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What is a Family Advocate?

An Advocate is an individual who has raised or cared for a child, youth, or adolescent with mental health or co-occurring disorders and has worked with multiple agencies / providers in mental, physical health, developmental disabilities, substance use, juvenile justice, child welfare, education, and other state and local service systems.

A parent or caregiver has been trained in System of Care Approach to assist in accessing and receiving supports and services.

Definitions

Child-Serving Systems/Agencies: Examples include but are not limited to mental health, substance abuse, primary care, education, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems.

Community Representatives: Examples include but are not limited to: Non-traditional agencies and organizations, Clergy, or Faith Based Organizations, Mental Health Therapists, Insurance Company Representatives, Legal, Juvenile Justice, Schools, Vocational Trainers, Community Action Agencies, Recreational-Coaches, Policy Makers, Law Enforcement, Probation, etc.

Family Advocate (FA): A parent or caregiver who has raised or cared for children, youth or adolescent with mental health or co-occurring disorders and have worked with multiple agencies and providers in mental health, physical health, substance use, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities and other state, local service systems. A FA assists in accessing and receiving service for children, youth or adolescent with mental health or co-occurring disorders; The FA is a parent or caregiver trained in system of care approach to assist families in accessing and receiving services and supports for children and adolescents with mental health or co-occurring disorders.

Family Systems Navigator: An individual who has been trained in a system of care approach with skills to assist families, children and adolescents with mental health or co-occurring disorders in accessing and receiving services and supports and has worked with multiple agencies and providers, including mental health, substance use, juvenile justice, physical health, developmental disabilities, educational, and other state and local service systems.

Family Support Partner (FSP): A parent or guardian with strong community connections who is raising or has raised a child with mental health or behavioral health disorders, is able to make informed decisions while serving on the wraparound team to engage families and actively participate on the wraparound team . The FSP is trained in the system of care approach, is very knowledgeable about resources, services and supports for families. The FSP has experience working with multiple agencies, including mental health, substance use, juvenile justice, physical health, educational, and other local and state service systems.

Family Member: A family member is a person who is raising or has raised a child , youth, or adolescent with special physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, developmental or educational needs. As a family member, they have experienced working with multiple systems, agencies at both local and state level and individual community providers. A family member can be recognized and utilized as collaborators by serving on state and local boards, committees, coalitions. Family members are also hired as Individualized Service Plan Care Managers, Evaluators, Family Advocates, Facilitators and Trainers.

High Fidelity Wraparound: An individualized approach to assisting children, youth and their families with complex needs. Service providers, natural supports and the youth along with their family work together to help achieve the family vision. The team honors the strengths, voice and culture of the family to build confidence and experience success at home, school nd in the community.

Service Providers: Examples include but are not limited to: mental health, substance abuse, recreational, vocational, health services, the educational and juvenile justice systems.

System Of Care

A system of care is a coordinated, integrated network of community-based services and supports that are organized to meet the challenges of youth with serious mental health and other complex needs and their families. Families and youth work in partnership with public and private organizations to design mental health services and supports that are effective, that build on the strengths of individuals, and that address each person’s cultural and linguistic needs. A system of care helps children, youth and families function better at home, in school, in the community and throughout life (Stoul et al., 2016)

From the: Guide to Sound Business Practices for Family-Run Organizations in Children’s Mental Health”.

System of Care Definitions

Child-centered: Services meet the individual needs of the child, consider the child’s family and community contexts, and are developmentally appropriate, strength-based, and child-specific.

Family-focused: Services recognize that the family is the primary support system for the child and participates as a full partner in all stages of the decision-making and treatment-planning process.

Community-based: Whenever possible, services are delivered in the child’s home community, drawing on formal and informal resources to promote the child’s successful participation in the community.

Multisystem: Services are planned in collaboration with all the child-serving systems involved in a child’s life.

Culturally competent: Services recognize and respect the behavior, ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, customs, language, rituals, ceremonies, and practices characteristic of the child’s and family ethnic group.

Least restrictive/least intrusive: Services take place in settings that are the most appropriate and natural for the child and family and are the least restrictive and intrusive available to meet the needs of the child and family.

See the System of Care Model

Family–Driven Organizations

An Organization with the explicit purpose to serve families who have a child, youth or adolescent with special physical, emotional, mental, behavioral, substance use, developmental and /or educational needs. It is governed by a board and comprised of a majority of individuals who are family members.

Family organizations have an independent governing structure. They give preference to family members in promoting family involvement at the local, state, and national levels. Hiring practices are also preferenced to family members.

What is Culture?

There are many interpretations surrounding the various definitions of culture.

A Way of Life for a group of people that encompasses behaviors, beliefs, values, traditions, symbols, practices that are passed along via verbal or non-verbal communication, initiation from generation to generation. A system of traditions, beliefs and values in a societal group that are dynamic

Gives Meaning to the Reality of Life .

Definitions in Culture

Cultural Competence:: The ability to interact effectively with people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, while being respectful, meaningful and responsive to the beliefs, cultural values, practices and linguistic needs of different groups of individuals, families and children. Cultural Competence serves to ensure the needs of everyone of all communities are being addressed. This occurs along a continuum.

Cultural Responsiveness : An inclusive approach of inquiry and then action to foster effective programs, and practices that are meaningful and respectful of the cultural perspective and condition within a community.

Cultural Congruence: The ability to be meaningful and positively respond to someone else’s cultural reality. This responsiveness is necessary in all areas of interpersonal interaction, particularly in relationships where significant power imbalances exist. Culturally congruent practices, interventions and strategies are consistent with the cultural values, beliefs, histories and learning styles of the specific cultural group(s) being served.

Cultural Humility:

Life -long process of self reflection and self critique whereby and individual learns about another’s culture but one begins the examination of his or her own beliefs and cultural identities.

Cultural Sensitivity:

Simple cultural knowledge, cultural awareness and acceptance of other cultures and others cultural identities.

Cultural Identity:

The feeling of belonging or identifying with a particular group of people in society.

One’s own personal conception and self perception; related to an ethnicity, social class, race, distinct culture, religion, geographical area, nationality, or social group.

SAMHSA.HHS.gov

Youth Guided Care

Youth-Guided means that youth are engaged as equal partners in creating systems change in policies and procedures at the individual, community, State and national levels.

Youth Guided Policy

Youth are invited to meetings

Training and support is provided for youth on what the meeting is about

Youth and board are beginning to understand the role of youth at the policy-making level.

Trauma

the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual and their ability to cope, causes feelings of fear, helplessness, diminishes one’s sense of self and their ability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences.

See more on Trauma

More Definitions

Co-Occurring Diagnosis: Is a term used to describe an individual, child or youth who has at least one diagnosis of mental health and a substance use disorder.

Dual Diagnosis: Is a term used to describe an individual , child or youth who has at least one diagnosis of mental health and intellectual developmental disorder/disability.

Intellectual Developmental Disability (IDD): Disorders that present at birth (usually) or early on in the child’s life. Negatively affects the trajectory of the individual’s physical, intellectual, emotional development. Many of these disorders or conditions affect multiple functions of the bodily systems or parts.

Autism: A developmental disorder in a wider spectrum and variable levels of severity affecting the nervous system that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication also by restrictive and repetitive patterns of thoughts, concepts and behaviors.

Down Syndrome: A congenital disorder from a chromosome defect ( involving chromosome 21) causing intellectual impairment and delays often includes physical abnormalities including shorter stature, a broader facial profile.

Cognitive Learning Disability : (Also know as intellectual learning disability) describing a person who has greater difficulty with mental tasks . The individual with a minor cognitive learning disability may be able to function adequately to the extent that the disability may go undiagnosed.

Physical Disability : A physical condition that affects a person’s mobility, physical capacity, stamina, or dexterity This may include the brain, spinal cord, muscular system, respiratory, hearing and /or visual systems.

504- plan: Section 504 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973-designed to assist parents of students with physical or mental challenges/impairments in public schools or publicly funded private schools, work with educators to designs customized educational plans. Modifies a student’s regular education plan in a regular classroom setting.

Individual Education Plan (IEP): Also known as IEP ( established as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA-2004) is a plan developed to ensure a child with an identified disability who is attending a elementary or secondary educational school or learning institution receives specialized support, instruction and related services. Includes skills assessment of strengths and weaknesses, correct diagnosis, current performance indicators, valid interventions, realistic and measurable goals, short term objectives, social considerations.

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