Valley Youth House empowers and strengthens the lives of children, youth and families through inclusive programming that builds resilience and fosters growth and independence.

We are currently looking for a qualified applicant to fill the following position: FT - Certified Peer Specialist ($18hr).

Job Description: Under the President and CEO, and the Senior Vice President's authority, and the Youth & Young Adult Certified Peer Specialist Supervisor, the Certified Peer Specialist worker provides one on one support to build resources that exist in the community and provides mentoring and coaching, connecting individuals with service and community supports to aide in their own personal interventions and mental health recovery.
Essential Functions:

• To maintain a caseload of face to face billable contact with clients (at least 22 hours per week) as they are assigned by Valley Youth House.
• To successfully engage and maintain clients in the Certified Peer Specialist program.
• To service clients in their homes, schools and other community settings.
• To provide one-on-one support and encouragement to young adults to assist them with developing individual service plans aimed at increasing their active participation in person centered planning and delivery of individualized services.
• To provide the prescribed hours of service as assigned on a weekly basis 90 % of the time or more.
• To attend supervision and training to maintain CPS requirements.
• To support young adults in problem solving related to community reintegration and developing mental health advanced directives.
• To provide ethical service consistent with CASSP principles.
• To assist individuals with the development of self-help skills and facilitate activities that lead to increased self-worth and education of community outreach.
• To provide transportation (as a non-billable service) and assistance to individuals in the community setting with the aim of teaching and advocating for the youth.
• To perform administrative responsibilities including progress notes, activity logs, and timesheets and to submit them within the required timeframe.
• To keep the YYA-CPS supervisor informed of any unusual or high risk situations.
• To follow the policies, procedures and rules in the agency personnel policies, employee handbook, and program manual.
• To immediately report to the supervisor 1) any situation in which a child, family member, or another person is at risk of imminent harm and/or, 2) a death occurs in any open case or a case open at the agency within the last 90 days.
• To immediately report to the supervisor any situation in which a client is threatening to sue Valley Youth House.

Other Duties:

• To represent the program at clinical meetings when requested.
• The accurate and timely completion of personnel material at the onset of employment.
• To complete other related tasks as appropriate or assigned.
• Supporting agency values and goals.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Have a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma.
• At least 18 years of age.
• Must have held at least one year of employment over the course of the last three years.

Preferred Qualifications:

• The Certified Peer Specialist worker shall be a mature person with sound judgment and represent an appropriate role model to youth and families.
• He or she must be and individual who has never been convicted of any child abuse offenses and must have Act 33-34 clearances. He or she must possess the educational and/or experiential qualifications as set forth by the Department of Public Welfare, Office of Medical Assistance.
• The candidate will have received or is receiving mental health services for a serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness,

Physical Requirements:

• Sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing: X Occasionally
• Light work that includes moving objects up to 20 pounds: X Occasionally
• Moving from one worksite to another: X Occasionally

The list of essential/key functions/duties, as outlined herein, is intended to be all-inclusive of the tasks performed within this position. It is not necessarily descriptive of all functions/duties within the position. The omission of a function/duty does not preclude management from assigning duties not listed herein, other duties may be assigned.

**If eligible: Medical, vision, and prescription benefits available after the first month of hire, Vacation, Sick, and Personal Time Off, 401k Benefits and employer match, Employer-paid clearances, physical, and training, Opportunities for Tuition assistance, Opportunities for licensure supervision hours for LCSW and LPC.

Valley Youth House provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.