Building capacity in social service agencies to employ peer providers

While there is evidence that peer providers are valuable to service delivery teams, the agencies where they work face difficulties in fulfilling the potential of including peers on staff effectively. The purpose of this article is to report findings of a pilot test of a workplace strategy that promoted inclusion of peer providers at social service agencies by building organizational capacity to support people with mental health conditions in peer provider roles. The strategy included training, goal setting and ongoing consultation.

Seventy-one peer, non-peer and supervisory staff participated from 6 agencies over a one year period. Goal attainment scaling and data from in-depth interviews about perceptions of differences in the ways in which staff are supported, administered prior to and after the consultation period, were used to assess strategy impact.

Most frequently staff set goals to respond to role conflict or a lack of support. Staff that met or exceeded their goals utilized the formal structure of consultation to improve communication among themselves, had leadership that sanctioned changes and felt that their participation was of value to the organization and contributed to their individual development. Strategy participation promoted inclusion by initiating changes to policies and practices that devalued the peer provider role, increased skill sets, and formalized lines of communication for sharing information and understanding related to peer providers.

Findings demonstrate that a strategy of training, goal setting and consultation can positively affect perceptions of inclusion, and promote implementation of practices associated with inclusive workplaces.