The PEER Support Act creates a federal framework to strengthen the peer support specialist workforce. It defines who qualifies as a peer support specialist, directs the Office of Management and Budget to add a Standard Occupational Classification for the role, establishes an Office of Recovery inside SAMHSA led by a director with lived recovery experience, and requires HHS (with the Attorney General) to produce a report on criminal background check practices that act as barriers to certification and practice.
The bill matters because it shifts peer support from a patchwork of state rules and grant programs toward federal recognition and centralized technical assistance. Rather than mandating a single national certification or payment policy, the Act aims to expand capacity through professionalization, data visibility, training and retention supports, and recommendations to reduce legal barriers that keep people with lived experience out of the workforce.
At a Glance
What It Does
The Act defines 'peer support specialist' and ties the role to existing National Association of Peer Supporters and SAMHSA guidance; it requires OMB to add a peer support occupational code by January 1, 2026. The bill creates an Office of Recovery within SAMHSA, transfers existing Office of Recovery functions and assets into that office, and tasks HHS (with DOJ) to report within a year on state criminal background check processes and recommendations to reduce certification barriers.
Who It Affects
State certification bodies, Medicaid agencies and waiver administrators, behavioral health providers that employ peer specialists, SAMHSA and other federal health agencies, and individuals with lived experience seeking certification or employment as peer specialists. It also affects training organizations that align curricula with national practice guidelines.
Why It Matters
Federal occupational recognition improves data collection and visibility of the peer workforce and can support funding and planning. Establishing a dedicated SAMHSA office centralizes technical assistance, professional development, and career-pathway work—shifting how states and providers approach training, supervision, and retention. The mandated report could prompt state-level reforms to criminal background check rules that currently exclude many qualified candidates.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill starts by defining who counts as a peer support specialist: someone with lived recovery experience—either personally or as a parent/caregiver—who supports individuals or families, and who is certified under a state-determined process or under standards the HHS Secretary deems appropriate. The text ties the services that specialists deliver to two national frameworks: the National Association of Peer Supporters’ National Practice Guidelines and SAMHSA’s Core Competencies, creating an expectation that training and practice align with those documents.
The Act requires the Office of Management and Budget to add a dedicated Standard Occupational Classification for peer support specialists by January 1, 2026. That step is technical but consequential: it creates a federal labor-statistics category for the occupation, which helps track workforce size, wages, and geographic distribution and can strengthen the case for targeted federal or state funding and program planning.Within SAMHSA the bill establishes an Office of Recovery, led by a director who has both professional experience and lived recovery experience.
That Office inherits the prior Office of Recovery’s personnel, assets and authorities and has a clearly enumerated portfolio: identify emerging recovery-support issues, supply technical assistance and data analysis to states and tribes, support training and professionalization of peer workers, disseminate best practices on certification and supervision, support retention and career-pathway development, and evaluate outcomes.Finally, HHS—coordinating with the Attorney General—must produce a research-based report within one year that catalogs state criminal background check laws that affect peer certification and practice, compares Medicaid plan and waiver requirements, notes exemptions or recent reforms, and issues recommendations to reduce unnecessary barriers. The bill requires public posting of the report and targeted distribution to state certification agencies, CMS, and relevant state Medicaid and grant administrators.
The Act stops short of imposing a federal certification standard or mandating Medicaid coverage; instead it uses federal recognition, a centralized office, and a research-driven review to push states and programs toward more consistent, evidence-informed policies.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Section 2 defines 'peer support specialist' to include people with personal or caregiver lived experience and ties the role to certification determined by the State or by the HHS Secretary.
Section 3 directs the Director of OMB to add a Standard Occupational Classification for peer support specialists by January 1, 2026.
Section 4 creates an Office of Recovery inside SAMHSA, requires the Director to have lived recovery experience, and transfers existing Office of Recovery functions, staff, and assets into the new Office.
Section 5 requires HHS, in coordination with the Attorney General, to produce and publish within one year a report surveying state criminal background check laws affecting peer certification and offering recommendations to reduce barriers.
The bill makes peer support services subject to the National Association of Peer Supporters’ National Practice Guidelines and SAMHSA's Core Competencies but does not create a single federal certification or mandate federal reimbursement.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Definition of peer support specialist and scope of services
This section establishes who counts as a peer support specialist: individuals with lived recovery experience or caregivers of someone in recovery. It explicitly ties acceptable services to the National Association of Peer Supporters’ National Practice Guidelines and SAMHSA’s Core Competencies. Practically, this sets a national reference standard for training content and expected competencies without superseding state certification schemes—states retain authority to set the certification process unless HHS intervenes.
Occupational recognition via OMB Standard Occupational Classification
The bill requires OMB to add a peer support specialist occupation to the SOC by a fixed deadline. That action is administrative—no funding or payment changes follow automatically—but it standardizes how federal surveys will count and report the occupation. For workforce planners and funders, that creates a clearer evidentiary basis for grants, workforce grants, and state planning decisions.
Office of Recovery inside SAMHSA with lived-experience leadership
This provision codifies an Office of Recovery within SAMHSA, names its leadership criteria, and assigns a focused portfolio: technical assistance, data analysis, training and professionalization support, dissemination of best practices, retention programs, and career-pathway recommendations. The bill also folds the preexisting Office of Recovery’s personnel and assets into the new office. For implementation this means SAMHSA will have a single program home responsible for coordinating peer workforce supports and producing usable guidance for states and providers.
Research and federal recommendations on criminal background checks
HHS, with the Attorney General, must survey state laws and regulations that impose criminal-history barriers to certification and practice, analyze how Medicaid state plans, waivers, and certain federal grants interact with those rules, and report evidence on peer specialist effectiveness. The report must identify common disqualifying offenses, note exemptions and recent changes, and recommend approaches that reduce unnecessary exclusion while protecting safety. HHS must post the report publicly and distribute it to state certification bodies, CMS, and relevant state agencies.
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Explore Healthcare in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Peer support specialists and prospective peer workers — the bill raises the profession’s visibility, creates clearer training expectations tied to national guidelines, and supports retention and career-pathway work that can increase job stability and advancement.
- State and tribal behavioral health agencies — they receive technical assistance, data analysis, and best-practice guidance from a centralized SAMHSA Office, which reduces the burden of developing those resources from scratch.
- People receiving behavioral health services and families — better-trained and more numerous peer specialists can expand access to recovery-oriented supports that are evidence-aligned and integrated into service systems.
Who Bears the Cost
- State governments and certification bodies — they may need to update statutes, regulations, and certification processes in response to federal guidance and to implement any recommended background-check reforms, which can require legislative and administrative work.
- SAMHSA and federal agencies — creating and staffing an Office of Recovery and producing the mandated report require appropriations or reallocation of existing funds; the bill transfers existing assets but implementation will still need sustained budget support.
- Behavioral health providers and employers — aligning hiring, supervision, and training to the national practice guidelines and building career pathways could require investment in training, supervision capacity, and human-resources changes.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether to prioritize rapid expansion and professionalization of a workforce drawn from people with lived experience—by reducing legal and administrative barriers—or to prioritize uniform safety and liability protections that often produce exclusionary background-check rules; the bill leans toward inclusion and recognition while stopping short of supplanting state authority, creating a tension between national momentum and local control.
The Act balances federal recognition with state control: it creates an occupational code and a SAMHSA office that issue guidance, but it leaves certification authority largely to states. That design preserves state flexibility but also leaves open a patchwork of rules that federal guidance cannot fully harmonize without additional statutory authority or incentives.
The mandated criminal-background-check report will surface heterogeneity and recommend changes, but recommendations alone do not compel states to amend exclusionary rules—real change will depend on state legislative and regulatory action.
Operationally, the Office of Recovery’s effectiveness will hinge on funding and on how SAMHSA chooses to prioritize workforce, training, and retention activities relative to other programs. The bill requires the Director to have lived experience, which strengthens peer-led governance but may raise questions about selection criteria and administrative appointment processes.
Finally, recommendations to relax background-check barriers present a policy trade-off: increasing workforce access for people with convictions could expand capacity and equity, but states and employers will need clear guidance on risk mitigation, liability, and client safety to implement reforms responsibly.
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