Peer support providers are individuals who have been trained to use their personal experiences with mental illness and substance use disorders to help others in recovery. Organizations that provide behavioral health treatment are increasingly employing peer support providers as vital team members. Prior studies have focused on evaluating the effectiveness of peer providers in terms of client outcomes and stakeholder perceptions of the peer provider model’s value.

This report discusses a study that analyses peer provider staffing data and the financial implications for organizations that use a peer services model to provide care. This study was conducted jointly by the UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care and the Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center (BHWRC) at the University of Michigan.