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CFP

Certified Family Partner

Texas Peer Certification for Parents and Guardians of children who have navigated mental, emotional, or behavioral health challenges

What is it like working as a Peer Specialist?

Here’s what Peer Specialists say about working in the field and their advice for newcomers.

What is a Certified Family Partner?

Certified Family Partners are trained to use their lived experience to help other parents/guardians for the purpose of educating, role modeling and providing hope related to the recovery process. Family partners work to give voice to, and promote recovery and resiliency within, families of children with mental, emotional and behavioral health challenges. They work to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health in schools, faith-based communities, state agencies and communities. It is a form of family peer support and is recognized by SAMHSA as an evidence-based practice.

A Certified Family Partner is a parent or guardian who has lived experience raising a child with mental, emotional, or behavioral health challenges and has at least one year of successfully navigating a child-serving system. This person may be a:

  • Birth parent
  • Adoptive parent, foster parent
  • Legally recognized family member standing in for an absent parent; or
  • A person chosen by the family or youth to have the role of parent

Eligibility Requirements

Individuals interested in becoming certified as a Certified Family Partner (CFP) must meet the following eligibilty criteria:

  • Be currently employed as a Family Partner
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Have a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate issued in accordance with the law of the issuing state
  • Be the parent or Legal Authorized Representative of a child/youth with behavioral health needs
  • Have at least one year of lived experience as a child’s parent or legal guardian (with documented legal authority) navigating a child-serving system (e.g., mental health, substance use, juvenile justice, social security, special education) for a child with a serious emotional disorder, mental health and or substance use condition
  • Pass criminal history and registry checks
  • Be willing to publicly identify as a parent or caregiver with lived experience parenting a child with behavioral health needs
  • Live full-time in Texas
  • Employed with a Medicaid eligible organization
  • Willing to complete and pass the Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC) approved certification process within one year (see below)

What do CFPs do?

Certified Family Partners focus on empowering and informing families caring
for loved ones with a mental health and/or substance use condition. Families
face many challenges including navigating complex service systems and
experiencing emotional and financial stress. CFP services are an array of
formal and informal services and supports that include:

  • Introducing parents, LARs, or primary caregivers to the mental health and substance use system.
  • Increasing parent/LARs engagement in services.
  • Modeling advocacy skills.
  • Providing education and information.
  • Making referrals.
  • Conducting support groups.
  • Educating families, providers and the community about family driven
    voice and choice.
  • Facilitating and assisting in identifying formal and informal community
    resources and support.
  • Coaching, and skills training for the parent(s)/guardian(s).
  • Providing education and assistance in navigating the child serving systems (child welfare, education, behavioral/mental health, juvenile justice, school, primary care, etc.).
  • Empowering family to make their own decisions and take control of
    their life.
  • Assisting family in learning how to problem solve, set goals, make
    decisions, and advocate for their family.
  • Assisting the parent/guardian to articulate the family’s strengths,
    needs and goals.
  • Attending appropriate meetings to provide support as requested by the parent(s)/guardian(s).
  • Work to give voice to, and promote recovery and resiliency within,
    families of children with mental, emotional and behavioral health
    challenges.
  • Work to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health in
    schools, faith-based communities, state agencies and communities.

CFP

Certification Steps

Becoming certified as a family partner requires candidates:

  1. Meet minimum eligibility qualifications (see above);
  2. Have a Medicaid eligible organization email address;
  3. Create a profile on the Centralized Training Infrastructure (CTI)
    website;
  4. Enroll in the no cost certification class on CTI;
  5. Submit Certified Family Partner application;
  6. Complete phone screen interview with certification trainer;
  7. Attend and participate in the 5-day basic certification training;
  8. Pass an exam the last day of the training; and
  9. Apply for initial certification with the Texas Certification Board
    (requires certification training certificate, two references . Please
    click here to visit the Texas Certification Board Certified Family Partner
    certification process and application.
  10. Family Partners have up to one year to complete the full certification
    process.
See the guide

Step-by-Step Guide to CFP Certification

Learn more about each of these steps with this step-by-step guide. We break down every step of the CFP certification process with helpful links and FAQs from the peers we have helped.

CFP Certification
FAQs

Currently, CFP training is offered for free through Centralized Training Infrastructure.

The time it takes to obtain a full MHPS certification can be anywhere between 6 months to a year, depending on how quickly a person completes the training and 250 supervised work experience hours.

Finding CFP Training 

CFP training dates can be searched for using the PeerForce CFP training calendar or by visiting the Centralized Training Infrastructures online calendar.

Another option is to reference the list of certified Training Entities on the Texas Certification Board website, and look at their respective training calendars for upcoming dates.

Registering for Training

The registration process for MHPS, RSPS, CFP, and PSS training is different for each training entity. Typically, you will need to submit your personal information and proof that you have completed the online state orientation module (if you are registering for Peer Specialist Core training).

If you have questions and want to learn more about becoming a CFP, you can reach out to PeerForce and talk with one of our support team members. We can answer questions you have about CFP training, certification, and career opportunities. 

The PeerForce wiki has additional FAQs and information articles about CFP certification. 

Check Wiki

The PeerForce wiki has additional FAQs and information articles about CFP certification.