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Pillars of Peer Support – 2 Expanding the Role of Peer Support Services In Mental Health Systems ...



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Pillars of Peer Support – 2 Expanding the Role of Peer Support Services In Mental Health Systems of Care and Recovery

Summary/Abstract

The Pillars of Peer Support Services initiative is designed to develop and foster the use of Medicaid funding to support Peer Support Services in state mental health systems of care.

Content

About Pillars of Peer Support The Pillars of Peer Support Services initiative is designed to develop and foster the use of Medicaid funding to support Peer Support Services in state mental health systems of care. During 2009 and 2010, two important Summits on Pillars of Peer Support Services brought together nationally-recognized experts and stakeholders from across the U.S. to identify and create consensus around factors that greatly facilitate the use of Peer Support Services as a valuable tool to support recovery from mental illnesses among individuals served in state systems. Each Summit generated a report which is available for viewing on this website. Together, these two reports provide a comprehensive summary of the results and findings of the Pillars of Peer Support Services Summits, along with resources to help promote the mission of expanding Medicaid-billable Peer Support Services to all states. While peer support occurs in a variety of forms, settings, and interactions, it is important to note that the focus of these reports is on Peer Support Services: formalized services provided to individuals by Certified Peer Specialists, individuals who have received specific training and certification in this area. 2009 In November 2009, the first Pillars of Peer Support Services Summit was convened at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The intent of the Summit was to bring together those states that currently provide formal training and certification for peer providers working in mental health systems to examine the multiple levels of state support necessary for a strong and vital peer workforce able to engage in states' efforts at system transformation, including recent innovations in Whole Health. To prepare for the 2009 Summit, organizers collected data on those states that currently utilized Peer Support Services under Medicaid reimbursement. Participants were surveyed on the unique attributes of their state's program prior to attendance, and summary state reports were provided to all participants. At the summit, attendees were provided with a rough, informal draft identifying some of the lessons learned or “pillars” based on successes various states have already identified. In the Summit these pillars were reviewed and redefined with the intention of proposing a framework or blueprint for other states interested in developing or expanding their peer support programs. In addition, newly defined Pillars of Peer Support Services were recommended to advance the implementation and ongoing support for peer support services in the mental health field. On the second day of the Summit, the state representatives were introduced to three state Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI) Grants funded in 2009 by SAMHSA to promote Peer Support Whole Health. The presentations of the TTI grants from representatives of Michigan, Georgia and New Jersey shared efforts to offset the average 25-year premature death of consumers served in the public sector by training peer specialists in whole health recovery. The presentations were so well received that Peer Support Whole Health was unanimously added as a national Pillar of Peer Support Services. 2010 Because of the success of the first Pillars of Peer Support Services Summit within the field, a second phase was designed with a goal of bringing together those states not currently billing Medicaid for Peer Support Services. This second Summit was designed to examine opportunities for expansion of Medicaid-billable Peer Support Services in these states, and to identify the assistance each of these participating states might need to accomplish that goal. Invitations were extended to those states, and each state was invited to send two representatives to an October 2010 Summit, also at The Carter Center. It was recommended that the two representatives might include a consumer leader and a Medicaid representative, although ultimately each State chose people whom they thought would best represent the State's needs. In order to set the stage and provide a framework, the second Summit began with a series of panel discussions. These included brief presentations by invited subject experts, followed by interactive questions with the audience. Following these presentations, attendees heard two reports: one on the evidence base for peer support and a second outlining results of a NASMHPD survey on states' use of peer support services. Finally, attendees (grouped by state) participated in working sessions that addressed three topics: In order to move forward towards establishing Medicaid billable peer support services our state would need to do the following activities; We anticipate that the major barriers or challenges will be; We may need technical assistance in the following areas. Each state team completed a worksheet summarizing the findings of their discussions.

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