For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Certification” means the activities related to the verification that an individual has met all of the requirements under this article and that the individual may provide peer support specialist services pursuant to this article.

(b) “Certified” means all federal and state requirements have been satisfied by an individual who is seeking designation under this article, including completion of curriculum and training requirements, testing, and agreement to uphold and abide by the code of ethics.

(c) “Code of ethics” means the standards to which a peer support specialist is required to adhere.

(d) “Core competencies” means the foundational and essential knowledge, skills, and abilities required for peer specialists.

(e) “Cultural competence” means a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system or agency that enables that system or agency to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. A culturally competent system of care acknowledges and incorporates, at all levels, the importance of language and culture, intersecting identities, assessment of cross-cultural relations, knowledge and acceptance of dynamics of cultural differences, expansion of cultural knowledge, and adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs to provide services in a culturally competent manner.

(f) “Department” means the State Department of Health Care Services.

(g) “Peer support specialist” means an individual who is 18 years of age or older, who has self-identified as having lived experience with the process of recovery from mental illness, substance use disorder, or both, either as a consumer of these services or as the parent or family member of the consumer, and who has been granted certification under a county peer support specialist certification program.

(h) “Peer support specialist services” means culturally competent services that promote engagement, socialization, recovery, self-sufficiency, self-advocacy, development of natural supports, and identification of strengths. Peer support specialist services include, but are not limited to, prevention services, support, coaching, facilitation, or education that is individualized and is conducted by a certified peer support specialist.

(i) “Recovery” means a process of change through which an individual improves their health and wellness, lives a self-directed life, and strives to reach their full potential. This process of change recognizes cultural diversity and inclusion, and honors the different routes to resilience and recovery based on the individual and their cultural community.

(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 150, Sec. 2. (SB 803) Effective January 1, 2021.)