Peer Assisted Support Services (PeerLINKS)

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

The Peer Assisted Supported Services program, known in the community as “PeerLINKS,” began in fiscal year 2016-17 as a Mental Health Services Act Innovations program. The primary purpose of the program is to increase the depth and breadth of services for people diagnosed with serious mental illness who use acute crisis-oriented mental health services but are not effectively connected with community resources and/or lack active support networks. PeerLINKS uses peer support specialists and a shared decision-making process to engage clients. The outcome objectives include: serving a specified number of clients; decreasing the number of 30-day psychiatric hospitalization re-admissions by 75%; and link clients to appropriate services within the first three months of enrollment into the program. In addition, the program is to demonstrate improved levels of recovery of participants as measured by Combined Health Assessment, “CHAMPSSS” — Mental, Physical, Social, Substance, Strengths — and Milestones of Recovery Scale (MORS).