Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Youth Certified Peer Specialist?
Youth Certified Peer Specialist (CPS-Y) An individual who is a young adult, age 18 through 26, with experience living with a mental health or substance use condition or both, who has received behavioral health services as a youth, is willing and able to self-identify as a person living with a behavioral health condition and is prepared to use that experience in helping other youth and young adults living with similar behavioral health conditions.
The CPS-Y
- Offers emotional support
- Shares knowledge.
- Works with individuals to identify tools of wellness, resiliency, and recovery.
- Available for everyday life.
- Provides practical assistance.
- Connects people with resources, opportunities, and communities of support.
Can I get certified if I am not living with a mental health or substance use condition?
No. The personal experience of living with a mental health or substance use condition is what makes this certification and service unique.
Can I get certified as a Youth CPS if I’m over the age of 26?
No. CPS-Y applicants must be between the ages of 18-26.
What are the required qualifications?
- Be 18-26 years of age with a valid Georgia ID.
- Have a mental health (MH) condition, substance use disorder (SUD), or a co-occurring diagnosis.
- A strong desire to identify themselves as a person living with a mental illness or substance use diagnosis.
- Be able/willing to actively seek and manage your own appropriate care.
- Be able to share their own personal story in a safe and appropriate way.
- Must be well grounded in recovery wellness.
- One year between diagnosis and application to training.
- If the individual has a substance use condition, there must be one year of continuous abstinent from substance use.
- Have a high school diploma or GED; provide a copy of these documents.
- Provide (2) letters of reference.
Do I have to be free from symptoms?
No. We understand that recovery from mental health and substance use can be a journey and everyone is different.
- Applicants must have a year or more of continuous abstinence from substance use and must have a wellness plan for themselves.
- Candidates must be able to seek and manage their own care.
Will the training teach me about the different diagnoses?
No. The Youth CPS training teaches participants to skillfully and strategically use their lived experience with living with a mental health, substance use, or co-occurring health condition to help others. Youth CPSs are not counselors, caseworkers, or clinicians.
How much does it cost?
There is no cost to candidates who are accepted into the training. However, candidates are responsible for their own travel expensess, caseworkers, or clinicians.
How long is the training?
The Youth Certified Peer Specialist training is 5 consecutive days.
Do I have to take a test to get certified?
Yes. Every candidate is required to take and pass a test to get certified.
Does going through the training guarantee me a job?
No. Receiving the Youth Peer Specialist certification does not guarantee a job. Individuals are required to seek employment independently.
Will I be drug tested?
No. We do not drug test for the training. However, most employers require criminal background and random drug testing.
How can I determine if I’m ready to participate in the Youth Peer Specialist training?
If you answered YES to (10) or more questions, you might be ready to participate in the peer specialist training at this time.
A peer specialist must be living in recovery and be able to describe publicly and model to others what they learned that helped them to wellness.
A peer specialist must be living in recovery and be able to describe publicly and model to others what they learned that helped them to wellness.
- You can advocate for yourself.
- Have you been abstinent from substance use for over a year?
- Have you consistently made your mental health your priority for over a year?
- Are you willing to disclose to individuals receiving services, staff, and the general public that you have been diagnosed with a mental illness and/or addiction disorder?
- Can you describe what you have had to overcome to get where you are today?
- Can you describe what you have learned about yourself and what we call recovery?
- Can you describe some of the strengths you have developed?
- Can you describe some of the things you do daily to keep yourself on the path of recovery?
- Can you explain what your diagnosis means, how it impacted your life and what you did to change that?
- Can you describe the purpose of your medications, any side effects you experienced, and plans you developed to deal with them?
- Do you have any written wellness plan? Can you describe what it was like to put one together and how has it helped you?
- Can you describe some of the beliefs and values you have developed that help strengthen your recovery and why do you believe they do?
- Do you believe that you could talk to a person to help them understand that recovery is possible?
- Can you describe the role that a sense of hope and resiliency played in your life of recovery?
- Can you describe some of the community supports you have and how they help you in your recovery?
- Can you explain how you deal with a crisis, recurrence of your symptoms, and setbacks (relapse)?
- You may hear recovery stories of others in training. sometimes these stories may be uncomfortable for you, particularly if they touch upon one of your “triggers or traumatic experiences.” Are you okay with this?
What type of place might I work at once I become a CPS-Y
Opportunities for employment may be available at any of the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities DBHDD, Child & Adolescent provider organizations i.e. Community Service Boards (CSB), Family Support Organizations (FSO)
Please check the career tab to see available job openings.
Please check the career tab to see available job openings.
How do I apply for the Youth CPS Training?
1. Download and complete the CPS-Y application.
2. provide two letters of recommendation.
3. Email completed application and letters of recommendation
to: cps-y@gpsn.org
June 6-10, 2022 Applications Due by: May 20, 2022
September Applications Due by: September 9, 2022
November Applications Due by: October 21, 2022
The same application can be used for any of the training events. Application and letters of reference should be sent to cpsy-y@gpsn.org by the above due dates.
Youth Certified Peer Specialist (CPS-Y)
Is an individual who is a young adult, ages 18 through age 26, with lived experience living with a mental health or substance use condition or both and who has received behavioral health services as a youth and is willing and able to self-identify as a person living with a behavioral health condition and is prepared to use that experience in helping other youth and young adults living with similar behavioral health conditions.
The Youth CPS-Y offers emotional support, shares knowledge, and works with individuals to identify meaningful connections and tools that contribute to wellness/resiliency/recovery.
Is an individual who is a young adult, ages 18 through age 26, with lived experience living with a mental health or substance use condition or both and who has received behavioral health services as a youth and is willing and able to self-identify as a person living with a behavioral health condition and is prepared to use that experience in helping other youth and young adults living with similar behavioral health conditions.
The Youth CPS-Y offers emotional support, shares knowledge, and works with individuals to identify meaningful connections and tools that contribute to wellness/resiliency/recovery.
Training Opportunity
Priority will be given to those who are currently providing youth peer support services and need this credential to maintain employment within the system.
Please find the application along with eligibility requirements outlined in the attached announcement. Please forward to the designated staff that need to attend.
If you are interested in applying for this training, please submit your application and letters of reference to cps-y@gpsn.org.
Enrollees must meet the lived experience expectations below:
- Be 18-26 years of age (provide a copy of a valid Georgia ID); and
- Have a mental health (MH) condition, substance use disorder (SUD), or a co-occurring diagnosis; and a strong desire to identify themselves as a person living with a mental illness or substance use diagnosis; and
- Be able/willing to actively seek and manage your own appropriate care; and
- Be able to share their own personal story in a safe and appropriate way; and
- Must be well grounded in recovery wellness; and
- One year between diagnosis and application to training; and/or
- If the individual has a substance use condition, there must be one year of continuous abstinent from substance use; and
- Have a high school diploma or GED; provide a copy of these documents; and
- Provide (2) letters of reference. This cannot be a family member (please include contact information).
