Youth and Family Peer Advocate Workforce Expansion Grants: Ensuring Access to Diverse and Inclusive Peer Support

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH or “Office” herein after) announces the availability of funds for the procurement of Youth and Family Peer Advocate Workforce Expansion grants.

For decades, New York State has recognized the value of Youth and Family Peer Advocates (Peer Advocates herein after). A credentialed Youth Peer Advocate is an individual 18-30 years old who has self-identified as a person who has first-hand experience with emotional (mental health), behavioral challenges, and/or co-occurring disorders. A credentialed Family Peer Advocate is an individual that self-identifies and has “lived experience” as a parent or primary caregiver who has navigated multiple child-serving systems on behalf of their child(ren) with social, emotional, developmental, health and/or behavioral healthcare needs. Peer Advocates use their personal experience to help others. They provide a variety of direct support services helping individuals on their health care journey and act as advocates and key stakeholders in shaping and guiding program development.

Peer Advocates have been an essential part of New York State’s system of care. This is most clearly demonstrated in the creation and integration of Peer Advocates across multiple fields of health care within New York State and the commitment State agencies have made to include certified and credentialed Peers as professionals and multidisciplinary partners in treatment, rehabilitation, and support services, including community-based crisis, residential, inpatient, and outpatient services.

As part of New York State’s efforts to expand the system of care, High Fidelity Wraparound was introduced in 2017 as an evidence-based care management approach for complex and high needs children. A critical part of the High Fidelity Wraparound model is to include Family and Youth Peer Advocates as part of the wraparound support team. The Family and Youth Peer Advocates are integral to assisting children with serious emotional disturbance, and their families, in actively participating in their planning and treatment and advocating alongside them to identify the services they need to address the challenges they are facing. Having Family and Youth Peer Advocates as part of the wrapround team has yielded greater positive outcomes for children and families. However, there continues to be a shortage of available peer advocates in the field, making access to their specialized support limited.

This funding is an investment in expanding the Family and Youth Peer Advocate workforce. Through these grants, not-for-profit community-based organizations that are either OMH funded  agencies or OMH licensed or designated mental health agencies who offer family and/or youth peer support services (hereafter referred to as Peer Support Champion Organizations or “PSCO”) will work within a region of the State to establish collaborative partnerships with non-mental health community agencies and organizations (such as social and membership clubs, places of worship, community service agencies, etc.) (hereafter referred to as Grassroots Organizations), with demonstrated experience serving diverse, disenfranchised and/or marginalized communities. Individuals from diverse populations have historically been underrepresented in the mental healthcare field, including, but not limited to workers from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, indigenous people, immigrants, refugees, bilingual or multilingual speakers, LGBTQIA+ individuals, religious minorities, individuals with chronic health conditions and individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

This partnership is expected to foster and develop opportunities to expand the peer workforce and create a career pipeline for individuals with lived experiences throughout the five regions of New York State. This funding is available to ensure that Youth and Family Peer Advocates have the support they need for their professional development, including completion of their credentialing pathway. This funding also includes access to information and resources on youth/family support, opportunities for networking and professional connections and direct support for grassroots organizations representative of communities.

Peer Support Champion Organizations have a long history of providing high-quality peer support services. They are experts in the field and have a deep understanding of the needs of youth with mental health challenges and their families. OMH is seeking experienced Peer Support Champion Organizations to partner with grassroots community organizations to create opportunities to grow family and youth peer advocates and develop a diverse peer professional workforce.

This OMH funding is expected to have a significant impact on the Family and Youth Peer Advocate workforce in New York State. By supporting the recruitment, credentialing, and linkage of Peer Advocates to the workforce, the funding will help to ensure that more families and youth have access to high-quality, diverse, and inclusive Peer Support services.

The full RFP can be found at: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/

All applicants must be Prequalified by the due date/time of the RFP.

All applications/proposals must be submitted through the Statewide Financial System.