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1 Peer Mentors in Child Welfare: A promising practice toward reunification To access the audio portion of the webinar, please call: TOLL FREE: ACCESS CODE:

2 Peer Mentors in Child Welfare: A promising practice toward reunification Jill Duerr Berrick

3 Today s Focus: Who Are Peer Mentors? Why Use Peer Mentors? Features Of The Peer Mentor Model Lessons Learned From Other Jurisdictions

4 Parents often feel intense emotions upon separation from their children

5 Stages of Family Resilience Survival Spirituality Social support Adaptation Initiative Boundary setting Flexibility/ creativity Acceptance Commitment Insight Communication & humor Growing Stronger Appraisal Helping Others Social support Adapted from Lietz & Strength, 2011

6 Family-Centered Practice Peer Mentors as Another Iteration of Family-Centered Practice

7 Peer Support in Allied Fields of Mental health Practice Decreases stigma Increases access to positive role models Promotes social integration Improves quality of life Health Competence Empowerment Reassurance Decline in fear and distress Davidson, et al., 1999; Finfgeld-Connett,

8 What Are Peer Mentors? Current or former parent clients engaged as allies in the process of reunification

9 Principles of Peer Mentors Recognition of family strengths Parents are experts about what they need Social support Peer support & mutual aid

10 Why might it Work? Reciprocity Mutual assistance Lack of social distance Sameness of experience Exposure to new worldviews Safety of assuming new roles Safe environment for disclosing distress. 10

11 What do parents say about why it works? Shared experience Communication Support Hope

12 Shared Experience The parent partner is still more they re on your level and they ve experienced what they have experienced; they went through what you went through. And the CPS workers haven t went through it; they just went through the school. Most of the CPS workers are just school smart they re not experienced and went through it.

13 Communication Parent Partners admired for: plain talk frequent contact contact with other professionals acting as a role model availability accessibility during nights and weekends

14 Support A key intervention Emotional support Material support Support in developing self-reliance Support regarding substance abuse

15 Hope I am the face of success. A personally redemptive experience

16 Goals of the Approach Engagement in services Safe reunification Address parents intrapersonal barriers Collaboration challenges Social isolation

17 A paradigm shift Intimidation Powerless Marginalized Mystical system Silence Empowerment Powerful Central to reunification Transparent system Voice

18 QUESTIONS? 18

19 Peer Support Groups One-on-One Mentoring Parents as Trainers Parents as Policy Advocates PEER MENTOR MODELS 19

20 Parent Support Groups

21 Intake Groups The Mendocino Model 8 weeks Therapist facilitated Focused on emotional aspects of early removal Empowerment Groups Non-time limited Social worker facilitated; peer directed Focused on process of change Develop weekly action plans 21

22 Empowerment Groups Peer roles Expressions of interest and concern Emotional support within and outside of group Offers of concrete assistance (e.g., furniture) Offers of faith-based assistance Practical advice (e.g., legal issues, how to handle social workers, drug testing, referral to providers) Problem solving Shared experiences 22

23 QUESTIONS? 23

24 Veteran Parents Parent Partners Parent Advocates Peer Coaches 24

25 If they can do it, so can I. 25

26 Role of Parent Partner Mentor Advocate Translator Coach

27 A New Paradigm No-fault match Inclusion of fathers Delayed service termination Opportunity to re-open at parent request No wait-list Informal vs. formal services offered Parent Partners live and work in client communities A relationship-based approach, free of bureaucracy and paperwork

28 Who are Parent Clients? New to the child welfare system Parent clients are approached at the Detention Hearing Self-disclosure as the springboard for engagement

29 From Adversary to Advocate Allied Professionals views: Very positive reviews Reduces parents anxiety Increases parents understanding of the child welfare system Changes allied professionals views about parents

30 Findings Outcomes Parent Partner No Parent Partner Reunification

31 QUESTIONS? 31

32 Parents as Trainers 32

33 Multiple Audiences Need to Hear Social workers Foster parents Interns the Voices of Parents Judges / lawyers CASAs Allied professionals (MH, substance abuse, etc.) 33

34 Parents as Policy Advocates 34

35 How are birth parents experiences taken into account in program design?

36 Parents as advocates with county and state legislators 36

37 QUESTIONS? 37

38 LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS 38

39 Organizational Context Requires leadership Collaborative spirit Legitimates role of the peer mentor Addresses staff fear and/or misunderstanding Introduces peer mentors to allied professionals Bends the bureaucracy 39

40 Organizational Creativity May require thoughtful interface with HR May be precluded from direct contact with children CBOs may be the hiring unit 40

41 Staff Strengths and Challenges Passionate Justice-oriented Resourceful Compassionate Little work history Limited knowledge of workplace etiquette and discourse Written and verbal skills may not be sophisticated 41

42 Sensitive Supervision Customized supervision Includes personal and professional growth and development Relationship-based rather than rigidly hierarchical Importance of an emotionally-safe space Acculturation to a climate of sensitive, reflective supervision 42

43 Support for Professional Skills Dress Keeping appointment calendars Timeliness to meetings Appropriate language Tone of voice Humor Balanced advocacy 43

44 Support for Role Change From client to staff member How does it feel to enter the child welfare building? How do they experience court? How do they respond to substance-involved parents when their own recovery may feel fresh? How do they manage feelings of ambivalence toward the agency? 44

45 Support for Collaboration Managing confidentiality Managing dual alliances Supporting not undermining social workers 45

46 Support for Managing Boundaries Flexible, open, familiar relationships with parents Sharing personal details and stories Cell phone availability 24/7 availability Daily living in familiar schools and neighborhoods 46

47 Setting Limits on Professional Knowledge and Skill Peer mentors are not social work professionals. Many family challenges are outside of their scope of practice DV Mental health treatment Developmental disabilities Substance abuse 47

48 Support for Managing Multiple Perspectives Parent perspective Child s safety Social and emotional well-being of the child 48

49 Support for Managing and Maintaining Recovery The single highest risk factor for losing peer mentors 49

50 Benefits to the Peer Mentor Empowering Can help support positive parenting and continued recovery Transformative experience of redemption 50

51 Birth parents have deep emotional and material needs. Peer Support models may offer parents important opportunities to engage in services and safely care for their children

52 You have an attorney. You have a social worker. And then there s a judge. There s all these people against you. They re all sitting over here, and you re this little lone person sitting over here by yourself, and they re telling you all this stuff that you ve been doing wrong. [Your Parent Partner is] like that star, like that light in a bunch of blackness that you re like-oh, god; somebody that will help me. [She s] here for you. Parent client

53 THANK YOU! QUESTIONS? 53

54 Selected References Davidson, L., Chinman, M., Kloos, B., Weingarten, R., Stayner, D. & Tebes, J.K. (1999). Peer support among individuals with severe mental illness: A review of the evidence. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6(2), Finfgeld-Connett, D. (2005). Clarification of social support. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 37(1), 4-9. Kennedy-Moore, E. & Watson, J. C.. (2001). How and when does emotional expression help? Review of General Psychology, 5(3), Lietz, C., & Strength, M. (2011). Stories of successful reunification: A narrative study of family resilience in child welfare. Families in society. 92(2), Thoits, P. A. (1986). Social support as coping assistance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54(4),

55 Selected References Berrick, J.D., Cohen, E., & Anthony, E. (2011). Partnering with parents: Promising approaches to improve reunification outcomes for children in foster care. Journal of Family Strengths, 11(1), Article 14. Available at: Berrick, J. D., Young, E. W., Cohen, E., & Anthony, E. (2011). I am the face of success: Peer mentors in child welfare. Child and Family Social Work. 16(2). Frame, L. C., Conley, A., & Berrick, J. D. (2006). The real work is what they do together: Peer support and child welfare services. Families in Society, 87(4), Frame, L. C., Berrick, J. D., & Knittel, J. (2010). Parent mentors in child welfare: A paradigm shift from traditional services. The Source. 20(1),