24 Miss. Code. R. 2-42.1 - Service Design

A. Peer Support Services are provided by Certified Peer Support Specialist Professionals (CPSSPs) who are people who self-identify as peers and have been successful in the recovery process from a behavioral health condition (mental health or substance use). CPSSPs use their lived/living experience to help others in similar situations. The role of the CPSSP is to provide mentoring, guidance, and non-clinical support services using the skills and knowledge gained from their own lived experience and the Certified Peer Support Specialist training provided through DMH. Through shared understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment, CPSSPs help people become and stay engaged in the recovery process and reduce the likelihood of relapse. Peer support services can effectively extend the reach of treatment beyond the clinical setting into the everyday environment of those seeking a successful, sustained recovery process. The CPSSP's role within the behavioral health system of care is to provide supportive services, working in conjunction with clinical treatment providers.

B. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professionals include the following designations:

1. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professional - Mental Health (CPSSP-MH) is an adult with lived experience involving a mental health condition who has demonstrated their own success in self-directed recovery.

2. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professional - Substance Use (CPSSP-SU) is an adult with lived experience involving a substance use disorder who has demonstrated their own success in self-directed recovery.

3. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professional - Youth/Young Adult (CPSSP-Y) is a person between the ages of 18-26 with lived experience with a behavioral health or substance use condition who has demonstrated their own success in self-directed recovery.

4. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professional - Parent/Caregiver (CPSSP-P) is a biological parent, adoptive parent, or relative caregiver with permanent legal custody who is raising or has raised a child/youth with an emotional, social, behavioral, and/or substance use disorder, and whose child/youth has received services related to their condition within the system of care for children's mental health. The situations of kinship and fictive caregivers who have not been able to obtain legal custody will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and qualifications determined by the nature of the care and relationship with the child.

5. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professional - Forensic (CPSSP-Forensic): This designation refers to peers with experience in the criminal justice system.

6. Certified Peer Support Specialist Professional - Peer Bridger (CPSSP-Peer Bridger): The purpose of the Peer Bridger is to improve the transition process from inpatient care to a community-based level of care, improve quality of life, reduce the need for readmission, and increase the number of people who attend follow-up appointments. These services are currently provided in behavioral health programs, community mental health centers, and crisis stabilization units.

C. Agency providers of Peer Support Services must develop and implement a service provision plan that addresses the following:

1. The population to be served, including the process in place for referring people to Peer Support Services, how peer services will be introduced to the people receiving services, expected number of people to be served, diagnoses, age, and any specialization.

2. How CPSSPs are utilized, including the types of services and activities offered, how services are offered on an individual or group basis, type of intervention(s) practiced, typical service day, and expected outcomes.

3. Service location capacity, including staffing patterns, employee-to-person ratios, employee qualifications and cultural composition reflective of population, and a plan for deployment of employees to accommodate unplanned employee absences to maintain employee-to-person ratios.

4. A description of how the mental health/substance use disorder professional will maintain clinical oversight of Peer Support Services, which includes ensuring that services and supervision are provided consistently with DMH requirements.

5. Documentation showing that all mental health/substance use disorder professionals maintaining clinical oversight of Peer Support Services have successfully completed DMH CPSSP Supervisor Training before providing supervision to CPSSPs.

6. A description of how CPSSPs within the agency provider will be given opportunities to meet with or otherwise receive support from other Peer Support Specialist Professionals, both within and outside the agency provider (i.e. the employment of a CPSSP Supportive Supervisor, the yearly Peer Support Summit, etc.).

7. A description of how the CPSSPs and Certified Peer Support Specialist Supervisors will participate in and coordinate with treatment teams and the procedure for requesting team meetings.

8. A description of how the agency provider will recruit and retain CPSSPs.

9. A description of how the organization has integrated CPSSPs into the workforce; ensuring all employees understand the duties, responsibilities, and scope of practice of CPSSPs and how the duties and responsibilities support other employees and promote recovery and resiliency.

D. Peer Support Services are voluntary. People and/or their legal representative(s) must be offered this service when requested by a person receiving services or indicated as necessary to promote recovery and resiliency by a mental health professional and/or physician.

E. Peer Support Services are provided using group or one-on-one (1:1) support.

F. Peer Support Services must be included in and coordinated with the person's Individual Service Plan. A specific planned frequency for service should be identified by the physician and/or mental health professional and the CPSSP who believes the person would benefit from this recovery/resiliency support, or if services have been requested by the person.

G. CPSSPs must provide documentation of successful completion of the DMH CPSSP training, as well as meet CPSSP CE requirements, which are designed to increase the knowledge of the CPSSP about the population being supported.

H. Peer Support Services must be supervised by a mental health professional who has completed the DMH-required peer supervisory training.

I. CPSSPs may be employed as part-time or full-time employees depending on agency capacity, the needs of the community being served, the preferences of the employee, and any rules among various programmatic areas.

J. Agency providers are strongly encouraged to employ more than one (1) CPSSP within an agency provider and to employ CPSSPs who reflect the cultural, ethnic, and public mental health service experiences of the people with whom they will serve.

K. CPSSPs must provide Peer Support Services according to their lived experience, scope of service, and CPSSP designation.

L. A CPSSP Supervisor must report ethics violations and changes in employment status to DMH.

M. Supervision must occur at least bi-weekly for CPSSPs within the first six (6) months of employment as a CPSSP; monthly for CPSSPs within seven (7) months - one (1) year of employment as a CPSSP; and, as deemed necessary for CPSSPs after one (1) year of employment. Supervision of CPSSPs may be provided face-to-face, individually, or in group settings.

N. A full-time equivalent supervisor may supervise no more than nine (9) full-time equivalent CPSSPs.

O. The CPSSP Supervisor will maintain documentation of supervision.

P. Agency providers are encouraged to choose an experienced, effective CPSSP to complete the CPSSP Supervisor's Training and become certified as a CPSSP Supportive Supervisor to provide Supportive Supervision to the other CPSSPs at the agency.

The CPSSP Supportive Supervisor serves as a mentor to newly hired CPSSPs and a liaison between CPSSPs and administration. Activities may include meeting regularly with CPSSPs to offer support, encouragement, and networking opportunities, and providing shadowing and mentoring opportunities to newly hired CPSSPs who need experience (refer to Chapter 11 for qualifications).

Q. In accordance with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification, those taking on supervision tasks should have a deep understanding of the nature of peer practice, knowledge of the peer specialists' role and of the principles and philosophy of recovery (for substance use/mental health peer workers) or resiliency (for family peer workers), and familiarity with the code of ethics for peer specialists. It is encouraged that prospective certified peer supervisors have direct experience as a peer specialist and relevant lived experience.

Notes

24 Miss. Code. R. 2-42.1

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-4-7

Amended 7/1/2016 Amended 9/1/2020 Amended 11/1/2024