Employment Opportunities

Who We Are
Founded in 1999, Maryland Coalition of Families (MCF) is a statewide nonprofit with a central office in Columbia, Md., and staff located in communities throughout the state. Using personal experience as parents, caregivers, youth and other loved ones, we connect, support and empower Maryland’s families. Our staff provide one-to-one support to parents and caregivers of young people with mental health issues and to any loved one who cares for someone with a substance use or gambling issue. We also advocate to improve systems that impact individuals with behavioral health challenges.

Overview
Maryland Coalition of Families (MCF) has a full-time (40 hour/week) employment opportunity for a Family Peer Support Specialist (FPSS) to serve families in Baltimore City. The candidate must: i) have personal (not work-related) experience as a parent/primary caregiver of a child, adolescent, or young adult who has/had mental health needs; and ii) the candidate must have been involved with the Department of Social Services (DSS) on behalf of a child, adolescent or young adult. After training and orientation, the FPSS will provide family-to-family support, education, advocacy, coaching, information, referrals and follow-up to families who have a child with mental health needs and/or have a child that has been involved with DSS.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide education and support to families with youth, adolescents and young adults with mental health needs and those referred from the Department of Social Services to negotiate their way through the social, legal, educational and health care systems.
• Facilitate a process for families to develop a plan to: clarify the problem(s); provide emotional support; identify needs and strengths; and identify resources including appropriate levels of services, entitlements, community resources and other natural supports.
• Assist families and youth to build their own community based support network, and ensure that their goals are integrated into one unified plan as necessary.
• Facilitate families accessing supports and services by: sharing information about resources and supports; making phone calls to connect families with resources; providing guidance in completing forms and applications; supporting families to fully understand their rights; reviewing documents such as IEPs or reports with families to ensure they fully understand documents; empowering families to effectively articulate their concerns and needs; accompanying families to meetings; and educating families on laws, policies and procedures.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with DSS staff as well as agencies and providers of services related to behavioral health and other child-serving systems.
• Ensure that families are equal partners in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating their own plans.
• Facilitate training workshops in assigned region for families that are involved with DSS as assigned in contract deliverables.
• Facilitate open house events in assigned region for families and community partners as assigned in contract deliverables.
• Partner with other members of the Peer Support team to create and maintain a centralized, updated directory of behavioral health resources, including support meetings, screening and referrals for treatment, family education groups therapeutic and/or pro-social recreation, volunteer training opportunities and other services designed to meet the needs of their family.
• Collaborate with other MCF staff to develop supportive and educational programs that empower families.
• Partner with other MCF staff to serve families of youth/young adults with complex needs.
• Administrative duties to include maintaining client files, submitting required documentation, active participation in supervision and in MCF internal and external training opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Personal, lived experience as a parent or primary caregiver of a youth, adolescent or young adult who has/had intensive mental health needs is required.
• Personal, lived experience with the Department of Social Services on behalf of a youth, adolescent, or young adult is required.
• Must live in Baltimore City and be familiar with local resources and agencies.
• No college degree or professional training required; MCF provides comprehensive training.
• Prior experience assisting other families to obtain appropriate services and supports for their child and family members is desirable.
• Familiarity with state and local resources and how to access them.
• Willingness and strong ability to build and maintain partnerships with agencies and providers.
• Active listening skills for providing peer support and engagement to families.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong computer skills and the ability to efficiently utilize internet search to identify resources.
• Ability or willingness to learn how to use a database (Salesforce).
• Current Maryland driver’s license and access to own vehicle; in-state travel required.
• Successful completion of a background check (required for all MCF employees).
• Fluency in speaking Spanish desirable but not required.

Hours/Compensation

• 40 hours/week.
• Flexible work schedule.
• Comprehensive benefits.
• Salary commensurate with experience. Salary range $15-19 per hour.

To Apply
To be considered for this position, you must submit (along with your resume) a cover letter describing
your personal, lived experience as the parent/primary caregiver of a child, adolescent or young adult with
mental health needs and details regarding your involvement with DSS. Please describe other services
and resources you have used to support your loved one. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Apply on the MCF website: www.mdcoalition.org.

Please note that mailed or faxed resumes will not be considered. No phone calls please.

Diversity
Maryland Coalition of Families is committed to hiring a diverse and talented workforce. We are an Equal
Opportunity Employer – all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard
to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, national origin,
disability, veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable discrimination laws.