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An Act To Increase the Effectiveness of Peer Supports in the State
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§36-F  is enacted to read:
 
36-F.     
Sec. 2.  34-B MRSA §3613  is enacted to read:
§ 3613. Peer support services
The department shall provide peer support services through intentional peer support specialists who have been certified to provide peer support services, as provided in this section, to consumers of mental health services who are clients of the department.
 
1.  Definitions.     For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings:
 
A.  "Peer support services" means services, assistance and supports that are based on the principles of mutual respect, responsibility and decision making and that are provided to persons with mental illness by intentional peer support specialists.
 
B.  "Intentional peer support specialist" means a person:
 
(1) Who has or who previously had a diagnosis of a mental illness, who is receiving or has received mental health services and supports and who is in recovery from mental illness; and
 
(2) Who is certified by the department under subsection 3.
 
2.  Provision of peer support services.     Peer support services must be provided by certified intentional peer support specialists who function as part of a community mental health or physical health program that includes a certified intentional peer support component. An assertive community treatment team providing mental health services on behalf of the department must include within its staff at least one full-time intentional peer support specialist as provided in section 3801, subsection 11.
 
3.  Certification.     The department shall certify intentional peer support specialists as provided in rules adopted by the department after consultation with the Intentional Peer Support Advisory Committee as established in Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 36-F and the entity that contracts with the department under subsection 4.
 
4.  Contracted services.     The department shall contract with an entity for the provision and management of peer support services, including, but not limited to, the following services:
 
A.  Recruiting, training, supervising and overseeing intentional peer support specialists; and
 
B.  Conducting informational sessions statewide on the functions and qualifications of intentional peer support specialists.
 
5.  Advisory committee.     The department shall appoint and convene the Intentional Peer Support Advisory Committee, referred to in this subsection as "the committee," consisting of 8 to 16 intentional peer support specialists, to advise the department on recruiting, training, supervising and overseeing intentional peer support specialists and to make recommendations to the department on those issues and on standards for training and approval, fidelity standards and oversight. The department shall make appointments to the committee from a list of nominees provided by the Consumer Council System of Maine, established in Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 60-B. The committee must meet at least 6 times per year. Members of the committee must be reimbursed for expenses and paid a per diem for attendance at meetings.
 
6.  Rulemaking.     The department shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 3. 34-B MRSA §3801, sub-§11, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 519, Pt. BBBB, §3 and affected by §20, is amended to read:
 
11. Assertive community treatment.   "Assertive community treatment" or "ACT" means a self-contained service with a fixed point of responsibility for providing treatment, rehabilitation and support services to persons with mental illness for whom other community-based treatment approaches have been unsuccessful. Assertive community treatment uses clinical and rehabilitative staff to address symptom stability; relapse prevention; maintenance of safe, affordable housing in normative settings that promote well-being; establishment of natural support networks to combat isolation and withdrawal; the minimizing of involvement with the criminal justice system; individual recovery education; and services to enable the person to function at a work site. Assertive community treatment is provided by multidisciplinary teams who are on duty 24 hours per day, 7 days per week; teams must include a psychiatrist, registered nurse, certified rehabilitation counselor or certified employment specialist, a full-time certified intentional peer recoverysupport specialist as provided in section 3613 and a substance abuse counselor and may include an occupational therapist, community-based mental health rehabilitation technician, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker or licensed clinical professional counselor. An ACT team member who is a state employee is, while in good faith performing a function as a member of an ACT team, performing a discretionary function within the meaning of Title 14, section 8104-B, subsection 3.
Sec. 4. Funding for peer support services provided to clients of the Department of Health and Human Services. The office of substance abuse and mental health services within the Department of Health and Human Services shall provide peer support services under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 34-B, section 3613. The costs of peer support services and the Intentional Peer Support Advisory Committee, as established in Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 36-F, must be met through the transfer of funding within the Mental Health - Community account and the Mental Health - Community Medicaid account and through the discontinuance of 2 full-time positions within the office of substance abuse and mental health services.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a peer support services program in the office of substance abuse and mental health services within the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill requires each assertive community treatment team to include at least one full-time intentional peer support specialist certified by the department. "Intentional peer support specialist" is defined. The bill requires the department to appoint and convene the Intentional Peer Support Advisory Committee. The bill requires the department to adopt necessary rules and designates the rules as routine technical rules. The bill requires the costs of intentional peer support services and the advisory committee to be met through the transfer of funding from the Mental Health - Community account and the Mental Health - Community Medicaid account and through the discontinuance of 2 full-time positions within the office of substance abuse and mental health services.