of life.