Two recent reports have been released on peer specialists.
The UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care has published The Peer Provider Workforce in Behavioral Health: A Landscape Analysis. The Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health has published a 2016 update of its report on Peer Specialist Training & Certification Programs.
The UCSF report, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, was based on a search of the published literature and the grey literature on peer support in the fields of mental health and substance use. The comprehensive findings describe: peer support roles, settings and models; integration into traditional care; evidence of efficacy; infrastructure to support and fund peer workers; training and certification; peer provider concerns; and outstanding research questions. The report is available at here.
The TIEMH report describes the efforts of the 41 states and the District of Columbia to train and certify peer specialists. It primarily focuses on mental health. Detailed tables are presented for each state including information such as: program descriptions; application procedures; name of the certification or credential; training content; number of individuals trained and certified; eligibility for Medicaid reimbursement; and competencies. Jessica Wolf, Annapolis Coalition Senior Consultant, contributed to the report, which can be accessed at here.