Family Partner - SMART

The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD ("The HARRIS CENTER") is looking for a Family Partner to join our SMART Innovation team! This person is responsible for, implementing family support services for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents. Providing support, information, referral, follow-up, and technical assistance to families and general consultation to staff on children and youth issues. Develops and maintains data collection system indicating the number of referrals, resources/services, unmet needs of families, and barriers to obtaining services. Acts as a member of the team and follows The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD procedures. The Family Partner must be the custodial parent of a child who has or has had problems with severe emotional disturbance and has experience in negotiating the public mental health systems of care advocating for their child's needs.

Your role in action:

• Assist families in locating and utilizing available services.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date usable directory of appropriate services
• Support and encourage families to educate themselves by attending parent education classes and provides them with material pertaining to mental health issues, educational issues and other pertinent issues
• Participate in staffing and team meetings
• Maintain professional work behaviors
• Maintain appropriate documentation
• Comply with agency policies and procedures, accrediting/regulatory bodies and performance contract documentation requirements.

What qualifications you will need:

Education:

• Must possess a high school diploma or equivalent; degree preferred

Experience:

• The Family Partner must be the custodial parent of a child who has or has had problems with severe emotional disturbance and has experience in negotiating the public mental health systems of care advocating for their child's needs.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Basic understanding of child and adolescent mental illnesses and community resources
• Strong communication skills, listening and interpersonal skills above average, written documentation is clear, concise, well-constructed and grammatically correct.
• Able to work collaboratively with others in a teamwork environment.
• Effective time management and organizational skills.
• Intermediate computer skills including e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, presentations, basic information systems.

What we have to offer:

The Harris Center not only offers a competitive salary but also a suite of excellent benefits designed to enrich your life both professionally and personally. Imagine a future with a robust retirement plan complemented by our generous company matching - a testament to our investment in your long-term financial well-being. Experience the unique advantage of our prior service credit, accelerating your journey towards a more substantial Paid Time Off accrual, empowering you to enjoy well-deserved breaks.

Enjoy Cell Phone Discounts, exclusive entertainment deals through Tickets at Work, and a free Headspace subscription for mental wellness. Additionally, our Employee Assistance Program supports your overall well-being.

Take advantage of significant financial relief through student loan forgiveness as a valued member of The Harris Center team. As a qualifying entity, our employees are eligible for various student loan forgiveness programs, designed to alleviate the financial burdens associated with higher education.

What else you should know:

• This posting is associated with position #47006,47007,47008, 47009.
• The Harris Center will leverage existing collaborations with local Independent School Districts (ISD) in the Precinct 2 area of Houston to organize five (5) colocation teams, addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of students within their academic environment, including Galena Park, Spring Branch, Pasadena, Alief, Goose creek, Aldine, and HISD (all districts with whom The Harris Center has a current memorandum of understanding). The Harris Center will work with the local precinct to identify specific campuses that need student mental health care. In addition to addressing acute needs, students and families will be referred for long-term support within our community-based clinics, including access to integrated health (physical/primary care). The Harris Center will have a goal of 150 students served in the Project. The BCBA position will assist with clinical support for this project

About us:

The HARRIS CENTER is the state-designated Local Mental Health Authority and Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) Authority serving Harris County, Texas. As the largest behavioral and developmental disability care center in Texas, The Harris Center provided care to over 96,000 people in fiscal year 2023!

As part of its mission to transform the lives of people with behavioral health and IDD needs in the third largest county in the United States, The HARRIS CENTER provides a full continuum of services at 86 different sites across Harris County. In addition, services are provided in more than 40 different languages as well as sign language to better serve what is one of the most diverse and multi-cultural communities in the nation.

By utilizing the unique expertise of its more than 2,500 employees, The Harris Center is committed to meeting the behavioral health and IDD needs of Harris County residents and giving them hope to live to their fullest potential.