Title: Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Department: Dual Recovery Program Reports To: Program Manager of Dual Recovery Program SUMMARY

The Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) will provide direct peer-to-peer support services to individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders currently enrolled in programming. By offering outreach, encouragement, and support, the CPRS will use firsthand experience in recovery to assist individuals in connecting with resources to support their recovery. The CPRS must model wellness, personal responsibility, self-advocacy, and hopefulness through appropriate sharing of their story, role modeling how individual needs can be met, and how a belief in oneself and recovery is maintained. A CPRS will work in conjunction with trained and educated professionals and provide essential expertise and consultation to the multidisciplinary treatment team.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Certified Peer Recovery Specialist will cultivate and secure a connection with individuals, while teaching personal responsibility and serving as a mentor and role model.

Procedure:

A. The Certified Peer Recovery Specialist is responsible to provide the following services directly or in cooperation with other staff members.

Mentoring through self-disclosure of personal recovery experiences to develop meaningful and trusting relationships with clients.

Model effective coping and self-help strategies and techniques to individuals or groups of clients to overcome personal fears, anxieties, urges, and triggers.

Meet with clients on a regular basis to identify personal goals and objectives, assist in creating personal recovery plans, discuss routine recovery issues from a peer perspective, and assist clients in developing problem solving skills to respond to these issues.

Assist clients in developing empowerment skills through self-advocacy.

Identify and connect clients to community resources and organizations to help foster and sustain long-term recovery, including but not limited to housing, medical insurance, employment, food support, healthy social activities, etc.

Provide direct assistance in gaining access and utilizing community resources and organizations. This may include but is not limited to transportation, filling out forms, making phone calls, attending recovery support groups with a client, accompanying a client to appointments that support recovery, and other nonclinical recovery support to assist the transition from treatment into the recovery community.

Work with family, friends, and other involved parties for the purpose of maintaining or enhancing an individual’s functioning and recovery.

Attend substance use groups, as requested, with licensed staff present.

Serve as the contact person for Alumni Group, attend Alumni Group, and develop and implement Alumni community events.

Attend weekly clinical staff meetings.

Complete annual and biannual trainings.

Ensure timely and appropriate documentation as required by HRC, state, and federal policy.

Perform other routine support tasks, including filing, answering telephones, and compiling statistical reports.

SECONDARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Perform miscellaneous projects and completes various tasks as requested by management.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications

1. Be at least 21 years of age.

2. Have a high school diploma, or its equivalent.

3. Have a minimum of one year in recovery from substance use disorder.

4. Completion of recovery coach training program approved by the Minnesota Certification Board.

5. Hold a current credential from the Minnesota Certification Board, the Upper Midwest Indian Council on Addictive Disorders, or the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. The credential must demonstrate skills and training in the domains of ethics and boundaries, advocacy, mentoring and education, and recovery and wellness support.

6. Receive ongoing supervision in areas specific to the domains of the recovery peer’s role by an alcohol and drug counselor. South Central Human Relations Center will provide this.

7. Good driving record (no DWIs in the last three years and/or no more than three moving violations/accidents in the past three years) and current Minnesota Driver’s License required.

8. Pass a MN DHS Background Study.

Preferred Qualifications

Innovative, driven, reliable, organized, and strong attention to detail.

Excellent interpersonal communication skills, oral and written, to effectively work with a variety of people and personalities, including developing relationships external community organizations.

Fluency in English and another language is a preferred qualification but not required.

Medical Records management.

Skills and competence to establish supportive, trusting relationships with persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses.

Respect for client rights and personal preferences.

Must have a valid Minnesota Driver’s License.

Ability to connect with, engage, and empathize with people from diverse backgrounds with multiple challenges.

Must be able to demonstrate an ability to be responsive in an effective manner, while maintaining a warm and supportive atmosphere.

Be able to work independently (e.g., plan, prioritize, and coordinate) and as a team member.

Understands confidential nature of organization information and maintains confidences.

Ability to ensure accuracy and privacy of medical records.

Possess effective computer and technology skills to complete tasks in the EMR system and other programs.

Fluency in English and another language is a preferred qualification but not required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Incumbent, with or without a reasonable accommodation, must be able to effectively:

· Communicate and exchange information by telephone and in person with individuals inside and out of the facility.

· Must be able to remain in a stationary position for extended periods of time.

· Constantly operate a computer, calculator, copy machine and other productivity machinery including printers and postage machine.

· Ability to detect, determine, perceive, identify, recognize, observe, estimate and assess schedules and information.

· Must be able to move around the office area repeatedly throughout the day.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED

Incumbent must be able to use multi-line telephone, calculator, copy machines, facsimile machines, computers, postage machine, and other office equipment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Duties are performed indoors in an office setting.