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The Texas Empowerment Initiative – Peer Network (TEI-Peer Network) project makes quality peer services available to people with lived experience of serious mental health issues by developing a Consumer Operated Services Program (COSP) certification process based on the COSP Fidelity Assessment Common Ingredients Tool (FACIT) and the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) peer services and trauma informed care requirements. In developing the certification process, an advisory group of state peer leaders will identify gaps in their knowledge of the peer services and trauma informed care requirements of CCBHC certification. They will be given the information needed to fill those gaps and then they will serve as a workgroup to develop the standards needed for the COSP certifying process. This will ensure that COSPs who choose to be certified meet the requirements to become Designated Collaborating Organizations (DCO) under CCBHC. By the end of the project there will be at least two Certified COSPs in Texas. Throughout the project the Peer Network, an organization developed to support and grow COSPs in Texas, will participate in the process and continue to develop its infrastructure to take over the technical assistance and certifying process at the end of the grant period. In the first year of the grant, material raising awareness of CCBHC among peer providers will be developed and shared through existing peer networks and outreach opportunities. This will impact people receiving services in the public mental health system in Texas, roughly 227,000. It will also impact the people currently receiving services from COSPs in Texas. The two largest COSPs served over 2500 people combined. Although this project will be completed in 3 years, the impact will continue as new COSPs are created to meet the demand for quality peer services in Texas.

The Arizona Peer Referral Center would be operated by Recovery Empowerment Network of Maricopa County Inc. in Phoenix Arizona. This program will ensure that the community gains education regarding peer support services. Our agency will support the individual in finding peer support services within Arizona that will best suit their unique needs and eligibility. We will then provide a complete referral to the selected peer support agency and facilitate the warm hand off with the member. Arizona has a significant need to increase peer support services throughout the state due to only half of the individuals living with a mental illness are receiving services for their diagnosis. This project can close this gap by connecting individuals living with a serious mental illness (SMI) throughout the state of Arizona to peer support services; including programming for justice involved, co-occurring, integrated care, employment, and education through referrals with partner organizations. This grant would provide the development of infrastructure to expand the program to serve members who have a Serious Mental Illness as defined as persons ages 18 and older who have met criteria for a mental disorder as recognized by the diagnostic classification system (DSM-V) and displays functional impairment, as determined by a standardized measures, which impedes progress towards recovery and sustainability in their functioning in family, school, employment, relationships or community activities. The first goal of this program is to improve access to statewide peer support and recovery oriented integrated, and coordinated treatment, services, and supports including through community-based outreach and peer support to those with SMI and through peer placement in clinical settings for the purposes of working as part of the clinical team and assisting those with SMI to obtain maximum benefit from individualized treatment services in the community setting by providing specific mental health related practices and policies for other programs, organizations, and communities to implement; providing referrals to peer support services to SMI individuals who are interested to the organization of their choosing who will be able to accommodate needs; providing connection to clinical services as necessary to community members with behavioral health diagnosis who are not already receiving services. The second goal of this program is to emphasize and building statewide consumer leadership within consumer operated organization and in the community through providing training to people in mental health, and related workforce trained in specific mental health related practices/activities; increasing peer involvement on advisory councils and work groups throughout the state. The third goal of this program is to build capacity and sustainability of statewide consumer networks through providing peer support credentialing training to increase available peer support staff and increase community knowledge of availability of peer support throughout the state of Arizona. The fourth goal of this program is to expand Peer Support Services to Justice Involved individuals through providing training and development partnership with department of corrections and detention centers to provide referral to peer support upon release from jail and/or prisons; increasing peer support services in halfway houses and mental health court. We intend to serve 200 individuals through community education and training and 200 individuals through referrals to peer support services.

The Connection Center will certify CPSSs, introduce mental health professionals to CPSS services, and provide consumers with on-site peer support services at after-hours drop-in centers. The consumer-run organization SC SHARE (Self Help Association Regarding Emotions) proposes this Program to shore up the state's infrastructure for CPSSs. Mental Health America SC (MHASC), a Project partner, will allow use of its facilities for drop-in centers where CPSSs will be certified and will also allow the Project to use community rooms in its 14 apartment complexes to hold staff trainings to introduce mental health staff to CPSS services. We have 3 target populations. 1) individuals who self-identify as consumers and become certified peer specialists, 2) mental health staff, and 3) consumers of mental health services who will benefit from services offered by a CPSS. Yearly goals are to certify 50 CPSSs the first year; 150 the second, and 250, the third. Other annual targets are to place at least five consumers in policy/leadership roles and ensure that at least five consumers complete national CPSS certification. During the Project's life, this equals 450 new CPSSs, 15 consumers placed in leadership roles, and 15 national CPSS certifications. The Connection Center will train at least 250 mental health staff on evidenced-based peer support services. Forty staff will be trained in Year 1 and 105 each in Years 2 and 3. Six hundred consumers will receive evidenced-based peer services at the Project's drop-in centers. This includes 50 in Year 1, 200 in Year 2, and 350 in Year 3. A 2019 MHASC study of 3800 adults receiving state mental health services found that 38% were African American and 49% white. Eleven Percent identified as Hispanic. In addition, 22% had been homeless, 4% were LGBTQ, 18% were Veterans. A shocking 60% suffered from trauma and 38% had co-occurring disorders. This Project will focus on cultural and demographic inclusiveness and will offer services appropriate for individuals' culture and experiences. Share's board will oversee the Project. The seven-member board is very diverse. Four board members are CPSSs with jobs at Spartanburg Mental Health Center, Prisma Health, Veterans House and the Veteran's Administration. A third of the Board is African American, one is gay, two have been homeless, and two suffer from trauma experiences. This Board will ensure the Project promotes recovery-oriented services to meet the diverse needs of the target population. SHARE has successfully certified CPSSs in the past; however, in this proposal SHARE joins with MHASC. This partnership will enhance and sustain a statewide system to support CPSSs.

Summary: The Wellbeing Initiative, Inc. is responsible for delivery of the Nebraska Coalition for Peer Delivered Services (NCPDS) program, which connects individuals and organizations providing mental health related peer services across the state to the population of focus affected by serious mental illness (SMI) and co-occurring disorders in an effort to build the capacity and sustainability of peer efforts in Nebraska. Population to be served: According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 62,875 Nebraskans were affected by a serious mental illness (SMI), and 18,619 were also affected by combined SMI and substance use disorder (SUD). The NCPDS program will serve underrepresented and underserved Nebraskans affected by SMI and co-occurring disorders in all six Behavioral Health Regions of the State. Strategies/interventions: NCPDS, in collaboration with provider agencies, will establish quality peer programming that stimulates expansion of peer delivered services in Nebraska. The program, along with state/provider agencies, will select and plan online peer-recovery support module trainings to address latest research and development on mental health, co-occurring disorders, and specific peer-support EBPs for the delivery of support services. Workforce capacity building through workshops, webinars and face to face interactions will be conducted by the program in collaboration with local partners for all peer-recovery support staff. Project goals and measurable objectives: Goal 1: Promote practices and policies to increase consumer involvement with the purpose of expanding peer support services to the population of focus, including underserved and underrepresented populations. Objective 1.1: develop the Whole Health Employment Support and Training (WHEST) Mentoring and Leadership program to increase the professional development of 100 Peer Support Specialists (year 1). Goal 2: Support the development and implementation of statewide processes addressing peer support for consumers. Objective 2.1: Develop two self-paced formal online continuing education learning modules for 100 Peer Support Specialists (years 1 to 3). Goal 3: Promote consumer engagement across the state via collaborations with state and provider agencies. Objective 3.1: Develop and facilitate quarterly focus groups consisting of 15 consumers and marginalized community members to promote the creation of assessment tools, best practices, and educational opportunities. Goal 4: Develop and implement a plan for sustainability when grant funding ends. Objective 4.1: Enter into contract training and/or consultation service relationships with two service providers in the state of Nebraska by the end of the grant. Number of people served by the project: It is expected that 450 individuals will be served annually, and a total of 1,350 will receive services throughout the entirety of the project.