San Francisco CARE Court – Peer Support Specialist

JOB TITLE: San Francisco CARE Court - Peer Support Specialist

DEPARTMENT: Peer Services

JOB STATUS: Non-exempt; part-time 20 hours weekly

HOURS & LOCATION: 9am to 5 pm; mostly field-based work

SALARY: $30.29 hourly

BENEFITS:

• Medical: Kaiser HMO or Blue Shield PPO (Prorated) Dental & Vision (Prorated)
• Life & long-term disability coverage; EAP
• Paid Time Off, sick days, and major holidays
• Health and Dependent Care FSA, Commuter Check, and 403(b) options available
• Ongoing access to MHASF continuing education and skill-building workshops- all training time paid
• Excellent opportunity for advancement-over 70% of our staff have been promoted internally at least once!

REPORTS TO: CARE Court Manager

ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO (MHASF)

MHASF is a mental health peer-run nonprofit located in downtown San Francisco serving people and agencies across the Bay Area since 1947. As mental health consumers ourselves, we center the lived expertise of people with mental health challenges in our advocacy, education, and support programs, and believe that dignity and recovery in mental health are something everyone can experience. Our staff is dedicated to creating spaces for learning and healing around stigmatized and under-resourced areas in mental health-hoarding and cluttering behavior, peer employment support, wellness & nutrition, community-based crisis response, service navigation, and more. MHASF strongly-encourages people with lived experience of mental health challenges to apply and grow with us!

OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM & POSITION:

Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court is a relatively new, state-wide framework to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or another qualifying psychotic spectrum diagnosis who are considered to be "unstable in the community." Involvement in CARE Court can be initiated by an individual's family, county and community-based social services, behavioral health providers, first responders, or the individual themself. CARE Court is a voluntary program that can serve as anything from a first-time intervention to a transition into a lower level of care-for example, as a step-down from LPS conservatorship. Once a petition is received, San Francisco Department of Public Health's CARE Team and the respondent's assigned counsel begin to outreach to respondents and attempt to engage them in the CARE Court process. Once they determine whether the participant qualifies and would like to participate in CARE Court, a CARE Agreement is developed with Citywide as the service provider. The CARE Agreement lasts for 1 year, with the option to renew it for another year if both parties determine that to be the best course of action. Respondents then graduate from CARE Court having completed their CARE Agreement.

As a peer-run organization, MHASF is partnering with Collaborative Justice Programs of the Superior Court of California to ensure the peer recovery model and peer-based support is available to participants of CARE Court in San Francisco. The Peer Support Specialist (PSS) for this project will provide 1:1 peer counseling and support to participants of CARE Court. Through the development of trust and rapport, the PSS provides emotional support and advocacy; linkage to social, legal, and mental and physical health services, and engages in WRAP® planning with participants.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Top Three Responsibilities

• Provide wellness-focused 1:1 peer-to-peer support, including the development of Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP)®
• Provide peer counseling and case management to individuals living with mental health challenges who are participants of CARE Court
• Serve as an advocate for program participants and a model for mental health recovery

Peer Support & Case Management

• Use personal lived experience as an individual living in recovery to engage with participants
• Serve as a role model and self-disclose lived experience background to participants as appropriate, to establish trust and demonstrate the possibility of recovery
• Provide information and assist participants with access to community services and resources
• Communicate with physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists as well as other service providers as needed
• Assist with crisis intervention, targeted case management, advocacy, service navigation, and other supports
• Provide on-going follow-up contact to ensure participants are connected to appropriate supports and provide additional assistance when needed
• Help ensure that services are sensitive to the cultural context and personal history of each participant and their support system; provide services in community-based settings
• Ensure that participants are involved to the greatest extent possible in decisions affecting services and treatment
• Promote collaboration among support systems, mental health providers, healthcare providers, justice system personnel, school personnel, and other agencies
• Accompany and advocate for participants at their appointments providing emotional support
• Be familiar with WRAP ® planning and support participant with developing individualized WRAP plans; if not trained in WRAP ®, MHASF will ensure that the PSS receives this training.

Record-Keeping, Training, & Participation

• Attend one-on-one supervision with manager, staff meetings, and monthly all-staff trainings
• Maintain detailed records of services provided and ensure participant record confidentiality
• Ensure records contain all data necessary in reporting to the SF DPH and SF Courts
• Ensure records conform to Medi-Cal and HIPAA requirements and standards

The Peer Support Specialist also supports broader MHASF initiatives and is responsible for other duties as assigned. The above job responsibilities are meant to be representative, not a comprehensive job description, and are subject to change depending on the needs of the program and MHASF.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Personal lived experience of recovery and a willingness to disclose to participants and during counselor trainings is a requirement for this peer position
• Proof of COVID-19 vaccine. (The position is field-based work in San Francisco)
• Minimum two years of experience as a peer counselor, peer specialist, or similar (either paid or volunteer), ideally within a nonprofit setting
• High level of organization and time management with an ability to focus and prioritize in stressful situations
• Behavioral health knowledge, including familiarity with psychiatric diagnoses, psychiatric symptoms and associated behavior, psychiatric medications, and substance use issues
• Ability to respond effectively to conflicts and strong emotions; crisis support or call center background is very helpful for this role
• Familiarity with community resources in San Francisco
• Experience maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information & understanding of confidentiality practices
• Familiarity with the mental health recovery movement, peer support model, & local resources
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, use of tele-health platforms such as Zoom, and data entry
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write effective case notes
• Highly collaborative work style and ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team to identify and accomplish goals
• Ability to problem-solve and to exercise independent judgment under stress
• Willingness to learn from others, take feedback, and make adjustments to communication and behavior
• Experience taking initiative to self-educate about unfamiliar subjects or concepts
• Affirmative and accepting approach toward people whose needs and experiences differ from your own
• Commitment to upholding the mission and values of MHASF

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The position requires long periods of work at a desk, which may involve sitting or standing and the use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, and desk phone. The office building and between floors of the building, and to travel short distances (under 1 mile) is required. Other physical tasks may involve reaching, pulling, pushing, bending, climbing a stepladder, use of a dolly to move items weighing up to 50 lbs., and lifting and carrying up to 20 lbs.

FIELD-BASED WORK

This position is field-based in the San Francisco community. The position requires walking in San Francisco, standing in lines with program participants, and the use of public transportation. The position also requires periods of work at a desk, which may involve sitting or standing and the use of a computer, keyboard, mouse, and cell phone.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT

Mental health challenges can affect anyone at any time, regardless of identity or background, and consequently the communities we serve are highly diverse. As a peer-run organization, we also recognize the importance of lived experience as an irreplaceable form of expertise and as a basis for building trust and providing effective services. We welcome and strongly encourage people from historically marginalized and economically disadvantaged groups, including people who identify as disabled or neuro-divergent, to apply to work with us.

MHASF is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants for employment and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender or gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other factor not related to ability to successfully fulfill the requirements of the position.