Documenting a Decade of Exponential Growth in Employer Demand for Peer Support Providers

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Health Workforce Research
• Substance Use Disorder Services
• Mental Illness Treatment

Background:

• Peer support providers are increasingly integrated into recovery-oriented behavioral health (BH) services.
• Limited data exists to track the peer support sector and understand workforce dynamics.
• Understanding supply, demand, and distribution factors for peer support is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify employer demand for peer support providers from 2010 to 2020.
• To identify factors associated with the growth of the peer support workforce.
• To analyze state-level associations between job postings and policy/infrastructure indicators.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, observational study analyzing job postings (2010-2020) from Emsi Burning Glass.
• Identified peer support job postings using a three-pronged, stepwise approach.
• Conducted bivariate regression analyses examining state-level relationships with Medicaid policies and BH infrastructure.

Main Results:

• Approximately 35,000 unique peer support job postings were identified, increasing 17-fold between 2010 and 2020.
• Significant state-level associations found between job postings and Medicaid expansion.
• Positive correlation observed between peer support job postings and the number of mental health facilities.

Conclusions:

• Employer demand for peer support providers has demonstrated robust growth over the past decade.
• Medicaid expansion and state mental health infrastructure are associated with increased demand for peer support.
• Continued development of data on this workforce is essential for understanding growth drivers.