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ACR-146 Peer Appreciation Week.(2023-2024)

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Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 146
CHAPTER 88

Relative to Peer Appreciation Week.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  June 05, 2024. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


ACR 146, Pellerin. Peer Appreciation Week.
This bill would recognize the 3rd week of May 2024 as Peer Appreciation Week in California.
Fiscal Committee: NO  

WHEREAS, Senate Bill 803 was signed into law on September 25, 2020, and established the peer support specialist certification program in California and allows new and current peer support workers to be Medi-Cal certified peer support specialists; and
WHEREAS, Peer support specialists are trained providers who use their lived experience to encourage, engage with, and support others with mental health, addiction, or trauma challenges using the recovery model and the principles and values of peer support to provide hope, support, and be a role model of recovery; and
WHEREAS, Peer support specialists use the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) definition of recovery, guiding principles of recovery, mission, and vision to empower and assist their peers to live a life of their choosing, improving the likelihood of long-term recovery; and
WHEREAS, Medi-Cal certified peer support specialist services are eligible for federal reimbursements; and
WHEREAS, Peer support is an emerging best practice, has proven to be a cost-effective treatment for mental health, addiction, and traumatic challenges, reduces inpatient hospital days and recidivism rates, and increases a consumer’s ability to access culturally responsive community-based services; and
WHEREAS, California is facing severe behavioral health workforce shortages and peer support specialists can play a meaningful role in alleviating these shortages; and
WHEREAS, There is a need to increase public awareness of peers, peer services, how they are impacting the lives of countless adults, children, adolescents, and families within the health and human services industry, and how they are providing a shining example of recovery in the array of services delivered; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby recognizes the third week of May 2024, during National Mental Health Awareness Month, as Peer Appreciation Week in California; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.