By July 1, 2022, subject to Section 14045.19, the department shall do all of the following:

(a) Establish statewide requirements for counties, or an agency representing counties, to use in developing certification programs for the certification of peer support specialists.

(b) Define the qualifications, range of responsibilities, practice guidelines, and supervision standards for peer support specialists. The department may utilize best practice materials published by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and related notable experts in the field as a basis for development of these definitions.

(c) Determine curriculum and core competencies required for certification of an individual as a peer support specialist, including curriculum that may be offered in areas of specialization, including, but not limited to, transition-age youth, veterans, gender identity, sexual orientation, and any other areas of specialization identified by the department. Core-competencies-based curriculum shall include, at a minimum, training related to all of the following elements:

(1) The concepts of hope, recovery, and wellness.

(2) The role of advocacy.

(3) The role of consumers and family members.

(4) Psychiatric rehabilitation skills and service delivery, and addiction recovery principles, including defined practices.

(5) Cultural competence training.

(6) Trauma-informed care.

(7) Group facilitation skills.

(8) Self-awareness and self-care.

(9) Cooccurring disorders of mental health and substance use.

(10) Conflict resolution.

(11) Professional boundaries and ethics.

(12) Preparation for employment opportunities, including study and test-taking skills, application and résumé preparation, interviewing, and other potential requirements for employment.

(13) Safety and crisis planning.

(14) Navigation of, and referral to, other services.

(15) Documentation skills and standards.

(16) Confidentiality.

(d) Specify peer support specialist employment training requirements, including core-competencies-based training and specialized training necessary to become certified under this article, and require training to include people with lived experience as consumers and family members.

(e) Establish a code of ethics.

(f) Determine continuing education requirements for biennial certification renewal.

(g) Determine the process for initial certification issuance and biennial certification renewal.

(h) Determine a process for investigation of complaints and corrective action, including suspension and revocation of certification and appeals.

(i) Determine a process for an individual employed as a peer support specialist on January 1, 2022, to obtain certification under this article.

(j) Determine requirements for peer support specialist certification reciprocity between counties, and for peer support specialists from out of state.

(k) Seek any federal approvals, related to the statewide certification standards, that it deems necessary to implement this article. For any federal approvals that the department deems necessary related to the statewide certification standards, this article shall be implemented only if and to the extent that the department obtains those federal approvals.

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