Hiring and Supporting Peer Support Staff: Strategies from Three NextGen Employment Programs
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Key Findings
- Evidence suggests that hiring peer support staff can improve human services programs by validating the complex challenges participants face, identifying staff who can serve as role models, and connecting staff and participants through shared characteristics.
- When recruiting peer support staff, programs recommended asking directly or specific personal experience in job descriptions, recruiting in the service community, and prioritizing specific characteristics, especially empathy.
- To support peer support staff, program leaders said human services programs should clearly define job roles and relationships, validate and supplement staff skills, and support employees through triggering situations.
This brief summarizes promising strategies that three programs participating in the Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project used to hire and support peer support staff, or those with personal experiences similar to those of program participants. In human services programs, having personal experiences similar to those of program participants may be required for a role. For example, most states offer peer specialist training and certification programs to prepare for work in behavioral health settings, requiring specific personal experiences—often related to substance use or mental health challenges.
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