(a) Subject to department approval, a county, or an agency representing the county, may develop a peer support specialist certification program in accordance with this article and any standards established by the department. That county, or an agency representing that county, shall oversee and enforce the certification requirements developed pursuant to this article. To request department approval of the county peer support specialist program, a county, or an agency representing the county, shall do all of the following:
(1) Submit to the department a peer support specialist program plan describing how the peer support specialist program will meet all of the federal and state requirements for the certification and oversight of peer support specialists.
(2) Submit to periodic reviews conducted by the department to ensure adherence to all federal and state requirements.
(3) Submit annual peer support specialist program reports to the department.
(b) If a county chooses not to develop peer support specialist certification programs in accordance with this article, the county may fund peer programs to the extent those programs meet all requirements of the applicable funding source.
(c) The Legislature finds that peer support specialist certification is conducted at the state level in other states, but this section passes this responsibility to counties. Subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, the state shall fund the startup costs to implement this section.
(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 150, Sec. 2. (SB 803) Effective January 1, 2021.)