Elements and Performance Criteria
- Elements define the essential outcomes
- Undertake peer worker planning and recruitment
- Identify and assess mental health peer participation requirements in collaboration with consumer and carer leaders
- Plan processes and recruitment strategies that align with national policy and recommendations of the consumers and carers in service delivery
- Develop job specifications and position responsibilities in collaboration with consumer and carer leaders
- Determine and address reasonable adjustment needs in all aspects of recruitment and employment
- Recruit peer workers using timely and appropriate processes and providing all relevant documentation required by the organisation
- Provide relevant induction, orientation and training plans for new peer workers
- Establish a work plan in consultation with the peer worker
- Promote positive inclusion of peer workers within the organisation
- Support peer work
- Create work practices that optimise the intended objectives, values and ethics of mental health peer work
- Define, agree and communicate peer worker roles, responsibilities
- Develop work practices that are equitable for peer workers, including the same access to resources and work related facilities and opportunities as other workers
- Provide peer workers with appropriate access to supervision, mentoring and debriefing by experienced peer workers and other people best able to satisfy their agreed work and development needs
- Provide opportunities for peer workers to operate in leadership and management roles according to their skills
- Ensure that peer workers are supported and have access to peer mentoring and peer networking opportunities on an ongoing basis
- Put in place mechanisms to continually evaluate support strategies and ongoing skills development available to peer worker
- Ensure peer work plans and organisation policy are consistent with peer worker frameworks and principles
- Identify and address risks and evidence of role strain, role conflict and role confusion in relation to peer worker role
- Recognise performance achievement and encourage self-assessment and reflective practice
- Promote and support the inclusion of peer workers in the workplace
- Promote the value of peer work to all staff
- Identify and manage service culture issues and procedures that are barriers to effective peer work
- Consult with peer leaders in the development and delivery of staff training
- Provide support and training about peer work to staff in-order to clarify role delineation and minimise the risk of role strain, role conflict and role confusion
- Encourage all staff to attend consumer and carer events
- Promote and champion peer work
- Develop, document, manage and review policies and procedures to support the delivery and promotion of peer work within the organisation
- Advocate with peer workers within the organisation and sector
- Ensure peer worker participation in all relevant planning, implementation, education and evaluation activities, both within the organisation and sector
- Ensure information about peer work programs appear in organisation brochures, promotional materials and annual reports
- Seek or allocate funding for peer worker driven resource and program development and other initiatives
- Maintain current knowledge of peer work developments and innovations