Youth Peer Support Specialist

Function: The Youth Peer Support Specialist (YPSS) uses personal lived experience to engage children, adolescents, and their caregivers in Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, and Lawrence counties referred to RE's NEKY Children Crisis-to-Community Regional Telebehavioral Health Spoke. As a member of the Collaborative Care team, the YPSS helps youth and families stay connected to care after a referral, crisis, emergency department visit, or hospital discharge by providing peer support, outreach, resource navigation, and re-engagement, while adhering to Kentucky's regulatory standards for youth peer support services. Organizational duties & responsibilities: The primary responsibility of all staff is to ensure the safety and well-being of all Ramey-Estep/Re-group (RE) clients. Supports the mission, vision, and values of RE. Facilitates and adheres to the agency’s code of ethics, policies, and procedures. Supports all functions that attain and maintain accreditation and compliance with regulatory agencies. Supports and facilitates positive interaction with clients and staff by exhibiting both in-office and in-public when carrying out job duties: individual maturity, respect for others, a team-centered approach, maintenance of confidential information, and awareness and sensitivity to cultural and other differences in clients and staff. Exhibits effective communication skills, including proper use of agency communication systems. Participates in appropriate professional development programs to attain and maintain competency. Effectively manages financial and physical resources to achieve the mission of RE. Reports incidents of abuse or potential abuse involving clients to the appropriate authorities and RE. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Share relevant personal experiences to build trust, hope, and engagement with youth and caregivers referred through primary care, schools, EMS, hospitals, and community partners. Contact youth and families promptly after referral, including within 24 to 72 hours after a crisis, emergency department visit, or hospital discharge, to explain services, schedule appointments, and confirm attendance. Serve as a role model, demonstrating effective coping strategies, resilience, and recovery. Empower youth and caregivers to voice their preferences in the development and implementation of their care plans. Participate in Collaborative Care team meetings and case reviews to share the youth's perspective and advocate for their needs. Help families overcome barriers to care, including transportation, medication access, benefits, housing, food insecurity, school disruption, and caregiver stress, through warm handoffs to community resources. Re-engage youth and families after missed appointments or loss of contact, and support continued engagement at 7, 30, 60, and 90 days. Help youth and families set up and use telehealth services, including loaned tablets and hotspots. Coordinate with schools, Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, and community partners to support youth in the program. Enhance youth self-advocacy skills and confidence. Educate primary care and community partners about youth culture and the value of peer support to improve service delivery. Gather youth and caregiver feedback to support program quality improvement. Complete required documentation, including contacts, social needs referrals, and follow-up outcomes, within required timeframes to support grant reporting. Complete other duties as assigned. Working conditions/environment: Holidays, weekends, evenings, and extra hours may occasionally be required. Community-based position with daily local travel across Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, and Lawrence Counties. Work with youth and families who may be in crisis or experiencing acute distress. Environment varies between office, telehealth, in-home, schools, primary care offices, and other community-based settings. minimum job requirements: Education: High School Diploma or GED required. Experience: Lived experience as a youth receiving mental health or substance use services, or involvement in foster care, residential, or other DCBS or DJJ setting is required. Knowledge of community resources in the Northeastern region of Kentucky is preferred. Specific Skills and requirements: Must be between the ages of 18 and 35 per state regulations governing this service. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities. Must maintain a valid Driver’s License and insurability. Technical requirements include proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and any other applications used by the organization or regulatory agencies. Must be able to utilize telehealth platforms and electronic health records on a laptop or tablet while being familiar enough to assist families/clients in how to utilize the technology for service delivery. Ability to understand and relate to the needs of clients from diverse backgrounds. Ability to read, write and converse in English. Successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen. Successful completion of a background screening. Successful completion of a TB skin test or proof of a negative chest x-ray or other documentation. Specialized Licenses or training: Successful completion of Excellent Foundations. Maintain 40 hours of annual training. Complete program training in Collaborative Care workflows, suicide risk identification, trauma-informed care, crisis escalation protocols, HIPAA, and 42 CFR Part 2 privacy, and telehealth technology. Maintain CPR/1 st Aid training. Physical Requirements: The physical requirements described here are representative of those that an employee must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, talk, hear, and smell. The employee frequently is required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch, and climb stairs. The employee is occasionally required to climb, balance, or run. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close, distance, and peripheral vision. Supervisory REquirements: None. This position is eligible for our full-time employee benefits package, which includes a generous 401(k) plan with immediate vesting and dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6%, paid leave, health/dental/vision, and other competitive benefits! The rate of pay for this position starts at $18.00/hour.