Division outlines peer certification, crisis responder training and workforce needs for behavioral health expansion

The Division for Behavioral Health told members of the House Finance Committee that workforce development is a central element of the expansion of behavioral health services and that the division has created or expanded certification programs for peers and crisis responders.

Katia Fox described a peer certification program designed to give people with lived experience credentials to work in community‑based peer support roles; Fox emphasized that peer positions are paid jobs, not volunteers. The certification is intended to standardize training, assure quality, and provide career pathways for peers across community‑based organizations.

Fox also described a crisis responder certification program developed with the state community college system to prepare people for roles on mobile crisis teams and within crisis centers. She said the certification supports consistent training standards and helps increase the qualified workforce to staff mobile crisis and crisis stabilization programs.

The department reported that across the division there are unfunded authorized positions (the division said 10 positions across the division were currently unfunded at the time of the presentation, with 3 of 9 children’s behavioral health positions noted as unfunded in a specific accounting unit). Fox said some positions authorized in prior appropriations remain open because hiring and onboarding take time.

Ending: Fox said the certification programs are in place to build workforce capacity for community‑based services and that the department will provide additional details about employer recruitment, training volumes and program rollouts as requested by committee members.