Effectively Employing Young Adult Peer Providers: A Toolkit
1. Background
- Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions
- Newer Services Designed to Meet the Needs of Young Adults
- Peer Support Providers
2. Young Adults in the Peer Provider Role
- Benefits and Positive Outcomes
- The Challenges of Implementation
3. Conceptualizing & Structuring the Young Adult Peer Role in Your Agency
- Conceptualizing and Structuring the Role
- Consideration of Relational Boundary Issues
4. Establishing an Organizational Culture that Supports Young Adult Peers
- Valuing Peer Support
- Understanding the Experience and Culture of Today's Young Adults
- Recognizing and Addressing Workplace Stigma
- Embracing Legal Obligations to not Discriminate Against Employees with Disabilities
- Diversity of Person, Perspective and Experience
- A Positive Development Approach to Treatment and Services
- Self-determination and Dignity of Risk
- Employee Access to Wellness Tools, Services and Supports
5. Recruiting, Hiring and Training Young Adult Peers
- Recruiting and Hiring
- Training Young Adult Peers
- Teach Principles of Strategic Storytelling
- Review and Discuss Peer Provider Disclosure Policies
6. Effective Supervision for Young Adult Peer Providers
- Principles of Young Adult Peer Supervision
- Essential Topics
- The Importance of the Young Adult Peer-supervisor Working Alliance
- Bolstering on the Job Resiliency
- Training, Supervision, and Support for Young Adult Peer Supervisors
- Moving On
7. Addressing Significant Job Difficulties by Effectively Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations
- Introduction
- RA Mandate Basics
- There are Clearly Described Protocols for Employees to Request Accommodations or Other Assistance for Disability-related Job Difficulties
- Employers and Employees Use of Appropriate Interactive Tools and Processes to Discuss RA Solutions
- RA Responsibilities are Clearly Defined and Understood by the Employer and Staff
- Supervisors Have the Willingness and Support to Address Accommodation Issues
8. Preparing and Engaging Non-peer Staff
- Training and Support for Non-Peer Staff
- Team Building Strategies
9. Infrastructure and Framework
- Commited and Strong Leadership
- Strong Organizational Communications that Endorse the Young Adult Peer Role
- Connecting and Working with Human Resources Departments
- Effective Staff Hiring and Accountability Practices
- Young Adult Peer Influence on Internal Policies and Practice
Appendices
A. Organizational Self Assessment
B. Summary of Federal Anti-discrimination Prohibitions
C. Sample Young Adult Job Description
F. Standards for Assessing Reasonableness and Undue Hardship
