Growing the Youth and Parent-Peer Support Movement:

Working Strategically to Support Implementation

(“Peer Support”)

 

 

Family/Parent Peer Track & Youth/Young Adult Peer Track

 

Facilitators:  Johanna Bergan, Youth M.O.V.E National and Lynda Gargan, National Federation of Families.

 

Location: Durham, NC

 

Dates: July 30-31, 2015

 

Duration: 2 days

 

Maximum Number of Participants: 80 (20 grantees/states)

40 per Family/Parent Peer track and 40 per Youth/Young Adult Peer track

 

Participants: Grantee teams should include leaders from the System of Care grant community, state Medicaid and/or behavioral health office, and organizations that are current or potential employers of family/parent or youth peer support.  Team members must be designated decision-makers for the entity they represent. Each team must designate in their application their desire to participate in either the family/parent or youth/young adult track.

 

Description: This two-day event has been designed to maximize the power of peer learning.  Participants will gather for an initial plenary session that will provide an overview of family/parent and youth/young adult peer support nationwide.  Following this session, teams will move into intensive sessions based upon their population of focus (either family/parent or youth/young adult).  Each team must designate in their application their desire to participate in either the family/parent or youth track.  It is possible to send two teams that would attend each track separately. 

 

Peer support is available to some degree through Medicaid in 32 states, although often in a limited fashion.  Many states are exploring ways to expand peer support to include parents and/or youth and young adults. This working meeting will explore questions such as: Where is your state in this process? Has your state created new models for family/parent or youth/young adult peer support, or are they trying to serve families and youth through an already existing adult model? Has your state developed a curriculum and certification process for family/parent or youth/young adult peer support that highlights the unique characteristics of this emerging workforce?

 

This working meeting will be an intensive, interactive event that will bring national experts and communities/states together for in-depth dialogue and to create action plans based upon the developmental stage of the grantee community.  Teams will be gathering from states that are in the initial, planning, and implementation phases of peer support development. Through the combination of national expertise and peer learning, all participants will develop a keen understanding of national trends and their implications for local implementation and sustainability.