Parent Peer Support – Core Competencies and Skills
Parent to parent peer support builds effective engagement and can facilitate more positive outcomes for a family. This one-to-one, face-to- face intensive work is provided by trained caregivers with lived experience and usually offered in the family’s home and community based upon the family’s schedule and preference. Sessions and length of service varies based upon the needs of the family, programmatic guidelines and funding requirements. Parent Peer Support Providers (PPSPs) can be employed in positions across the spectrum of service intensity levels, from trainers and community education, to individual parent support and care coordination, to functioning the member of a treatment team in a residential or inpatient setting. Regardless of their position or service program, it is important that PPSPs receive training on the core competencies and skills sets of parent peer support. The FREDLA PPS Practice Model offers this essential training, as well as training in effective supervision of the PPSP
workforce and coaching for both supervisors (implementation) and for trainers of the Practice Model.
Parent Peer Support Practice Model
Training for Parent Peer Support Providers (5 day training) The PPS Practice Model provides a framework for the essential functions of a Parent Peer Support Provider, offering training and practicing of skills across the 6 phases of parent peer support: Connect, Discover, Support, Empower, Prepare and Take Care. Each of the phases has a specific focus and accompanying skill sets:
- Connect – Presenting self as peer and establishing role with family
- Discover – Understanding family level of need, strengths, and goals
- Support – Support of family across systems, including developing and implementing a support plan with tasks and building collaborative relationships
- Empower — Empowering families and informing systems around family perspective, family voice and choice, and family-driven services
- Prepare – Transitioning from formal support, including the development of ongoing plan for support and acknowledging skills learned
- Take Care — PPS Provider self-care and maintaining role
Training for Supervisors (3 day training) Supervision is a key component in the success of Parent Peer Support Providers. Supervisors must employ a developmental approach that promotes the unique lived experience of the PPSP and encourages ongoing professional development. This training addresses supervisory skills that will support the work of the PPSP, including creating a supportive environment, maintaining fidelity and accountability to the PPSP role, workplace wellness, and opportunities for growth and advancement. Suggested strategies and tools are provided for use in individual supervision.
Contact Information
Wanda Cummings, MSW
FPSS Training Coordinator
Youth and Family Training Institute
Email: cummingsw@upmc.edu