Map of National Peer Training Programs

National Overview of the United States Certified Peer Specialist Workforce

The behavioral health peer support workforce is growing rapidly, currently numbering over 100,000 certified peer specialists. Peer specialists are people with lived experience who have initiated their own recovery and received training to support the recovery of others. As of 2024, 49 states and the District of Columbia have established statewide programs to train and certify peer specialists with lived experience of mental health and substance use challenges. Moreover, 47 states and the District of Columbia also fund at least some of their peer services using Medicaid dollars. Click the map to learn:

whether the state has a statewide peer certification program
the number of trained and certified peer specialists in each state
types of peer certification available (e.g., mental health, substance use, youth, family, forensic)
whether peer services are Medicaid-reimbursable

Map developed by the University of Illinois Chicago, Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy.
Based on information gathered directly from states by the UIC Center and Live & Learn, Inc. Information from 3 states is supplemented with data from the SAMHSA Peer Recovery Center of Excellence State Certification Database: https://peerrecoverynow.org/resource-library/state-certification-database/.

Listen to a podcast on national peer support training and certification programs or download the transcript.

Policy Infographics

Thumbnail of the title of the infographic about integrating IPS supported employment & supported education for young adults with mental health conditions. Also provides a snapshot of the introduction that the infographic combines research findings & exploratory interviews.

Co-created with Live & Learn, Inc. and MHA, this infographic addresses employment outcomes of Certified Peer Specialists after training and certification.
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Thumbnail of the infographic National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Specialist Supervisors by N.A.P.S.

Co-created with N.A.P.S., this infographic highlights how to apply core peer support values within supervisory relationships.
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Thumbnail of the title of the infographic: Peer Support Specialists Let's Unite with One Classification

Co-created with N.A.P.S., this infographic makes the case for “Peer Support Specialist” as a Department of Labor Standard Occupational Classification.
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Learn about the GAO's survey of best practices for training and certifying mental health peer specialists.
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