The group focuses on building respectful partnerships with youth/young adult, identifying the needs and

helping the youth/young adult recognize self-efficacy while building partnership between families,

communities, and system stakeholders in achieving the desired outcomes. This service provides the

training and support necessary to promote engagement and active participation of the youth/young

adult in the supports/treatment/recovery planning process for the youth and assistance with the

ongoing implementation and reinforcement of skills learned throughout the treatment/support process.

YPS is a supportive relationship between a youth/young adult and a CPS-Y that promotes respect, trust,

and warmth and empowers the group participants to make choices and decisions to enhance their

family recovery.

The following are among the wide range of specific interventions and supports which are expected and

allowed in the provision of this service:

1. Facilitating peer support in and among the participating group youth/young adult members.

2. Assisting youth/young adult in gaining skills to promote the their recovery process (e.g., selfadvocacy, developing natural supports, etc.).

3. Support youth/young adult voice and choice by assisting the family in assuming the lead roles in all

multi-disciplinary team meetings.

4. Listening to the youth/young adults needs and concerns from a peer perspective and offering

suggestions for engagement in planning process.

5. Providing ongoing emotional support, modeling and mentoring during all phases of the planning

services/support planning process.

6. Promoting and planning for family and youth recovery, resilience and wellness.

7. Working with the youth/young adult to identify, articulate and build upon their strengths while

addressing their concerns, needs and opportunities.

8. Helping youth/young adults better understand choices offered by service providers, and assisting

with understanding policies, procedures, and regulations that impact the identified youth while

living in the community.

Understanding Youth Peer Support Services 3 | Page

9. Ensuring the engagement and active participation of the family and youth in the planning process

and guiding youth/young adult toward taking a pro-active and self-managing role in their treatment.

10. Assisting the youth/young adult with the acquisition of the skills and knowledge necessary to sustain

an awareness of their youth's needs as well as his/her strengths and the development and

enhancement of the family's unique problem-solving skills, coping mechanisms, and strategies for

the youth's illness/symptom/behavior management.

11. Assisting the youth/young adult and family participants in coordinating with other youth-serving

systems, as needed, to achieve the youth/family goals.

12. As needed, assisting communicating youth/young adult needs to multi-disciplinary team members,

while also building the youth/young adult skills in self-articulating; needs/desires/preferences for

treatment and support with the goal of full family-guided, youth-driven self-management.

13. Supporting, modeling, and coaching youth/young adult to help with their engagement in all healthrelated processes.

14. Coaching youth/young adult in developing systems advocacy skills in order to take a proactive role in

their treatment and to obtain information and advocate with all youth-serving systems.

15. Cultivating the youth/young adult ability to make informed, independent choices including a

network for information and support which will include others who have been through similar

experiences.

16. Building the youth/young adult skills, knowledge, and tools related to the identified condition/

related symptoms so that the youth/family can assume the role of self-monitoring and selfmanagement; and assisting the youth/young adult participants in understanding:

a) Various system processes, how these relate to the youth’s recovery process, and their valued

role (e.g. crisis planning, IRP process).

b) What a behavioral health diagnosis means and what a journey to recovery may look like.

c) The role of services/prescribed medication in diminishing/managing the symptoms of that

condition and increasing resilience and functioning in living with that condition.

17. Empowering the youth/young adult and family on behalf of the recipient; providing information

regarding the nature, purpose, and benefits of all services; providing interventions and support; and

providing overall support and education to a caregiver to ensure that he or she is well equipped to

support the youth in service transition/upon discharge and have natural supports and be able to

navigate service delivery systems.

18. Identifying the importance of Self Care, addressing the need to maintain family whole health and

wellness to ultimately support the youth with a behavioral health condition.

19. Assisting the family participants in self-advocacy promoting family-guided, youth-driven services and

interventions.

20. Drawing upon their own experience, helping the youth/family find and maintain hope as a tool for

progress towards recovery.

21. Assisting youth and families with identifying goals, representing those goals to the collaborative,

multi-disciplinary treatment team, and, together, taking specific steps to achieve those goals