
Are you a Parent or Caregiver Interested in Receiving Parent Peer Support Services?
Parent/Family Peer Support is a peer‐to‐peer approach to working with caregivers of children struggling with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges
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Provided by a trained caregiver with lived experience
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Work individually with families and as part of a team
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Regular supervision and access to clinical consultation
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Provided in a variety of venues (FREDLA)
Research suggests that parent peer support offers parents and other caregivers:
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Emotional connection
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Informational and educational support
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Support for parents
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Concrete, task-related support
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Living proof of resilience and recovery
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Providing empathic listening and emotional support
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Assisting families in navigating systems
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Supplying information about child‐serving systems, children’s behavioral health, and community resources
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Rendering advocacy support
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Encouraging self‐care activities
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Facilitating caregiver engagement with service providers
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Modeling collaboration between families and systems
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Engaging in safety and care planning; exploring and eliminating barriers to care plan follow‐through
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Offering skill‐building for caregivers that enhances resiliency, communication, advocacy, and other areas affecting the ability to maintain an individual with complex needs in the home, school, and community
WHY?
Why?
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Decreased caregiver stress
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Increased satisfaction with services
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Improved Health and Mental Health Outcomes
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Increased engagement in treatment
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Increased retention in treatment
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Decreased costly interventions for example, out of home placements
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Increased family and youth involvement
WHAT?
What does the research say?
Research suggests that parent peer support offers parents and other caregivers:
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Increased sense of collaboration with trained professionals
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Increased sense of self-efficacy in their ability to care for their child
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Increased empowerment to become active participants in their child’s services
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Decreased internalized blame by helping to reframe experiences and debunking stigma around behavioral health conditions
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Decreased feelings of family isolation by identifying and accessing community and natural supports
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Recognition of the importance of self-care
How?
How do I request this service?
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If you would like to request a parent peer support provider or learn more about this service, please submit the request form here.