organizations), the certified peer specialist must receive regular supervision by a professional who understands the role of the certified peer specialist. An ideal situation would be for the supervision to have first-hand experience working within that role. Supervisors should focus on not only employment, but also the certified peer specialist’s work and skills in supporting peers. Certified peer specialists and employers should be aware if the program or agency’s funding sources have supervision requirements. Documentation Documentation of peer support services provided is required for certified mental health and/or substance use programs (examples of certified programs include but are not limited to Comprehensive Community Services, Community Recovery Services, Community Support Programs, and crisis services). Documentation is important because it provides a record of the provided services and a mechanism through which the program can bill Medicaid for reimbursement. While the documentation format will vary from program to program, documentation generally includes the following elements: date, the amount of time, the name of the individual receiving the services, the name of the certified peer specialist providing the services, and a brief description of the peer support provided by the certified peer specialist. The certified peer specialist should work with their supervisor to understand the type and content of the documentation that is needed. For example, some certified peer specialists prefer to use collaborative documentation as a way to include the peer in the process of documentation. Such documentation is done with the peer present to include them in the documentation process. This empowers the peer to know what is being documented and gives them the ability to comment on the documentation so those comments can be included in the progress and case notes. Certified peer specialists may be concerned that some information shared by the person they are supporting was said in confidence and the person requested that it not be included in their case notes. When this occurs, it is essential that certified peer specialists document in such a way that honors the privacy and wishes of their peer. If employer policy dictates it is necessary to include specific information that is disclosed, for instance, if a person is considering suicide, the certified peer specialist will make sure that the peer is informed of this policy at the start of services. When such a scenario is encountered, the certified peer specialist will inform the peer that the information must be documented. They will discuss with the peer how they would like the note to reflect their experience. Certified peer specialists should ensure that their documentation is strengths-based, person-centered, and recovery-oriented whenever possible. Their notes need to reflect the lens through which they are providing support. At times, this may be against the requirements set by employers or funding sources. When this situation arises, certified
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