In this webinar, Michaele Beebe, Director of Public Policy and Research at United Advocates for Children and Families will discuss: • What certification entails. • SB 614, the Peer Certification bill. • Peer certification accreditation for parents, family members, consumers & youth with lived experience in the mental health, alcohol/drug abuse, foster care, juvenile justice & special education systems.

1. Welcome to the USC UCEDD
Parent/Consumer Webinar Series
funded by grant #90DD0695 from
the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD)
Administration on Community Living
December 10, 2015

2. Your Moderator
2
Susan Kanegawa
USC UCEDD Family Support Coordinator
skanegawa@chla.usc.edu
www.uscucedd.org
The USC University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles (USC UCEDD) is one of 68 UCEDDs funded to promote systemic change, advocacy, and
capacity building in states on behalf of individuals with, or at risk for, developmental, behavioral
and/or special health care needs and their families.
The USC UCEDD Webinar series is designed to educate the community about current policy issues
which impact the lives of people we serve and their families. Our primary audience is individuals
with special needs and their families. However, service providers, program managers, students in
training and others are welcome as space allows. At this time, our webinars are in English only.
We are exploring methods to make this series available in other languages in the future.

3. Structure and Logistics
3
Take notes Type your questions
Download
slides
Watch and
Share
Take
Survey
During the Webinar
After the Webinar
Give your opinion

4. 4
Poll:
Can you hear Susan and Michaele?
Let us know in the chat box if we need to
speak louder.

5. 5
Parent, Peer & Family Certification
Providing Support to Other Families
Michaele Beebe
Director of Research and Public Policy
United Advocates for Children and Families
November 19, 2015

6. 6
About Michaele Beebe
Michaele Beebe is the Director of Public Policy and
Research at United Advocates for Children and
Families (UACF).
She participates in meetings and on committees at
the state level to improve services for children and
families, fight stigma and discrimination, improve
cultural competency, and works to support and
improve laws to better serve children and families
in similar circumstances.
www.uacf4hope.org
mbeebe@uacf4hope.org
(916) 643-1530, Ext. 115

7. 7
Peer
Certification
California
Senate Bill
614
About Peer
Specialists
Peer to Peer
Support
Programs
An Overview of Our Webinar

8. UACF is a statewide, nonprofit 501c3 organization that is
comprised of parents and family members of children
with mental health challenges or serious emotional disorders.
Our membership also includes youth and professionals working
with these children, their families, and children’s mental health
advocates. We are dedicated to promoting the emotional,
behavioral and social well-being of children, youth, and
families through transformational leadership.
8
United Advocates for Children and Families
Parent Leadership Institute

9. UACF
To promote the emotional, behavioral,
and social well-being of children, youth and
families through transformational leadership.
Mission Statement
9

10. 10
Peer
Certification
California
Senate Bill
614
About Peer
Specialists
Peer to Peer
Support
Programs

11.  The purpose of the Peer Certification is to standardize
on a national level the competency of peer support to
individuals with mental health, substance use - and
co-occurring mental health, substance abuse and
developmental disabilities, through standardized testing
and portfolio review.
11
Why Peer Certification

12. “Peer staff are hired to actually use their life experience to
instill hope and to role model recovery. Now, we’re seeing
much better outcomes: less demoralization, more hope.
We’re seeing people become much more actively engaged
in their own recovery and taking care of themselves. We’re
seeing empowerment and we’re seeing decreases in all of
the bad outcomes that we’ve gotten used to.”
 Larry Davidson, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry,
Yale University
12
Universal Support

13. Commonalities
13
All Peer, Family, Parent and Youth Support Specialists
have personal life experiences that give them perspective
and expertise that professional training cannot replicate.
Their life experience is unique, yet common threads
overlap their lives.

14. Peer Certification is a nationally and internationally
(http://inaops.org/training-providers/) recognized
accreditation for parents, family members, consumers
and youth with lived experience in the areas of
Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health, Alcohol and
Substance Abuse, Foster Care, Juvenile Justice and
Special Education systems.
14
What Is Peer Certification?

15. Parent or Family Peer Support Specialists are persons who
have been a parent or major caregiver (including foster
parent) to a child or youth who has/is experiencing and
living with Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health
challenges, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Foster Care,
Juvenile Justice and Special Education systems.
15
Who Are
Parent or Family Peer Support Specialists?

16. Youth Peer Support Specialists are young adults, between
the ages of 18 and 26 years old, who have/had lived
experience with, Developmental Disabilities, Mental
Health, Foster Care, Juvenile Justice and/or Special
Education and/or substance abuse systems, and can have
experience with multiple systems.
16
Who Are Youth Peer Support Specialists?

17. Peer Support Specialists are persons who have/had
personal life experience with, Developmental Disabilities,
Mental Health challenges, and/or Alcohol or other drug
abuse and are willing to self-identify as a peer consumer
and work to assist other individuals with similar
challenges.
17
Who Are Peer Support Specialists?

18.  40 States in the U.S. have existing Peer Certification
 California, South Dakota, Alaska and New Hampshire
do not have Peer Certification
 Nevada, Montana, Colorado, Iowa, Arkansas, Virginia
are in development.
18
Peer Certification in the US

19. Certifying bodies vary within states’ structures.
Costs vary between states.
The commonality is “Lived Experience.”
19
Peer Certifications vary across states

20. To learn more about other states go to:
Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health
School of Social Work
University of Texas at Austin
E-mail: PeerTrainingOverview@utexas.edu
http://www.utexas.edu/ssw/cswr/institutes/mental-health
20
Want more information?

21. 21
Peer
Certification
California
Senate Bill
614
About Peer
Specialists
Peer to Peer
Support
Programs

22. SB 614 was introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D) San
Francisco and Senator Joel Anderson (R) San Marcos
on February 27, 2015.
It passed through Senate Committee hearings and
Assembly Committee hearings with little opposition
and few amendments.
22
California SB 614
Peer Certification

23. This bill would require the State Department of Health
Care Services to establish, by July 1, 2017, (date may
change) a statewide peer and family support specialist
certification program, as a part of the state’s
comprehensive mental health delivery system.
23
California SB 614
Peer Certification

24.  The bill would include 3 certification classes:
 Adult Peer Support Specialists
 Family Peer Support Specialists
 Parent Peer Support Specialists
24
California SB 614
Peer Certification

25. The certification program’s components would include
but are not limited to:
 defining responsibilities and practice guidelines
 determining curriculum and core competencies
 specifying training and continuing education
requirements
 establishing a code of ethics and certification
revocation processes
25
Core Competencies for Certification

26.  The concepts of hope, recovery, and wellness.
 The role of advocacy
 The role of consumers and family members
 Psychiatric rehabilitation skills and service delivery,
and addiction recovery principles, including defined
practices
 Cultural competence training
26
Core Competencies for Certification

27.  Self-awareness and self-care.
 Co-occurring disorders of mental health and substance use.
 Conflict resolution.
 Professional boundaries and ethics.
 Safety and crisis planning.
 Navigation of, and referral to, other services.
 Documentation skills and standards.
 Study and test-taking skills.
27
Core Competencies for Certification

28.  This is now a two year bill which gives stakeholders a
greater say in the language of the proposed law.
 The authors and supporters are meeting with Department
of Health Care Services to collaborate how the trainings
and subsequent certification will roll out.
 Department of Health Care Services will be charging a
fee for certification--this is also being negotiated.
28
California SB 614, cont.

29.  Get familiar with this bill
 Talk with stakeholders, peers, parents
 You can track this bill’s progress
 Go to www.senate.ca.gov and register to track a bill
 Click on ‘Find Legislation’
 At the ‘Bill Search’ page, type in ‘SB 614’
 Click on ‘Search’
29
Next steps for SB 614

30. 30
Peer
Certification
California
Senate Bill
614
About Peer
Specialists
Peer to Peer
Support
Programs

31. 31
Key Considerations when hiring and
working with Peer Specialists
Recognize that people can be both clients and providers.
Being a provider and being a client are roles, not people. As
providers, peer support staff can tell their own recovery
stories and use strategies from their own experiences to help
clients (peers) reach their recovery goals.

32.  Many communities have Peer-run organizations:
in Sacramento County there are several partially funded
with MHSA (Mental Health Services Act) dollars.
Check your county’s website for MHSA Programs and
find peer-led organizations.
32
How to find Peer Specialists

33.  California Association of Mental Health Peer-Run
Organizations (CAMHPRO) is an incorporated
nonprofit consumer-run statewide organization
consisting of member entities which are consumer-run
organizations and programs.
http://camhpro.org
33
How to find Peer Specialists

34. Identify stigma in your organization.
Peer support staff may face stereotypes and other negative
attitudes, which may manifest in a number of different
ways.
34
Key Considerations when hiring and
working with Peer Specialists

35. Examples include:
 Directing peer support staff to use the client restrooms
instead of the staff restrooms
 Excluding peer support staff from team meetings
 Referring to peer support staff as “addicts” or other
terms that characterize the person by their condition.
35
Key Considerations when hiring and
working with Peer Specialists

36. Develop a plan to train and educate peer support staff
and supervisors.
Each organization will require different levels of training
and education to prepare its supervisors and peer support
staff for client interactions.
Your organization may also tailor training and education to
the needs of your staff. For example, you may provide staff
with a list of words they should not use (e.g. “crazy”)
because they are not conducive to a recovery culture.
36
Key Considerations when hiring and
working with Peer Specialists

37. Create an inclusive culture.
Leadership in the organization should include peer support
staff in the organization’s decision-making processes,
which empowers the peer support staff and helps to reduce
stereotypes and other negative perceptions.
Parent’s Support Staff ensures parents/caregivers are
included in every level of treatment including all meetings
held regarding their child/adult with a disability.
37
Key Considerations when hiring and
working with Peer Specialists

38.  Ensure effective supervision.
 Proper supervision is a key component to successfully
integrating peer support staff. Supervisors should set an
example for other staff on how to prevent and eliminate
stigma by addressing stigma when it occurs.
 Supervisors should actively demonstrate to the rest of
the organization how peer support staff can have a
positive impact on their clients.
38
Key Considerations when hiring and
working with Peer Specialists

39. Along with lived experience the common requirements are:
 GED, High School Diploma, or higher.
 Minimum of one year full-time of direct practice
(volunteer or paid) in a peer recovery support
environment.
 At least 125 contact hours of peer recovery focused
education and training in a healing art.
39
Common Requirements for
Peer Certification

40. 40
Peer
Certification
California
Senate Bill
614
About Peer
Specialists
Peer to Peer
Support
Programs

41. Create a Peer to Peer support group in your community.
Many communities have a group that meets regularly,
(in Sacramento County once a month and endorsed by
County Behavioral Health) comprised of Peer Support
Specialists employed in service agencies, community
based outpatient, hospital, educational institutions,
county mental health agencies such as Child Protective
Services.
41
Peer to Peer Support

42. The purposes of the group meetings are:
For mutual support and networking.
How to address challenges and barriers in a positive
productive way.
Sharing resources
42
Peer to Peer Support, cont.

43. 43
Peer
Certification
California
Senate Bill
614
About Peer
Specialists
Peer to Peer
Support
Programs

44. One effective model for mutual support and learning is
the Peer to Peer Café:
Members receive support and assistance in becoming
their communities voice on peers, families, children
and youth experiencing developmental, emotional,
behavioral and substance use health challenges.
Cafés are change agents within their communities and
receive timely access to local, state and national policy
that supports their efforts.
44
UACF Peer to Peer Café

45. The UACF Parent Leadership Institute is actively seeking
parents and family members interested in starting a UACF
Parent Café in their community!
Goals and Objectives of a UACF Parent Café:
Inspire Hope and Courage
Empower the Parent Voice
Connect Parents and Families to Available Resources
45
UACF Parent Cafés

46.  UACF offers empowerment trainings for
parents/caregivers and family members these can be
train-the-trainer teachings or individual group setups
 There are a number of certified trainers statewide
 See slide #50 for contact information
 These trainings are presented throughout the year and
some upon request
46
Trainings offered for parents by UACF

47. This three (3) day training is ideal for newly hired Parent
Partner/Family Advocates as well as parents/caregivers
who are either currently employed or have an interest in
employment in the public mental health system.
This curriculum, designed to specifically prepare
individuals for entrance into the mental health
workforce.
47
Parent Partner 101 at UACF

48.  Train the Trainer Course; this course is available through
certified trainers throughout the state
 Ideal for Parent Partner/Family Advocates and
parents/caregivers who currently or previously have
parented a child receiving services in the mental health
system, and other public systems. This three (3) day
train-the-trainer course will certify participants to
conduct the 12 week EES course in their community.
Awarded the 2013 “Program of the Year” at the 33rd Annual CMHACY Conference
48
Educate, Equip, and Support: Building
Hope (EES) at UACF

49. This two (2) day train-the-trainer course is ideal for
parents, caregivers, family members, and consumers of
mental health services. Among the subjects are:
 The value and purpose of storytelling
 The basics of public policy development
 How families and youth can use their stories to promote
responsive change
 Public speaking techniques
 How to handle difficult situations
49
Tell Your Story: Storytelling Change Agents
Train the Trainer Course at UACF

50.  Check the UACF website: www.uacf4hope.org
 Contact Cindy Claflin, Chief of Staff/Director of Parent
Leadership Institute: cclaflin@uacf4hope.org
 You can also contact Vickie Mendoza:
vmendoza@uacf4hope.org
50
Want to learn more about the UACF
trainings mentioned?

51. Poll:
Do you now have a better understanding of parent,
peer and family certification?

52. Ask Us a Question
Please type your questions
(Top-left corner of your MeetingBurner screen)

53. Thank you for attending
and interacting!!
UCEDD SlideShare Page UCEDD YouTube Playlist
Webinar Evaluation Survey
Share and review
webinar slides,
handouts and
video recording.
Don’t leave yet!! Please take 3
minutes to answer a survey about
your experience with this webinar