Certified Peer Specialist - Youth (CPS-Y)

Youth Certified Peer Specialist (CPS-Y)  An individual who is a young adult, age 18 through 26, with experience living with a mental health or substance use condition or both, who has received behavioral health services as a youth, is willing and able to self-identify as a person living with a behavioral health condition and is prepared to use that experience in helping other youth and young adults living with similar behavioral health conditions.

The CPS-Y

• Offers emotional support.
• Shares knowledge.
• Works with individuals to identify tools of wellness, resiliency, and recovery.
• Available for everyday life.
• Provides practical assistance.
• Connects people with resources, opportunities, and communities of support.

No. The personal experience of living with a mental health or substance use condition is what makes this certification and service unique.

No. CPS-Y applicants must be between the ages of 18-26.

• Be 18-26 years of age with a valid Georgia ID.
• Have a mental health (MH) condition, substance use disorder (SUD), or a co-occurring diagnosis.
• A strong desire to identify themselves as a person living with a mental illness or substance use diagnosis.
• Be able/willing to actively seek and manage your own appropriate care.
• Be able to share their own personal story in a safe and appropriate way.
• Must be well grounded in recovery wellness.
• One year between diagnosis and application to training.
• If the individual has a substance use condition, there must be one year of continuous abstinent from substance use.
• Have a high school diploma or GED; provide a copy of these documents.
• Provide (2) letters of reference.

No. We understand that recovery from mental health and substance use can be a journey and everyone is different.

• Applicants must have a year or more of continuous abstinence from substance use and must have a wellness plan for themselves.
• Candidates must be able to seek and manage their own care.

No. The Youth CPS training teaches participants to skillfully and strategically use their lived experience with living with a mental health, substance use, or co-occurring health condition to help others. Youth CPSs are not counselors, caseworkers, or clinicians.

There is no cost to candidates who are accepted into the training. However, candidates are responsible for their own travel expenses.

The Youth Certified Peer Specialist training is 5 consecutive days.

Yes. Every candidate is required to take and pass a test to get certified.

No. Receiving the Youth Peer Specialist certification does not guarantee a job. Individuals are required to seek employment independently.

No. We do not drug test for the training. However, most employers require criminal background and random drug testing.

If you answered YES to (10) or more questions, you might be ready to participate in the peer specialist training at this time.

A peer specialist must be living in recovery and be able to describe publicly and model to others what they learned that helped them to wellness.

• You can advocate for yourself.
• Have you been abstinent from substance use for over a year?
• Have you consistently made your mental health your priority for over a year?
• Are you willing to disclose to individuals receiving services, staff, and the general public that you have been diagnosed with a mental illness and/or addiction disorder?
• Can you describe what you have had to overcome to get where you are today?
• Can you describe what you have learned about yourself and what we call recovery?
• Can you describe some of
  the strengths you have developed?
• Can you describe some of the things you do daily to keep yourself on the path of recovery?
• Can you explain what your diagnosis means, how it impacted your life and what you did to change that?
• Can you describe the purpose of your medications, any side effects you experienced, and plans you developed to deal with them?
• Do you have any written wellness plan? Can you describe what it was like to put one together and how
  has it helped you?
• Can you describe some of the beliefs and values you have developed that help strengthen your recovery and why do you believe they do?
• Do you believe that you could talk to a person to help them understand that recovery is possible?
• Can you describe the role that a sense of hope and resiliency played in your life of recovery?
• Can you describe some of the community supports you have and how they help you in your recovery?
• Can you explain how you deal with a crisis, recurrence of your symptoms, and setbacks (relapse)?
• You may hear recovery stories of others in training. sometimes these stories may be uncomfortable for
  you, particularly if they touch upon one of your “triggers or traumatic experiences.” Are you okay with this?

Opportunities for employment may be available at any of the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities DBHDD, Child & Adolescent provider organizations i.e. Community Service Boards (CSB), Family Support Organizations (FSO)

Please check the career tab to see available job openings.

1. Download and complete the CPS-Y application.
2. provide two letters of recommendation.
3. Email completed application and letters of recommendation to: [email protected]

June 6-10, 2022 Applications Due by: May 20, 2022
September Applications Due by: September 9, 2022
November Applications Due by: October 21, 2022

The same application can be used for any of the training events. Application and letters of reference should be sent to [email protected] by the above due dates.