1. Introduction to Youth Peer Support
Introduce yourself here
Your name
If you feel comfortable, you can share a little bit about your story of resilience
A little bit about your journey to becoming a YPSS
Why is YPS important to you?

2. Presenters First Name Last Name, Youth Peer Support Specialist
Put your name(s) here

3. What is YPS?
A Medicaid State Plan Service for youth with serious emotional disturbance
Provided by young professionals with experience receiving mental health services as a youth
Goals written into the individual plan of service
Goals and activities are mutually identified in active collaboration with youth receiving services
Interventions provided in home and community
Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) is a determined by functioning, diagnosis, and duration.
In order to be qualified as a YPSS, you just have to have received mental health services as a youth. It is not required that these experience comes from the public mental health system.
YPS is a Medicaid service, therefore the service must be written into the individual plan of services with a goal and interventions (activities that the YPSS and the YPSS will work on together).
It is important to mention that the goals and activities are identified in a treatment planning meeting with input from the youth, family, and service providers (such as the therapist, Wraparound facilitiator, YPSSs, etc.)

4. Who can receive YPS?
Youth with serious emotional disturbance involved in the CMHSP system
No age is defined in the Medicaid Provider Manual
Consider for middle school or high school age youth
Youth involved with CMH and other systems (Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare, etc.)
CMHSP means Community Mental Health Service Provider – in other words, a provider of public mental health services
Although YPSSs do not have to have received services through the public mental health system, youth who are receiving this service through the public mental health system, as it is a Medicaid service
Youth cannot receive YPS if they are JUST involved in the Juvenile Justice system or JUST involved in Child Welfare. They must be involved with Community Mental Health Services.

5. Who are Youth Peer Support Specialists?
Young adults, ages 18 – 26 with lived experience receiving mental health services as a youth
Willing and able to self-identify as a person who has or is receiving behavioral health services and is prepared to use that experience to support others
Experience receiving services as a youth in complex child-serving systems preferred (behavioral health, child welfare, juvenile justice, special education, etc.)
Employed by PIHP/CMHSP or its contract providers
Trained in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services-approved curriculum and ongoing training model
Once a YPSS turns 27 they are no longer able to provide YPS services per the Medicaid Provider Manual
PIHP means Pre-Paid Inpatient Health Plan. These are the regional entities who receive Medicaid dollars and contract with Community Mental Health Service Providers.

6. Think about a time when you felt hope
Exercise
Think about a time when you felt hope
This could be a time when you felt hope in your personal life, or when you felt hope for a youth that you were working with
Share a time when YOU, the YPSS, have felt hope
Consider asking the audience to share out.
Providing a sense of hope is what YPS is all about. It is the life blood of the service.

7. Youth Peer Support Role: Guiding Tenants
YPSS provide youth with empowerment and hope through
Direct Support from someone with shared experience
Information Sharing in a way that can be understood
Skill Building on self-care, self-advocacy, and system navigation
Examples:
Direct Support:
Strategic storytelling
Listening to what the youth peer has to say
Engaging the youth peer
Encouraging youth peers
Information Sharing
Sharing resources that are appropriate and relevant to the youth peer’s wants and needs
Skill Building
Problem solving skills
Education on system navigation
Preparing for meetings

8. YPS Role: P.E.E.R. Partnerships Engagement Empowerment Relationships
Its about:
Partnerships
Engagement
Empowerment
Relationships
It is encouraged that YPSS presenters start discussion with audience and provide examples of each in relation to their work in the field.
Partnerships
Building bridges and partnering with others on the youth peer’s treatment team, including:
Parents
Other service providers
Other systems such as juvenile justice, education, and child welfare
Engagement
Being a listening ear for the youth peer
Getting to know them and their interests
Sharing your personal story to relate to them
Empowerment
Encouraging youth peers to advocate for themselves
Encouraging youth peers to get involved in their treatment
Provide hope by telling your story
Using strengths-based language
Relationships
Having “real talk” with youth peers
Building a honest and genuine relationship with them
Setting appropriate boundaries
Sticking by them even when times get tough

9. YPS Curriculum YPS Role Strategic Sharing Engagement
Relationship Building
Boundaries
Language
Cultural Proficiency
Confidentiality
Ethics
Safety
Peer Professional Partnerships
Agency Culture and Professionalism
Depending on time, you can tell a little bit about each section, or pick some highlights to talk about.

10. What YPS is NOT Friend Therapist Babysitter Spy Advocate Convincer
Compliance Monitor
Friend
You follow the goals one the treatment plan while working with youth peers. It’s important that you uphold certain boundaries as a professional.
Therapist
While some of the things that you do might seem like it could be therapy work, there is a big difference – you weave your story into almost every meeting with the youth peer and you work together with the therapist to work on the goals of the treatment plan
Babysitter
Self-explanatory. You’re there to work on something meaningful with the youth peer.
Spy
Smaller things you hold in confidence, knowing that the youth peer may feel more comfortable sharing certain things with you because you understand, but if there is something big that parents and other members of the treatment team need to know, you encourage youth peers to self disclose on their own
Advocate
You teach youth peers the skills to advocate for themselves and support them through it. You do not do for.
Convincer
Although, you can discuss options and talk about potential positive and negative outcomes of a decision, your role is not to advice-give or convince a youth peer to do something that someone else may want them to do.
Compliance Monitor
Again, your role is not to check in on whether or not the youth peer is doing what they’re supposed to do and to scold them if they are not. Your role is to discuss the implication of not following through and/or to supporting them in advocating for a change

11. 13 Youth Peer Support Specialists currently working in Michigan as of 12/2016
1 in Muskegon
2 in Kalamazoo
1 in Calhoun
4 in Oakland
5 in Wayne
As of 12/2016

12. Hiring and Training Requirements
Hired by either CMH, family organization, or contract service provider of CMH
MDHHS hiring recommendations and requirements
3-Day initial training, plus 2-Day follow-up training
100% active participation required
Ongoing training
Coaching Calls
Technical Assistance
Quarterly Professional Development/Technical Assistance Group Meetings
3-Day and 2-Day are classroom style trainings – share what you learned in the trainings
Tell a little bit about coaching calls, technical assistance and quarterlies are like
How are they helpful?
What are some topics that we talk about?

13. Hiring Recommendations
A minimum of two YPSSs be hired per agency as they will offer additional support to one another, which contributes to improved retention rates for YPSSs and offers choice by broadening the range of strengths, skills, and experiences from which to draw in providing support for youth
Employers establish a consistent work schedule that includes a minimum number of hours of work per week
The workload will be individualized to assure that youth receive a high quality YPS service
Why do you think it’s important that two YPSSs be hired per agency?
Do you have a consistent work schedule? How does that affect you?
Why do you think it’s important that the workload/caseload be tailored to your needs as much as possible?

14. Why is YPS Important? Why is YPS important to you?
Use your personal experience, training, and the materials in this package to guide you

15. Contact Information
First Name Last Name, Youth Peer Support Specialist
Contact Information goes here – please include the information of whoever you think would be most beneficial

16. State YPS Service Implementation Contact
Krissy Dristy, Youth Peer Support Statewide Coordinator,
The Association for Children’s Mental Health (ACMH)
Leave Krissy’s information here for people who may be interested in learning more about implementing YPS as a statewide contact