Family Consultant – Family Resolutions Specialty Court

Are you passionate about helping parents resolve their family conflict and improve their parenting practices?

Join Behavioral Health Network’s team of competent and compassionate professionals as a part-time (approximately 20 hours per week) Family Consultant at the Hampshire Probate and Family Court’s Family Resolutions Specialty Court (FRSC) in Northampton, MA!.

Family Consultants are mental health professionals appointed to FRSC families. They guide parents through the FRSC process and provide clinical expertise to complement the legal perspective. As a Family Consultant, you will be part of a team that includes a mediator, a child’s attorney, the parents and their attorneys (if they are represented), and a Team Coordinator. The team’s mission is to support parents and their children, reduce conflict, and address each family member’s needs as the parents process their court action. FRSC team members work individually with parents and collaboratively with the team to achieve a less stressful and more family-focused outcome. Team members frequently comment that this work is some of the most professionally rewarding of their careers.

The Family Consultant:

• Educates and counsels parents on child development issues, communication skills, cooperative parenting, and referrals for other services.
• Helps create parenting plans.
• Attends team meetings and court conferences.

This position offers a $5000 sign-on bonus.

Who are we?

FRSC is a multidisciplinary problem-solving specialty court at the Hampshire Probate and Family Court. FRSC received a specialty court designation from the Massachusetts Trial Court in 2015 and began serving families in 2016. Since then, FRSC has served 66 families and 102 children. Although located in Northampton, FRSC takes cases from all four Western Massachusetts counties. FRSC was inspired by Australia’s Less Adversarial Trial and Colorado’s Center for Out-of-Court Divorce. However, it is the first court-based program of its kind in the United States.

Behavioral Health Network is a growing non-profit community behavioral health agency that has been providing services to children, adults, families and communities in Western Massachusetts since 1938. BHN provides comprehensive, outcome-driven behavioral health care. We are dedicated to offering high quality, affordable and culturally appropriate care to people of all ages and income levels in our constituent communities.

Reasons to work with BHN:

• Work with an agency who does amazing things for others
• You will be able to change a person’s life
• You will expand your experience in various areas of mental & behavioral health
• You will have the opportunity to grow within the agency
• You will not be bored with our fast-paced environment
• You will have excellent benefits package & time off benefits available

What are we looking for in a Family Consultant?

• Master’s degree or higher in a mental health field (required).
• Independently licensed in a mental health field (LICSW, LMHC) (required).
• Familiarity with local services and providers (parent education, mental health treatment, substance use treatment, and special education, (required).
• Knowledge of adult development in the context of family dissolution and family conflict (required).
• Knowledge of child development and development in the context of family dissolution and family conflict (required).
• Experience in and commitment to working collaboratively with a team (required).
• Experience with the court system as a Guardian Ad Litem, expert witness, or through educational opportunities such as specialized courses regarding family law (preferred).

How do I apply to be a Family Consultant?

If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit our website at www.bhnworks.org and click on “Browse All Jobs” to apply!

BHN maintains its commitment to social justice and diversity and strongly encourages diverse candidates to apply.