Postcertification Wages Among Certified Peer Specialists Working in Peer Support and Other Occupations

What is it about?

Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) training and certification programs may be seen as a systemic effort – intentionally or unintentionally – to alleviate poverty for people with psychiatric issues, but full employment of CPS in peer support positions remains a challenge. Post-certification, CPSs may choose to work in other occupations, depleting the behavioral health system of a much-needed resource for delivering evidence-based care. Wages of CPSs working in peer support and non-peer positions increased significantly since 2020. However, this analysis indicates that the increase for peer support job holders was significantly lower than for those in non-peer jobs by 2022. Financial wellbeing – how much your financial situation and money choices provide you with security and freedom – did not improve significantly over time despite the increase in wages. Living in an area with a shortage of mental health providers was associated with lower hourly wages but longer job tenure (how long someone stayed in a job). Job tenure was generally longer for peer support than non-peer jobs, most notably in 2022, meaning that the non-peer jobs were newly acquired and suggesting that participants may have been switching from peer support to better paid non-peer jobs.

Featured Image