Job Announcement

Unique opportunity to join the new peer focused initiative to support the Fairfax County Opiate Taskforce. Under the direct clinical oversight and administrative supervision of the behavioral health supervisor, the incumbent will use recovery-focused approaches to engage individuals in the community following emergency response to a substance-related crisis, with priority response given to those who have overdosed on opiates. Peer incumbent must have experience in providing peer support services utilizing their own lived experience in recovery from substance abuse/co-occurring disorders.

Note: To learn more about careers that make a difference, watch our video " CSB: Making a Difference in Our Community "

Illustrative Duties

• Facilitates wellness and recovery groups (psycho-educational) and teaches recovery principles one on one;
• Assists individuals to fully participate in the communities where they live and work by orienting individuals to community resources, educating how to access, and advocating for increased opportunities for involvement;
• Facilitates communication and understanding between recipients and providers of services so that providers make better informed recommendations and recipients make better informed choices;
• Explains services and procedures to individuals being served, and anyone they want to be involved for their support, so they know what to expect;
• Assists recipients to articulate their needs and concerns to providers;
• Provides a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for individuals receiving services;
• Serves as advocate and liaison between individuals, families, staff, and physicians;
• Assists clinical staff with supporting those being served and reviewing their progress in life skills and activities of daily living, and immediately consults with clinicians when consumers are in psychiatric crisis or appear to be at risk.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Ability to use one's lived personal experience of mental illness and experience with accessing different levels of care;
• Ability to use one's lived experience to further healthy, positive interactions with consumers at differing levels of engagement;
• Knowledge of the principles, process and components of recovery;
• Knowledge of ethics and boundaries as they relate to the peer specialist practice;
• Knowledge of human services available from public, private and volunteer organizations;
• Ability to establish rapport and maintain effective relationships and boundaries with individuals receiving services, staff, and the general public;
• Ability to retrieve, compose and save progress notes into the electronic health record;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of clinical and medical records;
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from high school or a GED issued by a state department of education;
Successful completion of 72-hour Virginia DBHDS Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Curriculum within three months of hire.
Plus 4 months of experience in providing peer/recovery support services.

Peer support services (PSS) is a behavioral health model of care that provides community-based recovery services to individuals diagnosed with a mental illness of substance use disorder. PSS assist individuals in initiating and maintaining the process of recovery and resiliency to improve their health, wellness and self-care skills. PSS are provided by individuals who have lived experience with recovery from mental health or substance use disorders and utilize this experience in provision of services. Peer Support Service is an individualized, recovery focused approach that promotes the development of wellness self-management, personal recovery, natural supports, coping skills, and self-advocacy skills and development of independent living skills for housing, employment and full community inclusion.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:

• Valid motor vehicle driver's license with fewer than six demerit points (or equivalent in another state) at time of appointment and maintained throughout employment with CSB;
• Certificate of Completion of Wellness and Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) within 1 year of appointment;
• WRAP Facilitator Certification within 1 year of appointment;
• Completion of WRAP Seminar 1 and WRAP Seminar II - Facilitator Training within 1 year of employment
• Certified Peer Recovery Specialist within 1 year of employment;
• MANDT Certifications within six months of appointment and annually thereafter, for positions in CSB residential services;

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check, a Child Protective Services Registry, a driving record check, and a sanctions screening to the satisfaction of the employer. TB screening upon hire and annually thereafter.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Four year/bachelors degree.
• Certified Peer Recovery Specialist through DBHDS.
• Wellness Action Recovery Plan (WRAP) Certification.
• WRAP facilitator Certification.
• Over two years experience providing Peer Support services utilizing one's own lived experience in recovery experience from substance abuse/co-occurring disorders.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Ability to lift up to 25 lbs; input, access, and retrieve information from a computer; travel to various sites; observe clients symptoms; and to communicate complex information by phone, in writing, and in person. All duties may be performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview; includes written exercise.

It is the policy of Fairfax County Government to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, veteran status, political affiliation, genetics, or disability in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314 . EEO/AA/TTY.