Skills that can be assigned to this core competency include:

• Holistic Approach to Wellness​

• Promoting Resiliency​

• Recovery Principles​

• Impact of Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Grief

• Wellness Education​

• Parenting and Caregiving Skills​

• Self-Care and Community Care Strategies (For Providers and Families)

Field examples may include:

• Using lived experiences to provide support, encouragement, and hope​

• Assisting families in building self-confidence / self-esteem​

• Assisting families in building stability in their lives (Maslow’s Hierarchy)​

• Applying a holistic view of family members’ physical, social, mental, and spiritual strengths and goals

• Identifying family strengths, goals, and outcomes​

• Participating in crisis and safety planning​

• Educating families about the holistic approach to wellness​

• Designing self-care strategies (for providers and families) ​

• Applying understanding of the impact of trauma, compassion, fatigue, burnout, and grief​ to family support work

• Promoting and modeling resiliency​

• Incorporating recovery principles​

• Providing wellness education resources​

• Reinforcing positive parenting and caregiving skills ​

Skills that can be assigned to this core competency include:

• Building Collaborative Partnerships

• Problem-Solving

• Relationship-Building

• Effective Advocacy

• Addressing Prejudice and Discrimination

• Systems Navigation

• Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills

• Interpersonal Skills​

Field examples may include:

• Demonstrating effective communication strategies​

• Promoting family voice and choice at all levels of systems service​

• Assisting families in asserting their rights to meet their goals

• Supporting, teaching, and coaching primary caregivers to identify and articulate their family’s dreams and goals​

• Engaging families to identify needed systems changes or issues​

• Strategically sharing lived experience to effect policy change and assist families to do the same​

• Partnering with families/caregivers and professionals to build collaborative relationships​

• Articulating the values of fostering cooperation between families and family-serving systems ​

• Modeling effective strategies for families without being directive​

• Reframing challenges using strength-based language​

• Advocating in a solution-focused manner​

• Mentoring​

• Creating relationships that build resilience​

• Mastering the use of interpersonal skills​

Skills that can be assigned to this core competency include:

• Supporting Families Identify and Use Natural​ Supports​

• Supporting Families Access and Navigate Local Resources​

• Identifying Family Strengths, Goals, and​ Outcomes

• ​Crisis and Safety Planning

• ​Family Relationship Building​

• System Partner Relationship Building​

Field examples may include:

• Demonstrating knowledge of community-based resources and how to access, including funding options​

• Collaborating with groups to pool resources​

• Negotiating successfully with the community partners to meet families’ needs​

• Assisting the family to identify goals and develop a plan for success across all life domains​

• Demonstrating the ability to provide necessary information and options on resources and support in order to support families to make informed decisions​

• Assisting families to identify and use natural supports​

• Supporting families to access and navigate local resources​

• Promoting positive family relationship building​

• Creating opportunities for system partner relationship building ​

• Assisting family members to identify and build informal family and community supports​

• Identifying transition resources ​

Knowledge of policies, processes, and navigation of the following systems can be assigned to this core competency:

• Education​

• Behavioral Health / Mental Health​

• Substance Use​

• Justice System​

• Health Care​

• Child Welfare​

• Housing

• Use of Peer Services​

• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities​

• Social Services​

• Legal Rights and Responsibilities in System Supports​

Field examples may include:

• Demonstrating general knowledge of all systems listed above and advocacy within those systems

• Describing basic tenets of guardianship and trusts​

• Promoting understanding of caregiver rights and responsibilities in system supports / behavioral health / recovery / resilience​

• Knowing the stages in the recovery process​

• Applying recovery and resilience principles within various systems

• Managing crisis and emergency situations​

• Demonstrating general knowledge of diagnostic profiles and treatment options​

This broadly encompassing category would cover knowledge of all systems that touch children, transition-age youth, adults, and loved ones involved in their lives as well. ​

Skills that can be assigned to this core competency include:

• Basic Work Skills​

• Knowledge of Policies​

• Ethics​

• Confidentiality​

• Boundaries​

• Professional Development​

• Demonstrating Cultural Humility​

Field examples may include:

• Demonstrating knowledge of basic workplace skills​

• Addressing peer drift by explaining the distinction between youth peer support, adult peer support, family peer support, and clinical services to supervisors

• Practicing cultural humility​

• Applying ethical standards​

• Conducting self with integrity ​

• Knowing and adhering to policies and procedures​

• Understanding personal and professional limitations and implicit biases

• Incorporating standards of confidentiality​

• Displaying professional appearance, attitude, and communication​

• Using self-disclosure appropriately​

• Treating colleagues and families with respect​

In 2007, the National Federation of Families began the process of developing a national certification for CFPS's. National certification was developed to provide a structure for individuals who were performing family peer support services to become certified. Certification was developed through the work of subject matter experts from across the country. The national certification exam was designed by a psychometrician with input from numerous families. The cornerstone for this work continues to be the principle of "lived experience."

In 2012, the National Federation launched the national certification examination for CFPS's. As the field of peer support matured, it was incumbent upon us to revise the examination questions and protocol to incorporate lessons learned and to reflect the evolution of the field.

To that end, in 2018, the National Federation of Families' Core Competencies Revision Project began with two clear goals:

1. To update the National Competencies and the exam used to certify the Family Peer Support Workforce.

2. To ensure the revised CFPS credential continues to meet high standards of ethical and professional practice for family peer support services and the proficiency and competency of family peer support providers.

The final published paper and presentation regarding the Core Competencies Revision Project were completed in fall of 2019. We encourage you to explore these if you are interested in the history of certification and the development of the current national core competencies.