In this series of four videos, consumer workers and supervisors from participating agencies, along with staff from CAI, Amida Care, and Stony Brook University’s Peer Certification Academic Center, share their lessons learned, key tips, and challenges. Each video is accompanied by resources to support agencies, supervisors, and peers in their progress.
Author
The Amida Care Consumer Worker Innovation Project (CWIP)
From 2017-2022, Amida Care and CAI partnered with seven clinical and community-based organizations in NYC to support peers, or consumer workers, in becoming certified through the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute (AI), and eventually, to join the health and human services workforce. The project offered coaching, mentoring, and professional development to guide and mentor peers as they transitioned into the workforce. It also included support for supervisors and agencies, to ensure that agencies had sufficient structures in place to develop and integrate consumer workers into their multidisciplinary teams.
Resources produced by the project include the New York State Peer Certification Technical Assistance Toolkit (4 MB PDF) and an Implementation Guide (24 MB PDF).
Watch the four videos
Video 1: Preparing to Implement a Peer Program in Your Agency
This video and accompanying resources are intended for agency leadership and peer supervisors who are considering starting a peer program, or who wish to strengthen their existing program.
Resources related to video:
- Tip sheet: Preparing to Integrate Consumer Workers into Your Agency (580 KB PDF)
- Tool: Organizational Readiness Assessment (435 KB PDF)
Video 2: Key Elements in Supervising Peers and Consumer Workers
For peer supervisors and agency leadership, this video and accompanying resources offer key considerations for successfully supervising consumer workers during and after certification.
Resources related to video:
- Tip sheet: Best Practices for Supervising Consumer Workers (580 KB PDF)
- Worksheet: Supervisory Support Template (170 KB PDF)
- Tool: Supporting the Professional Persona Through Supervision (350 KB PDF)
- Supervisor Evaluation Form – downloadable version (340 KB PDF)
- Key Resources for Peer Supervisors (210 KB PDF)
Video 3: New York State Department of Health Institute Peer Certification: What Peers and Supervisors Need to Know
Hear from certified peers, seasoned supervisors, mentors, and those who created the certification process about what the experience is like in this video.
Resources related to video:
- Worksheet: Certification Timeline for Peers and Supervisors (200 KB PDF)
- Worksheet: Using the Supervisory Evaluation as a Professional Development Tool (230 KB PDF)
- Supervisor Evaluation Form – downloadable version (340 KB PDF)
Video 4: Integrating Peers to Maximize Benefits to Your Agency
For supervisors and consumer workers: Hear from peers, supervisors, and others about strategies to ensure peers are fully integrated into the team in this video.