Peer Support Specialist - Young Adult Rental Assistance Program at Marion County – Salem, Oregon

Marion County Health & Human Services is in search of a Peer Support Specialist for their Young Adult Rental Assistance Program (YRAP). YRAP is a housing first program that supports young adults with serious mental health disorders to obtain housing. Peer Support Specialists use lived experience with their own mental health recovery and housing challenges to provide recovery-oriented supports to help individuals reach their recovery goals, access housing, and gain independent living skills. An ideal candidate would use recovery tools, espouse SAMHSA’s recovery model, and enjoy inspiring others. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, apply today!

Marion County offers a generous benefits package from health insurance to planning for retirement.

• Health, dental & vision coverage for employee and their eligible family members
• Oregon Public Retirement System (PERS) - Marion County pays 100% of PERS contribution (6% of salary)
• Deferred compensation plans
• Flexible spending account (FSA)
• Competitive salary with seven steps of 5% increases; employees are eligible for a step increase at six months and annually thereafter.
• 10 county observed holidays and 2 personal holidays per year.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES
The Peer Support Specialist provides support, encouragement, and assistance to mental health individuals. The specialist will promote those activities that foster recovery and empowerment by sharing their personal experiences when appropriate, modeling self-help and wellness activities. Act as an advocate who facilitates and connects individuals to services and activities. As a member of the treatment team the incumbent provides expertise, experience, and consultation to the team to promote a culture in which each individual's point of view and preferences are recognized, respected, and integrated into treatment.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED
Works under the close supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor who assigns work, establishes goals, and reviews the results obtained for overall effectiveness.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED
Supervision of other employees is not a responsibility of positions in this class.

Provide support, encouragement, and assistance regarding housing and mental health to young adults enrolled in Marion County Young Adult Rental Assistance Program (YRAP), with the majority of services provided in the community.

Support Housing Stability

• Assist young adults with referral to YRAP, as needed.
• Support young adults to access affordable housing resources.
• Provide supportive navigation, advocacy, information, and coaching during application processes.
• Share lived experience regarding housing insecurity, and overcoming barriers, when appropriate.
• Minimum monthly check-in with program participants.

• Provide education and/or training to assist young adults in acquiring skills that will maintain community stability and independence.
• Support young adults to access long-term housing.

Community Linkage

• Provide information to community agencies about YRAP, including program philosophy, referral process, and availability.
• Identify potential program participants who express desire and willingness to increase wellness and independence.
• Facilitate and connect young adults to services and activities which build on self-efficacy.
• Support to link with peer and community resources to build natural supports.
• Support and assist young adults to strengthen linkages to community peer delivered services.
• Support young adults to access and acquire services related to medical, social, educational, transportation, housing, education, employment, and other applicable services.
• Promote activities in the local community to support personal wellness and ongoing recovery.

• Provide support regarding eligibility and referral requirements for various programs.
• Support young adults to develop self-help skills, social skills, and community integration.

Advocacy and Well-being

• Assist young adults in developing a Person-Centered Housing Plan, including assessment of needs, self-identifying personal goals, steps to reach goals, increased community integration, identifying natural supports, and identifying supports and community resources regarding mental health recovery.
• Provide expertise, experience, and consultation to promote a culture where individual point of view is recognized, respected, and integrated into treatment.
• Act as a peer advocate.

Support Recovery

• Promote activities that foster recovery, self-efficacy, and empowerment.
• Share personal experiences when appropriate, modeling self-help and wellness activities to empower participants on their mental health recovery journey.
• Provide outreach to engage young adults and assist them in overcoming barriers to participating in services, including mental health treatment.
• Offer support to develop personal recovery and wellness goals, explore self-help strategies, review dimensions of wellness, and engage in wellness activities.
• Support engagement and treatment from community providers, including mental health, chemical dependency, and physical health providers.
• Provide information and supportive navigation of the adult behavioral health system, including answering phone inquiries, providing information, and coaching on how to assess services and supports.

Documentation

• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of clinical records in accordance with federal, state, county, and treatment program requirements under the direction of the clinical supervisor. Meet performance expectations for time and billing standards.
• Gather data for reporting requirements.

Miscellaneous

• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Response Level 2: In the event of an emergency, employee makes a reasonable effort to report to work. Employee may be required to perform duties outside of their regularly assigned duties. Employee may be requested to work an extended or flexible schedule. Staff at this response level must complete Incident Command System 100 and 700 on-line or in-person training.
EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING
As defined by OAR 309-019-0105 (81) "Peer Support Specialist" means an individual providing peer delivered services to an individual or family member with similar life experience under the supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor and a qualified peer delivered services supervisor as resources are made available.

1. A self-identified person either currently or formerly engaged in mental health services, is also encouraged to be in recovery from an addiction disorder, meeting the abstinence requirements for recovering staff in alcohol and drug treatment programs.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants will be asked to discuss recovery experiences during the interview process.
• Must successfully complete a Mental Health approved peer support training program within six (6) months of hire.
• The finalist for this position will be required to pass a criminal history background check; however, conviction of a crime may not necessarily disqualify an individual for this position.
• Must possess a current driver's license in the applicant's state of residence and an acceptable driving history. Marion County will obtain a copy of the driving record for all qualified applicants from Driver and Motor Vehicle Services and review the driving record according to the Marion County policy and procedure for Driving on County Business. The policy can be found at: http://apps.co.marion.or.us/APAP/.
• This is a safety sensitive/special needs position. Final candidates selected for this position will be required to pass a pre-employment drug screen, including testing for marijuana. The Marion County Drug and Alcohol Use and Testing Policy can be found at: http://apps.co.marion.or.us/APAP/policy.aspx?p=policy&pid=518.
• This position may be subject to the following: Must not be excluded from participation in the federal health care programs (Medicaid, Medicare and other federally funded programs that provide health benefits); AND must not be excluded from participating in federal procurement (Federal Acquisition Regulation) and non-procurement activities (Executive Order No. 12549).
• This position is represented by a union.
• This is a full-time position, which is eligible for overtime.
• Typical Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with flexibility depending upon the needs of the department and program.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Understanding of approaches to support others in recovery and resiliency and demonstrates efforts at self-directed recovery.
Knowledgeable of community resources and how to connect individuals to those resources.

Ability to understand and carry out directions and instructions; ability to maintain confidentiality; interest and skill in providing services to individuals; ability to speak, read and write English; ability to provide documentation consistent with department standards for quality and timeliness; willingness to work hours conducive to reaching the identified population; ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with individuals, coworkers, and other agencies.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Operates a motor vehicle; sees using depth perception; stands; sits; moves about the work area; bends forward; climbs 1 floor of stairs; lifts, pushes, pulls, moves carts and carries items weighing up to 5 lbs.; operates a keyboard; speaks with a clear and audible voice; reads a 12 pt. font; hears a normal speech level; works in areas that may be exposed to heat, cold, humidity, dust, smoke, chemicals, and noise. Works in areas that may be wet or uneven. This position will go into homes in the community and may be exposed to secondhand smoke, uneven ground and/or dust, and household cleaning chemicals, i.e., bleach, cleaners.
We offer tuition assistance for employees interested in professional development towards a profession in behavioral health.

• Up to $20,000 to reimburse for tuition, licensure and/or other educational expenditures. According to the Marion County policy administrative policies regarding tuition payments.