Bridge to Behavioral Health (B2BH) Employer Toolkit
B2BH Employer Toolkit
Hiring and retaining a Certified Medical Peer Support Specialist begins with a strong understanding of the role among both leadership and clinical staff.
Although peer support as a concept has existed for decades, the formal, certified peer support specialist role—with a defined scope of practice regulated by the state—is relatively new.
As a result, employers may struggle to fully understand how the peer role differs from clinical or case management roles, how peers should be supervised, and what tasks fall within (or outside of) their scope of practice. Without clear role definition, peer support specialists may be underutilized, asked to perform duties that conflict with the peer model, or experience role strain and job dissatisfaction.
Before beginning peer or expanding peer services:
Reflect on your organization’s readiness to start or expand peer services.
Conduct an organization self-assessment to identify organizational strengths and areas for growth. Survey clinical leadership and staff to discover your organizations’ knowledge of peer support, organizational structure, and supervision capacity. Develop an action plan describing steps you might take to create conditions that better support the inclusion or expansion of peer support services.
- See the Organizational Self-Assessment adapted from PeerTac and create an action plan to address areas that need improvement.
Build knowledge of peer practice.
Identify an organizational champion with authority and responsibility to oversee training of staff about peer support roles and lead the inclusion of Peer Support Services.
For help developing training materials:
- Read about core competencies of Peer Support Specialists SAMHSA Core Competencies for Peer Workers in Behavioral Health Services
- Utilize resources from the Cal Voices Peer Toolkit to reinforce Peer practice
Understand and communicate the Value of Peers.
Create a culture of recovery that supports peer practice throughout your organization.
Working continuously to make care accessible, equitable, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and person-centered will create an environment where peers can thrive. Self-assessments help your organization take stock of the current culture and identify opportunities to align with best practices.
See How Are We Doing with Strengths Based Practice
More organizational self-assessments
Recovery Self-Assessment | Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health
Summary of Tools and Resources:
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- Organization Self-Assessment
- SAMHSA Core Competencies for Peer Workers in Behavioral Health Services
- CalVoices Peer Toolkit for Workplace Success
- Value of Peers
- How Are We Doing with Strengths Based Practice
- Yale Recovery Self-Assessment
- Tools for Transformation: Becoming Accessible, Culturally Responsive, and Trauma-Informed Organizations — An Organizational Reflection Toolkit – NCDVTMH
An intentional hiring and onboarding process sets your organization and peers up for success from the start.
By creating a thorough hiring and onboarding process with clear job expectations, role definition, and policies and procedures, your organization can communicate what candidates can expect from your program.
Create Peer-Informed Job Descriptions
To attract strong candidates, demonstrate that your organization is competent in the peer model with peer-informed job descriptions. Use recovery language and create job responsibilities that are aligned with the peer model, scope of practice, and core competencies. For additional support, consider consulting with peers and solicit input from peer-led organizations.
- See the job description template from the CalMHSA Best Practices Handbook
- Include specific peer-aligned tasks from a list of CMPSS Activities and Scope of Work
Recruit from places where individuals with lived experience are gathering already
Build connections with the local Peer/Recovery community. Connect with local peer training organizations. Share in recovery Facebook/online groups.
Ask the right question during the interview and selection process
The interview process is a vital step in ensuring that the applicant is a good match to the needs of the organization.
For additional sample interview questions consult the CalMHSA Best Practices Guide pg. 37 and 38.
Create an intentional onboarding plan
Intentional onboarding ensures that Peers understand the role, feel supported, and know how to raise concerns safely. Use a checklist like the one below or create your own training and onboarding plan that sets Peers up for success.
Peer Specialist Onboarding Checklist
Summary of Tools and Resources:
While lived experience is the foundation of peer support, structured professional development helps peers refine their skills, stay grounded in best practices, and adapt to evolving organizational and community needs.
Create supervision practices that reinforce CMPSS Code of Ethics and Core Competencies
The CMPSS Code of Ethics supports ethical decision-making, clear boundaries, and adherence to core peer values. Supervisors support adherence to the code through case review and reflection.
See the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Code of Ethics.
Provide ongoing training on boundaries
Providing training on professional boundaries equips peer support specialists with the skills to maintain safe, ethical, and effective relationships while supporting individuals in their recovery journeys.
Ensure Supervisors are Well-Informed about Peer Practice and Trained to Supervise Peers
Ensuring supervisors are well-informed about peer support practices and trained specifically to supervise peers promotes effective guidance, role clarity, and the integrity of peer services. Below are some resources to support Supervisor training.
- Training for Supervisors – California Peer Certification
- Supervision of Peer Workers – SAMHSA.pdf
- Supervising Peer Workers.pdf
