Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals - Advancing Peer Education, Employment, and Recovery Services (A-PEERS) aims to improve access to behavioral health services by strengthening the peer support workforce over the next four years. The program will establish and expand two new credentials for peer paraprofessionals: a certified peer specialist microcredential, the Certified Peer Specialist-Advanced (CPS-Advanced), and a new registered apprenticeship for peer supervisors, the Certified Peer Specialist-Supervisor (CPS-Supervisor). These credentials will address a significant gap in Wisconsin’s public behavioral health system, which currently lacks the infrastructure to meet the anticipated demand for highly qualified peer paraprofessionals capable of supervising other peer specialists under a new co-supervision model. A-PEERS’ integration of existing peer training with stackable college credit and state-required experiential field placements creates a comprehensive paraprofessional training program resulting in service delivery and reimbursement eligibility. The design enables pursuit of higher education while addressing immediate behavioral healthcare sector workforce demands. Flexible dual online pathways allow engagement in training while staying rooted in communities. A-PEERS requests Priority 1 funding, emphasizing lived experiences of individuals and families, a core component throughout the program. A-PEERS builds upon Wisconsin’s certified peer support specialist core competencies, values, and code of ethics, developed by peers partnering with state leaders. Peer specialist training will be delivered by certified peer specialists, and the experiential training and apprenticeship will include peer-based supervision. Trainees will receive cost-of-living stipends and tuition grants to reduce barriers to participation by individuals with lived and living experience. A-PEERS also requests funding consideration under preference 3 as a new program, having no prior cohorts from either pathway. A-PEERS will be led by a committed team of scholar-practitioners at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's College of Community Engagement and Professions, who bring extensive interprofessional expertise in behavioral health workforce development, along with familial lived experience. A-PEERS will recruit individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders lived experience from across Wisconsin into these new career pathways, particularly focusing on supporting families with transitional age youth in medically underserved areas (MUAs). Trainees will develop the necessary knowledge and skills to work within interprofessional healthcare teams. They will complete competency-based, didactic instruction and experiential learning incorporating evidence-based practices, trauma-informed care, and youth and family systems, utilizing personal experiences to support others in their recovery process. Experiential placements will be strategically coordinated within community-based organizations that serve populations with limited access to quality care, fostering a deeper understanding of the barriers faced by these communities. Wisconsin Community Services (WCS) will train and supervise trainees in the CPS-A experiential field placement and CPS-S registered apprentices across an eight-county region. Additional apprenticeship sponsors will be developed across Wisconsin. Once CPS-Advanced certified, participants may begin working in MUAs or opt to develop supervision skills in the registered apprenticeship. All participants will have access to job and career support to ensure long-term success. The program will recruit 25 students annually, with 35% progressing to level 2 each year. By August 31, 2029, A-PEERS expects to award 73 CPS-Advanced microcredentials and train 27 apprentices as CPS-Supervisors.
