Family and Youth Support Partners…
Doing What They Do Best
‘Do For’ ‘Do With’ ‘Cheer On’
Presented by:
Youth and Family Training Institute
for the Federation of Families
Conference November 13-17,2013
Presented By:
• Christine Snyder – (Family), Credentialed Family Support
Partner (FSP), Family Support Partner Specialist with the
Youth and Family Training Institute
• Chad Owens – (Youth), Credentialed Youth Support
Partner (YSP),Youth Support Partner Specialist with the
Youth and Family Training Institute
The Youth and Family Training Institute is the High Fidelity Wraparound
Training Provider for the Pennsylvania System of Care Partnership.
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Quotes from
Support Partners
FSP QUOTE
“Working as a Family
Support Partner is like
someone giving you a
puzzle without the picture.
You have to figure out how
all the pieces fit in order to
help the family reach their
goals.”
- Mary Motley
YSP Quote
“We are young professionals
that sometimes need more
than a little guidance on how
to maintain our role but are
very essential to families to
have. We are worth the
work.”
- Anonymous YSP
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Goals &
Objectives
• List three activities of a High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW)
Family and Youth Support Partner
• Discuss how the HFW Strength, Needs & Cultural Discovery
(SNCD or Discovery) can guide the work of the support
partners
• To explain the concept of ‘Do For, Do With & Cheer On’
• Participate in behavioral rehearsals highlighting the skills that
enhance the relationship between the support partners and
the youth/families
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Responsibilities of
Support Partners
• Ensure and empower youth/family voice and choice
with the planning process and actual plan
• Support improved self-efficacy and confidence
• Able to “truth tell with respect” to the youth/families
and team members
• Promote and strengthen healthy relationships and
supports. To help rebuild ‘burned bridges’
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Responsibilities of
Support Partners
Continued
• Help System Partners/Natural Supports understand
the culture and strengths of the youth/family while
staying focused on the overall needs of the team
• Use the youth/family personal story effectively to
teach through experiences
• To communicate as a team with the facilitator and
support partner to assist in positive outcomes for
youth/family
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Differences in
Responsibilities
Youth Support Partner
Family Support Partner
Provide support directly to the youth
Provide support directly to the family
Connects youth with other youth
Connects families with other families
Helps others understand the specific
youth “culture”
Can provide support to the youth
when a YSP is not assigned or
present
Working as a liaison between team
members and youth
Working as a liaison between team
members and family members
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Qualifications of
Support Partners
• Strong communication skills
• Maintain non-judgmental attitude toward
families/youth & professionals
• Ability to work with a team and have strong time
management skills
• Ability to share story appropriately, with passion, not
emotion
• Should have a high school education or GED
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Qualifications
Continued
• Should have knowledge about resources within
their own community
• Experience with behavioral health challenges and
self awareness
• Ability to work with a team of youth/family members
and System Partners
• Someone who is able to share their stories to teach
through experience and provide HOPE
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Qualifications
Continued
• Must have reliable transportation
• Assertive, good sense of humor and common
sense
• Outspoken, flexible, motivated, selfdisciplined
• Skilled at leading and inspiring by example
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Differences in
Qualifications
Youth Support Partner
Family Support Partner
Must have “lived experience” within a
child serving system (MH/MR, Behavioral
Health, Child Welfare, JPO, etc.) or may
be a graduate of the HFW Process
A ‘Forever’ person in the parent role who
has been the primary caregiver of a child
with emotional or behavioral concerns
The YSP is generally 2 to 5 years older
than the youth they are working with and
under 25 when they become a YSP
Knowledge of child serving systems and
capabilities to provide the knowledge to
families
Must be successfully managing their own
behavioral health challenges/support (if
needed)
Has been there or may still be going
through it (offers a unique perspective)
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Training/
Credentialing
(PA Specific)
• All High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW) workforce members in
PA receive 5 days of team training
• Mastering of skill-sets created by YFTI for the FSP and YSP
roles as demonstrated by live observation, videotaping and
documentation reviews
• Completed credentialing packet that is submitted to and
maintained by YFTI
• Average length of time from credentialing has gone from 27
months to 12 months since the program began….
** FSP’s and YSP’s work from skill sets that are unique to their individual roles, they
receive coaching that keeps them true to the skill sets and are working with the 12
youth and their families as described in their plan.
Support
• 3 hours of coaching/supervision a week until
credentialed (and is encouraged to continue
after)
• On-going learning activities to be supported
and documented by team coach
(Professional Development Plans)
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Concept of…
‘Do For’, ‘Do With’
and ‘Cheer On’
Do For: Show them how to do it
Do With: Help them do it
Cheer On: Watch them run with it
If you give a person a fish they will eat for a day.
If you teach them to fish they will eat for a lifetime.
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ACTIVITY
Learning how to fish
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Strength Need
Cultural
Discovery(SNCD)
It is a true “story” about the family and youth
which includes the needs, strengths and
cultural from the information given from the
family, youth, supports and system partners.
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Discovery…
What is it
Strengths
• Something the family and youth enjoy
• The good things the family and youth do well
• The overall things that are going well within
the family and youth
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Discovery
Needs
• Can be identified by family and youth
• They are not a service
• Can be short or long term
• System partners and supports can contribute
to needs
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Discovery
Cultural
• Not just ethnicity
• It is what the family and youth believe in
• It is how the family and youth function
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Discovery/SNCD
ACTIVITY
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How the SNCD
guides the work
• Strengths and cultural pieces help in planning
around the needs
• Therefore having needs identified by the
family, youth, and team help in building the
steps to help the family be successful
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RECAP
Questions
And
Answers
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Thanks
Special Thanks
• Youth and Family Training Institute
www.yftipa.org
• System of Care Partnership
www.pasocpartnership.org
• National Wraparound Initiative
www.nwi.pdx.edu
• Federation of Families
www.ffcmh.org
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Additional
Information:
• Shannon Fagan, Director of YFTI
fagansm@upmc.edu
• Christine Snyder, Family Support Partner Specialist
snydercs@upmc.edu
• Chad Owens, Youth Support Partner Specialist
owenscw@upmc.edu
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