Trauma-Informed FlourishCare Paraprofessional Program
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The Trauma-Informed FlourishCare Paraprofessional Program is designed to provide individuals with personal experience in trauma or substance use recovery a rewarding career pathway in behavioral health.
Why Choose a Career as a Community Health Worker?
For many who have navigated personal recovery from trauma or substance use, the opportunity to assist others can be profoundly meaningful. Our participants share that this program allows them to use their lived experiences to support others in ways that only someone who has "been there" can understand. The FlourishCare Paraprofessional Program provides the training, support, and tools to make a real difference.
Program Pathways & Benefits
We offer two training levels to support your goals:
Pre-Apprenticeship Program
- Duration: 6 months
- Training: 130 hours of classroom and hands-on learning
- Stipend: $6,000 to support living expenses
- Certification: Earn the Kentucky Adult Peer Support Specialist Certification if you have personal experience with trauma, mental health, or substance use recovery.
Eligibility
- Applicants need to be U.S. residents or permanent citizens, age 18 or older, with a high school diploma or GED.
- Applicants may not be currently certified as Adult Peer Support Specialist, Family Peer Support Specialist, Community Support Associate, or Community Health Worker in the state of Kentucky.
After applying, select candidates will be invited to an interview.
Next Steps
Graduates of this program can move into the full-time Apprenticeship Program.
Apprenticeship Program
- Employment: Full-time, with benefits, at a primary care center
- Training: 72 hours of additional virtual classroom learning
- Stipend: $8,500 for living expenses
- Further Certifications: Gain Community Support Associate, Family Peer Support Specialist, and Trauma-Informed FlourishCare™ Community Health Worker credentials
- Career Path: A full year of work experience in behavioral health to build skills and advance your career
Training Programs Overview
The Kentucky Family Leadership Academy serves as foundational training for our Adult Peer Support Specialist curriculum and is a state-required prerequisite to training as a Family Peer Support Specialist or Youth Peer Support Specialist. In this training, learners explore the six competencies of Family Leadership, including Leadership Roles and Styles, Communication Skills, Decision Making Skills, Dealing with Conflict, Effective Advocacy, and Collaboration and Partnership. The Trager Institute is approved by the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) to provide this 15-hour training and certification.
The Adult Peer Support Specialist training prepares learners with lived experience and a desire to assist others through peer support. Adult Peer Support Specialists (PSS) are self-identified consumers of mental health, substance use, or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder services who have successfully completed the adult peer support specialist training. The role of a PSS is not to replace current clinical mental health staff but to offer additional and alternative options to help people in their efforts to recover. This curriculum explores the six competencies of Adult Peer Support, including Problem-Solving, Wellness Recovery Action Plan, Stages in the Recovery Process, Effective Listening Skills, Establishing Recovery Goals, and Using Support Groups to Promote and Sustain Recovery. The Trager Institute is approved by the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) to provide this 30-hour training and certification.
The Community Support Associate training prepares learners to be certified as Community Support Associates in Kentucky. Learners must have at least one (1) year of full-time experience working with individuals who receive services for treatment of a mental health disorder or co-occurring disorder. The training covers ten competencies, including Engaging Consumers and Family Members, Behavioral Health Crisis Management, Self-Advocacy and Navigation Skills, Behavior Modification: Planning and Implementation, Ethics, Cultural Competency, Documentation and Regulations, Mental Health and Substance Use Issues, Strength-Based Approach To Services, and Developmental Perspectives Across the Lifespan. The Trager Institute is approved by the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) to provide this 10-hour training and certification.
The Community Health Worker (Tier 1) Foundational training prepares learners for certification as Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the state of Kentucky. Our Trauma-Informed FlourishCare curriculum explores and applies all core competencies – Communication; Use of Public Health Concepts and Approaches; Organizational and Community Outreach; Advocacy and Community Capacity Building; Care Coordination and System Navigation; Health Coaching; Documentation, Reporting, and Outcome Management; and Legal, Ethical, and Professional Conduct. Community health work is a growing field of work, and our trauma-informed lens of training prepares learners to integrate community health work into any team for holistic care of all served. This curriculum is approved by the Kentucky Department for Public Health Office of Community Health Workers to provide Foundational (Tier 1) training for Community Health Workers.
2025 Training Dates
September 9, 16, 23, 30
December 3, 5, 10, 12
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
All dates in each month are required with asynchronous pre-work before each synchronous meeting time.
The Family Peer Support Specialist training prepares learners to support children and families through peer support. Family Peer Support Specialists are self-identified parents or other family members who have lived experience with a child client receiving services related to a mental health, substance use, or co-occurring mental health and substance use disability from at least one child-serving agency. The Trager Institute is seeking approval by the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) to provide this 30-hour training and certification.
Ready to Start Your Journey?
Thank you for your interest in the Trauma-Informed FlourishCare Paraprofessional Program. While applications are currently closed, we encourage you to check back in spring 2026 for the next enrollment period.
Contact
Natalie Gober
Program Manager
natalie.vickous@louisville.edu
This project (M01HP424540) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $2,216,000 with 0 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.