New peer training program targets start date of Jan. 1
COVA and a large stakeholder group from local government and social service agencies have set Jan. 1 as a projected start date for a new training program to prepare participants for para-professional careers as Forensic Peer Specialists.
The program, modeled after the very successful Howie T. Harp program in New York, aims to enroll 30 COVA participants in 2010 to complete six months of coursework, a three-month internship and eventual community job placement as peer counselors with employers such as mental health courts, mental health agencies and prisoner re-entry programs. Participants will have personal experience with incarceration and mental illness.
“This is an exciting new opportunity for COVA and involves so many key organizations in the workgroups,” said John Finch, COVA’s vice president of Rehabilitation and Employment. “We have had incredible support from all the stakeholders in taking on tough challenges of identifying funding, employers and creating a curriculum specific to the needs of central Ohio.”
COVA has advanced to the second round of consideration for funding through United Way, and is exploring stimulus funding in addition to state and federal prisoner re-entry grants.
Peer training has been identified by national behavioral health experts as a key model for workforce development. COVA currently employs four peers to work with participants across various COVA programs.