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Introduced April 8, 2025 by Andrea Salinas · Last progress April 8, 2025
Creates a new Office of Recovery at SAMHSA, defines and supports the peer support specialist workforce, requires the OMB to add a Standard Occupational Classification for peer support specialists by Jan 1, 2026, and directs HHS (with the Attorney General) to produce a report on criminal background check practices and recommendations to reduce barriers to certification and practice. The bill ties peer support services to recognized national practice guidelines and SAMHSA core competencies and requires the new Office’s director to have lived experience in recovery.
The bill aims to expand and professionalize peer support for people with behavioral health needs—improving access, quality, and workforce development—while trading off implementation costs, potential service delays from certification rollouts, governance friction with states/tribes, and some safety and administrative risks.
People with mental health or substance use conditions gain more and easier access to standardized peer support services as federal guidance, a new Office, and reduced background-check barriers expand and coordinate recovery supports.
Peer support specialists and employers gain clearer career pathways, formal recognition, and better labor-market visibility (SOC code), improving job prospects, pay-setting, and workforce stability.
Providers, states, and localities receive aligned certification guidance and federal technical assistance tied to national competency standards, which should raise service quality and make program adoption more consistent.
People who need peer support risk reduced or delayed access if states are slow to implement certification pathways or impose burdensome requirements tied to the new standards.
Small, rural, and resource-constrained providers, and some state agencies, may face meaningful costs to train, certify, and update reporting systems to meet new standards and occupational coding requirements.
Easing background-check barriers could create safety concerns for some patients if criminal-history exclusions are relaxed without careful safeguards.