AVAILABILITY OF PEER SUPPORT SERVICES

(a) The department shall adopt a policy to increase the availability of formal and informal peer support services, including certified peer specialist services, to a person confined in a facility operated by or under contract with the department, including a state jail felony facility, substance abuse felony punishment facility, or intermediate sanction facility. (b) The policy adopted under Subsection (a) must: (1) allow for persons who have previously been convicted of an offense, including releasees on parole or mandatory supervision and defendants on community supervision, to serve as certified peer specialists in a facility described by Subsection (a); (2) specify the conditions under which a person described by Subdivision (1) may serve as a certified peer specialist; and (3) allow for persons confined in a facility described by Subsection (a) to serve in a peer support role, provided that the persons are trained and supervised by a community-based organization described by Subsection (c). (c) In implementing the policy adopted under Subsection (a), the department shall: (1) collaborate with community-based organizations that provide peer specialist training, including training in any of the following peer support specialties: (A) certified peer specialist; (B) certified peer reentry specialist; (C) certified peer recovery specialist; or (D) any other peer support specialty recognized by the Health and Human Services Commission; and (2) encourage and assist persons described by Subsection (b)(3), with particular emphasis on persons who have been involved with programs or services relating to substance abuse or behavioral health, to participate in training described by Subdivision (1).