Delaware recognizes peer support as a distinct behavioral health workforce serving people affected by mental health conditions, substance use disorders, co-occurring conditions, and related behavioral health challenges.
The state’s primary peer credential is the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS). Delaware law defines a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist as an individual holding a valid CPRS certification issued by the Delaware Certification Board. Delaware’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, or DSAMH, also operates a statewide Peer Support Program that provides training, workforce development, continuing education, supervision resources, and technical assistance for peer professionals. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Delaware’s peer system spans both mental health and substance use recovery. DSAMH describes Peer Recovery Specialists as people with personal experience of mental illness, addiction, co-occurring conditions, and recovery who use that experience to help others develop skills, access resources, and live independently in the community. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Peer professionals work across Assertive Community Treatment teams, peer resource centers, detoxification programs, emergency departments, intensive care management teams, group homes, inpatient and treatment facilities, Veterans Affairs programs, intensive outpatient programs, Mental Health Court, PROMISE services, Bridge Clinics, crisis services, recovery organizations, and other community programs. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Delaware Medicaid covers peer support within specific programs and service structures. The PROMISE program, for example, explicitly includes peer support delivered by a peer or recovery coach using lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorder. Medicaid reimbursement does not mean that every CPRS may independently enroll and bill Medicaid. Coverage depends on the benefit, eligible provider organization, service requirements, staff qualifications, supervision, documentation, and applicable Medicaid rules. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Delaware Peer Support Quick Facts
Category | Delaware overview |
|---|---|
State Medicaid program | Delaware Medicaid |
Primary peer credential | Certified Peer Recovery Specialist |
Credential abbreviation | CPRS |
Credentialing organization | Delaware Certification Board |
State behavioral health authority | Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health |
Minimum age for DSAMH certification training pathway | 18 |
Minimum education | High school diploma or GED |
Lived experience | Personal experience with mental illness and/or addiction and recovery |
Experience before advanced state training | At least 3 months while currently working or volunteering under supervision |
CPRS work/volunteer experience for certification | 500 hours under current DCB requirements |
CPRS supervision | 25 hours of on-the-job supervision |
CPRS education | 46 hours of peer-specific education/training |
Examination | Certification examination required |
CPRS recertification | 20 hours of peer-recovery continuing education, including 6 ethics hours |
Peer supervisor credential | Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists |
Medicaid peer program | PROMISE and other applicable behavioral health services |
Major community settings | ACT, peer centers, detox, emergency departments, IOP, treatment programs, Mental Health Court, PROMISE |
Crisis role | Certified Peer Recovery Specialists are expressly recognized in Delaware’s behavioral health crisis law |
Last reviewed | August 2026 |
Sources: (Delaware Health and Social Services)
What Is Peer Support?
Peer support is assistance delivered by someone whose relevant lived experience informs how they support another person’s recovery.
Delaware’s Peer Support Program describes Peer Recovery Specialists as people who understand mental illness, addiction, co-occurring conditions, and recovery because they have experienced those challenges themselves. They intentionally use that experience to help other people develop skills, connect with resources, and pursue independent and productive lives in their communities. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Peer support emphasizes:
- Hope
- Recovery
- Self-determination
- Mutuality
- Empowerment
- Self-advocacy
- Recovery-oriented attitudes
- Community living
- Natural supports
- Connection
- Personal responsibility
- Strengths
- Wellness
- Intentional use of lived experience
Within PROMISE, Delaware describes peer support as beneficiary-centered, rehabilitation- and recovery-focused assistance intended to build coping and symptom-management skills while strengthening natural resources, hope, self-advocacy, and community-living skills. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Common Peer Support Activities
Depending on the program, Peer Recovery Specialists may:
- Build trusting relationships
- Share lived experience appropriately
- Promote hope and recovery
- Help people identify recovery goals
- Support recovery planning
- Help people navigate behavioral health systems
- Connect people with community resources
- Promote self-advocacy
- Facilitate peer groups
- Support treatment engagement
- Support transitions between services
- Help build natural supports
- Promote independent living
- Assist with community integration
- Provide recovery education
- Support people following overdose or crisis
- Provide recovery coaching
- Help people connect with treatment
- Participate on interdisciplinary teams
- Document services when required
Peer professionals generally do not diagnose behavioral health disorders, provide psychotherapy, prescribe medication, or represent themselves as licensed clinicians unless they separately hold the applicable professional credential and are acting within that role.
Certified Peer Recovery Specialists in Delaware
What Is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist?
A Certified Peer Recovery Specialist is Delaware’s primary professional peer credential.
Delaware law now expressly defines a CPRS as a person with valid certification issued by the Delaware Certification Board. The credential is recognized across Delaware’s behavioral health system and within the state’s behavioral health crisis infrastructure. (Delaware Code Online)
The credential can reflect lived experience involving:
- Mental illness
- Substance use disorder
- Addiction
- Co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions
- Recovery
This makes Delaware different from states that maintain completely separate statewide credentials for mental health peers and substance use recovery coaches.
Becoming a Peer Recovery Specialist
DSAMH encourages prospective peers to begin by gaining experience in actual peer-support settings.
Possible entry points include:
- Peer 101 training
- Volunteering with behavioral health programs
- Volunteering at peer resource centers
- Employment in an entry-level peer role
- Working with vocational rehabilitation or employment-support services
- Learning directly from experienced Peer Recovery Specialists
DSAMH states that after several months of supervised peer work or volunteering, an individual may become eligible for Delaware’s advanced Certified Peer Support Specialist training. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
DSAMH Eligibility for CPRS Training
Current DSAMH Peer Support Program requirements state that a person seeking Delaware Certified Peer Recovery Specialist training must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Have direct personal experience living with mental illness and/or addiction and recovery
- Be willing to disclose lived experience appropriately for education, role modeling, and providing hope
- Have at least three months of peer experience
- Be currently working or volunteering under supervision in a peer role
DSAMH currently states that there is no cost to participate in the training required to become a Peer Recovery Specialist. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Delaware CPRS Certification Requirements
Training eligibility and professional certification are related but are not exactly the same.
The Delaware Certification Board maintains the professional CPRS credential.
Current DCB requirements identify:
Formal Education
A minimum of a:
- High school diploma, or
- GED
under the current certification pathway. (Delaware Certification Board)
Peer Work Experience
Current DCB requirements identify 500 hours of work or volunteer experience within the CPRS domains. (Delaware Certification Board)
Applicants must also provide documentation of their current peer recovery job or volunteer role signed by the applicant and immediate supervisor. (Delaware Certification Board)
Lived Experience
Applicants provide a statement describing their personal recovery experience and sustained recovery history. (Delaware Certification Board)
Supervision
Applicants must complete 25 hours of on-the-job supervision covering the CPRS professional domains. (Delaware Certification Board)
Education and Training
Current DCB requirements specify 46 hours of education and training specific to the CPRS domains. (Delaware Certification Board)
The education addresses areas including:
- Advocacy
- Mentoring and education
- Recovery and wellness support
- Ethical responsibility
- Harm reduction
The credentialing body should always be checked for the current allocation of required hours before an organization builds a credential-compliance workflow.
Examination
The CPRS pathway includes a certification examination following approval of the application. (Copeland Center)
Delaware CPRS Professional Domains
Current Delaware Certification Board materials organize CPRS competency around professional domains that include:
- Advocacy
- Ethical responsibility
- Mentoring and education
- Recovery and wellness support
- Harm reduction
These domains are useful for organizations because they can also inform:
- Job descriptions
- Supervision
- Competency assessment
- Training plans
- Documentation
- Performance review
- Continuing education
Delaware Peer Training
DSAMH’s Peer Support Program currently identifies several major training offerings.
Peer 101
A two-day introductory program focused on the roles and responsibilities of Peer Recovery Specialists in Delaware.
DSAMH describes Peer 101 as an entry point for people interested in developing foundational skills before or while entering peer employment or volunteer work. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Certified Peer Support Specialist Training
DSAMH currently describes its advanced certification-preparation course as a nine-day training for Peer Recovery Specialists preparing for certification in Delaware. It is currently offered twice annually. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Supervising Peer Recovery Specialists
DSAMH offers a one-day supervisor training for professionals supervising Peer Recovery Specialists. The state currently lists this training as being offered quarterly. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Continuing Education
DSAMH offers continuing-education workshops tailored to Peer Recovery Specialists for:
- Recertification
- Professional development
- Skills development
- Peer practice
Current offerings are made available through the Delaware Learning Center and other DSAMH training infrastructure. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
CPRS Recertification
The Delaware Certification Board currently requires 20 hours of continuing education relevant to peer recovery for CPRS recertification.
Of those hours, 6 hours must address ethics. (Delaware Certification Board)
Organizations should therefore track:
- CPRS certification
- Expiration date
- Peer-recovery CE hours
- Ethics hours
- Renewal application
- Credential status
Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists
Delaware also has a formal Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists, or CSPS, credential administered by the Delaware Certification Board.
This is important because effective peer supervision should not simply be treated as generic clinical supervision.
DCB currently provides two qualification pathways for CSPS certification.
One pathway involves a bachelor’s degree plus behavioral health and supervisory experience.
A second pathway permits qualification based on substantial CPRS experience and experience supervising peers, without requiring the same formal degree pathway. (Delaware Certification Board)
Current DCB information describes the second pathway as requiring:
- Two years of full-time or 4,000 hours of part-time experience as a CPRS
- One year of full-time or 2,000 hours of experience supervising peers
Other requirements apply, and organizations should review the current DCB application directly before establishing supervisor-qualification rules. (Delaware Certification Board)
CSPS Recertification
Current Delaware Certification Board recertification requirements for Certified Supervisors of Peer Specialists include 20 hours of continuing education over the applicable certification period.
Required content currently includes:
- Role of the Peer Specialist
- Recovery
- Ethics and boundaries
- Other peer-support or peer-supervision education
- Four co-supervision meetings during the two-year recertification cycle (Delaware Certification Board)
This makes Delaware notable for having formal professional infrastructure around both peer workers and peer supervisors.
Is Peer Support Covered by Delaware Medicaid?
Yes, within specific Delaware Medicaid services and programs.
The clearest example is PROMISE, which stands for Promoting Optimal Mental Health for Individuals through Supports and Empowerment.
PROMISE is a Medicaid program providing individualized, community-based, recovery-oriented services to adults with significant behavioral health needs. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
PROMISE explicitly includes Peer Support among its covered community-based services. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
PROMISE Peer Support
Under PROMISE, a peer or recovery coach uses lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorder to assist Medicaid beneficiaries in their recovery.
Delaware describes PROMISE peer support as:
- Beneficiary-centered
- Rehabilitation-focused
- Recovery-focused
- Designed to build coping skills
- Designed to help manage psychiatric symptoms
- Focused on natural resources
- Focused on hope
- Focused on self-advocacy
- Focused on community-living skills (Delaware Health and Social Services)
PROMISE also includes services such as:
- Care management
- Individual employment supports
- Small-group supported employment
- Financial coaching
- Benefits counseling
- Non-medical transportation
- Other individualized supports (Delaware Health and Social Services)
PROMISE Eligibility
Current Delaware guidance states that PROMISE participants must generally:
- Be over age 18
- Have a behavioral health diagnosis
- Meet applicable needs-based functional criteria
- Continue to need one or more services or supports to live or work independently
PROMISE operates within Delaware’s Medicaid framework for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Organizations should not assume that every Delaware Medicaid member automatically qualifies for PROMISE Peer Support.
Medicaid Peer Support Billing
Delaware Medicaid has historically used H0038 for self-help and peer services within applicable behavioral health structures.
However, programs should not use a historical code reference as the sole basis for current billing.
Before submitting claims, organizations should verify:
- Current Delaware Medicaid provider manual
- Applicable fee schedule
- PROMISE requirements
- Managed care requirements
- Provider eligibility
- Staff qualifications
- Service definition
- Authorization
- Documentation
- Units
- Modifiers
- Place of service
A covered service and an individually certified peer are not the same thing as an independently enrolled billing provider.
Can an Individual CPRS Bill Delaware Medicaid Directly?
Organizations should not assume that CPRS certification creates independent Medicaid billing authority.
The CPRS credential demonstrates that the individual meets Delaware’s professional peer certification requirements.
Medicaid reimbursement depends on the structure of the covered program and the organization delivering it.
Organizations should determine:
- What Medicaid service is being delivered?
- Is the individual eligible for that benefit?
- Who is the enrolled billing provider?
- Is the organization eligible to provide the service?
- Does the worker meet CPRS requirements?
- What supervision is required?
- Is the service included in PROMISE or another program?
- What billing code applies?
- What documentation is required?
- What managed care requirements apply?
Behavioral Health Crisis Services
Delaware has formally incorporated Certified Peer Recovery Specialists into its statewide behavioral health crisis system.
Current Delaware law defines CPRS in the state’s 988 Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Services statute and identifies Certified Peer Recovery Specialists as professionals who may be part of a mobile crisis team responding on site to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises. (Delaware Code Online)
This places peers within a formal statewide crisis infrastructure rather than limiting peer services to traditional outpatient recovery programs.
Peer Support and 988
Delaware’s behavioral health crisis system serves people experiencing:
- Mental health crises
- Substance use crises
- Co-occurring behavioral health crises
DSAMH operates crisis services and identifies peer specialist support as part of Delaware’s broader behavioral health response infrastructure. (Delaware Code Online)
Peer professionals may contribute through:
- Crisis engagement
- Recovery-oriented support
- De-escalation support
- Connection to treatment
- Navigation
- Follow-up
- Community resource connection
- Transition support
Clinical crisis assessment and peer crisis support should remain distinct roles.
Bridge Clinics
Delaware’s DSAMH Bridge Clinics combine clinical treatment with peer recovery support.
DSAMH describes the model as connecting a person with both:
- A qualified licensed clinician
- A Peer Recovery Specialist
The Peer Recovery Specialist helps the person navigate recommended follow-up treatment and community services. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
This creates a transition model of:
Immediate behavioral health need → clinician and peer engagement → referral → continued community care
Emergency Departments
Peer Recovery Specialists work in Delaware emergency departments. DSAMH includes emergency departments among the established settings employing Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Delaware’s 2026 statewide emergency department guidance for opioid use disorder also emphasizes peer recovery support, care navigation, referral, and continuity between emergency care and ongoing treatment. (State of Delaware News)
Peers may help people:
- Engage after overdose
- Consider treatment options
- Access behavioral health services
- Connect with recovery resources
- Navigate referrals
- Address barriers
- Maintain connection following discharge
Mental Health Court Peer Mentors
Delaware Superior Court operates a Mental Health Court Peer Mentor Program.
The court describes peer support as valuable because peers have experienced circumstances similar to those of the people they support and can provide understanding, hope, and practical perspective based on their own recovery. (Delaware Courts)
This illustrates the reach of Delaware peer services beyond traditional behavioral health clinics into:
- Courts
- Justice programs
- Reentry
- Diversion
- Community supervision
Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Peer Recovery Specialists are integrated throughout Delaware’s publicly funded addiction treatment system.
Current DSAMH guidance identifies peer services as part of publicly funded addiction treatment and describes Peer Recovery Specialists as supporting people recovering from addiction, mental health conditions, or both. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Potential settings include:
- Withdrawal management
- Residential treatment
- Intensive outpatient services
- Outpatient treatment
- Bridge Clinics
- Emergency departments
- Recovery community organizations
- Outreach
- Post-overdose services
Mental Health Peer Support
Delaware’s CPRS workforce is not limited to substance use recovery.
The state credential and DSAMH Peer Support Program explicitly encompass lived experience with mental illness and recovery. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Mental health peer professionals may work in:
- ACT teams
- Intensive care management
- Peer resource centers
- Group homes
- Inpatient settings
- PROMISE
- Mental Health Court
- Crisis programs
- Community behavioral health organizations
Co-Occurring Conditions
Delaware’s system is particularly suited to peers with experience across mental health and substance use recovery.
The state’s behavioral health crisis statute separately defines co-occurring disorders as the coexistence of a mental health condition and a substance use disorder, and the CPRS workforce is used throughout services addressing both. (Delaware Code Online)
Organizations should nevertheless match the peer’s:
- Lived experience
- Training
- Competence
- Role
- Program
to the population being served.
Family Peer Support
Delaware also has community-based family peer support, particularly within children’s behavioral health.
The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families identifies Champions for Children’s Mental Health as a Delaware organization offering peer support, training, and resource information to families caring for children and youth with mental or behavioral health needs. (Kids Delaware)
Family peer support may include:
- Helping families navigate behavioral health systems
- Supporting caregiver advocacy
- Connecting families with resources
- Helping families understand services
- Supporting family voice
- Providing emotional support grounded in lived experience
- Helping caregivers prepare for meetings
- Supporting transitions
- Strengthening natural supports
Organizations should verify the credential and payer requirements for the specific family service rather than assuming the adult CPRS Medicaid structure applies universally.
Peer Support Scope of Practice in Delaware
Delaware Peer Recovery Specialists provide nonclinical behavioral health and recovery support grounded in lived experience.
Activities Commonly Associated With Peer Support
Depending on the service, peers may:
- Engage participants
- Build trusting relationships
- Share lived experience
- Promote hope
- Support recovery
- Help identify goals
- Promote self-advocacy
- Support community living
- Help develop coping skills
- Connect people with natural supports
- Connect people with community resources
- Provide mentoring
- Facilitate groups
- Help navigate behavioral health systems
- Support treatment engagement
- Support transitions
- Provide recovery education
- Participate on interdisciplinary teams
- Document peer services
Activities Generally Outside the Peer Role
Unless separately licensed or otherwise qualified, peers generally should not:
- Diagnose mental health disorders
- Diagnose substance use disorders
- Conduct psychotherapy
- Prescribe medication
- Practice medicine
- Present themselves as licensed clinicians
- Conduct clinical assessments requiring licensure
- Independently make treatment decisions
- Make legal determinations
- Perform tasks beyond their training or competence
Supervision of Peer Recovery Specialists
Supervision is a core part of Delaware’s peer workforce model.
DSAMH requires an applicant entering advanced peer certification training to already be working or volunteering under supervision in a peer role. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
The professional CPRS credential separately requires 25 hours of documented on-the-job supervision. (Delaware Certification Board)
Delaware also provides:
- Supervisor training through DSAMH
- A formal Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists credential through DCB
- Peer networking
- Technical assistance
- Professional-development opportunities (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Administrative Supervision
May address:
- Scheduling
- Attendance
- Caseload
- Documentation completion
- Performance
- Organizational policy
- Program workflows
Peer Practice Supervision
May address:
- Intentional use of lived experience
- Peer ethics
- Boundaries
- Recovery
- Advocacy
- Mutuality
- Self-determination
- Role fidelity
- Difficult peer relationships
- Staff wellness
Clinical Consultation
Clinical professionals may provide consultation when issues involve:
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Medication
- Acute clinical risk
- Medical concerns
- Other matters outside peer scope
Clinical consultation should not erase the distinct role of peer supervision.
Questions Organizations Should Answer
Organizations should establish clear answers to questions such as:
- Who supervises peer staff?
- Does that person understand peer support?
- Does the supervisor meet program requirements?
- Is a CSPS required or preferred?
- How often does supervision occur?
- Are CPRS supervision hours documented?
- How are peer ethical concerns handled?
- Who provides clinical consultation?
- How does the organization prevent role drift?
- How are continuing education requirements tracked?
- How is peer fidelity assessed?
- How are newly hired peers supported toward certification?
Documentation for Delaware Peer Support Services
Peer documentation should demonstrate what service occurred while preserving the recovery-oriented and nonclinical nature of peer support.
Documentation requirements vary by:
- PROMISE
- Medicaid
- DSAMH contract
- Substance use treatment program
- Mental health program
- Crisis program
- Grant
- Employer
- Other payer
Common Documentation Elements
A peer support note may include:
- Participant name or identifier
- Date
- Start and end time
- Duration
- Location
- Modality
- Type of peer service
- Participant-defined recovery goal
- Peer intervention
- Relevant use of lived experience
- Skills addressed
- Resources discussed
- Participant response
- Progress
- Barriers
- Follow-up plan
- Peer worker name
- CPRS status
- Required signature or attestation
Peer Documentation Should Be
- Accurate
- Timely
- Recovery-oriented
- Strengths-based
- Person-centered
- Respectful
- Relevant
- Consistent with peer scope
- Connected to the covered service
- Limited to necessary information
- Compliant with payer requirements
Peer Documentation Should Avoid
- Unsupported diagnoses
- Stigmatizing language
- Clinical interpretation outside peer scope
- Copying identical notes
- Documenting services that did not occur
- Unnecessary trauma details
- Irrelevant sensitive information
- Personal opinion stated as fact
- Documentation written solely to produce a claim
Documentation and Billing Are Not the Same Thing
A complete peer note does not automatically make a service Medicaid-reimbursable.
A claim may also depend on:
- Medicaid eligibility
- PROMISE eligibility where applicable
- Provider enrollment
- Covered service
- Staff qualifications
- Certification
- Supervision
- Service authorization
- Recovery or treatment plan
- Procedure code
- Units
- Place of service
- Managed care requirements
- Timely filing
- Contract requirements
Confidentiality and Information Sharing
Delaware peer programs may handle highly sensitive behavioral health information.
Depending on the organization and service, requirements may include:
- HIPAA
- 42 CFR Part 2
- Delaware confidentiality law
- Medicaid requirements
- DSAMH requirements
- Children’s behavioral health requirements
- Organizational policy
- Consent and authorization requirements
Peer workers should receive role-specific training addressing:
- What information they may access
- What they should document
- When information may be shared
- Participant consent
- Care-team communication
- Substance use records
- Text messaging
- Mobile devices
- Telehealth
- Social media
- Crisis situations
- Legal requests
- Boundaries
Where Peer Support Is Delivered in Delaware
Assertive Community Treatment
DSAMH specifically identifies ACT teams among settings employing Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Peers may support:
- Engagement
- Recovery planning
- Community living
- Self-advocacy
- Natural supports
- Treatment participation
Peer Resource Centers
Peer resource centers provide community-based opportunities for:
- Peer connection
- Recovery support
- Groups
- Education
- Social connection
- Resource navigation
- Advocacy
DSAMH identifies these centers among the primary settings in which Delaware Peer Recovery Specialists work. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Detoxification and SUD Programs
Peer professionals may support individuals during withdrawal management and help connect them with:
- Treatment
- Recovery resources
- Community supports
- Ongoing peer services
Emergency Departments
Peer Recovery Specialists work in Delaware emergency departments and are increasingly integrated into the state’s response to opioid use disorder and overdose. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Bridge Clinics
DSAMH Bridge Clinics pair clinical services with Peer Recovery Specialists who help participants navigate follow-up care and community treatment. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Intensive Care Management
Peer professionals may work within intensive community-based teams assisting people with complex behavioral health needs. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Group Homes
DSAMH identifies group homes among settings employing Peer Recovery Specialists. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Inpatient and Treatment Facilities
Peers may support people during treatment and help facilitate transitions back into the community. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Intensive Outpatient Programs
Peer professionals may provide recovery support alongside treatment within IOP settings. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Mental Health Court
Delaware Superior Court uses peer mentors within Mental Health Court to provide support, understanding, hope, and recovery perspective. (Delaware Courts)
PROMISE
Peer support is a formal service within PROMISE for eligible adults with behavioral health needs. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Mobile Crisis
Delaware law recognizes Certified Peer Recovery Specialists as potential members of mobile crisis teams. (Delaware Code Online)
Youth and Family Services
Family and youth peer models operate within Delaware’s child behavioral health ecosystem, including organizations identified by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. (Kids Delaware)
Justice and Reentry Programs
Peer professionals may work in:
- Mental Health Court
- Reentry
- Diversion
- Justice-oriented behavioral health programs
- Community supervision
Collegiate Recovery Programs
Delaware colleges and universities may use:
- Student peer mentors
- Recovery coaches
- Peer recovery staff
- Collegiate recovery leaders
These roles do not automatically become Medicaid-covered CPRS services simply because they use a peer model.
Starting a Peer Support Program in Delaware
Step 1: Define the Population
Determine whether the program will serve:
- Adults with mental health conditions
- People with substance use disorders
- People with co-occurring conditions
- People leaving hospitals
- People following overdose
- People involved with courts
- Families and caregivers
- Youth or young adults
- College students
- People experiencing homelessness
- A particular geographic or cultural community
Step 2: Define the Peer Role
Determine whether staff will function as:
- Certified Peer Recovery Specialists
- Peer Recovery Specialists working toward certification
- Recovery coaches
- Peer mentors
- Family peers
- Community peers
- Volunteers
Do not assume job titles establish certification or Medicaid eligibility.
Step 3: Identify the Funding Model
Potential funding sources may include:
- Delaware Medicaid
- PROMISE
- DSAMH contracts
- Federal block grants
- State Opioid Response funding
- Opioid settlement funding
- Hospital funding
- Court funding
- Federal grants
- Philanthropy
- University contracts
- Private payment
Each funding source may establish different requirements.
Step 4: Confirm Peer Qualifications
Determine:
- Minimum age
- Education
- Lived experience
- Experience before training
- CPRS work-hour requirements
- Training hours
- Supervision hours
- Examination
- Certification
- Continuing education
- Ethics education
- Renewal requirements
Step 5: Confirm Organizational Eligibility
For reimbursable services, determine:
- Who will bill?
- Is the organization Medicaid enrolled?
- Is the program eligible for PROMISE or another Medicaid service?
- Is a DSAMH contract or certification required?
- Is the peer appropriately credentialed?
- What supervision is required?
- What code applies?
- What managed care requirements apply?
Step 6: Establish Supervision
Define:
- Peer practice supervision
- Administrative supervision
- Clinical consultation
- Certification supervision
- Ethics support
- Staff wellness support
Step 7: Design the Workflow
Map:
- Referral
- Eligibility
- Intake
- Consent
- Assignment
- Matching
- Scheduling
- Service delivery
- Documentation
- Supervision
- Escalation
- Follow-up
- Transition
- Discharge
- Outcomes
- Claims
Step 8: Establish Role Boundaries
Develop policies addressing:
- Scope
- Confidentiality
- Crisis response
- Transportation
- Gifts
- Social media
- Dual relationships
- Communication outside business hours
- Home visits
- Community relationships
- Staff wellness
- Role drift
Step 9: Build Quality Measurement
Useful measures may include:
- Referral-to-contact time
- Engagement
- Retention
- Participant-defined recovery goals
- Recovery capital
- Community connection
- Treatment engagement
- Successful transitions
- Housing
- Employment
- Education
- Self-advocacy
- Natural supports
- Satisfaction
- Peer workforce retention
- Supervision completion
- Certification completion
- Documentation timeliness
Common Challenges for Delaware Peer Programs
Certification and Training Are Separate Steps
DSAMH’s training eligibility rules and the Delaware Certification Board’s final CPRS requirements are not identical.
A worker may qualify for advanced training before completing all requirements for professional CPRS certification. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Programs should track both.
Credential Tracking
Organizations may need to monitor:
- Initial peer experience
- Training eligibility
- Peer 101
- Nine-day advanced training
- 500 peer work or volunteer hours
- 25 supervision hours
- 46 education hours
- Certification examination
- CPRS status
- Continuing education
- Ethics hours
- Renewal
Medicaid Program Complexity
Peer support is covered in specific Medicaid structures, such as PROMISE, rather than through a simple rule allowing every CPRS to independently bill Medicaid. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Supervision
Delaware has both a CPRS supervision requirement and a dedicated peer-supervisor credential.
Organizations should not reduce peer supervision to generic clinical oversight.
Documentation Burden
Peer workers are valuable because of their ability to engage people through lived experience and recovery relationships. Poorly designed administrative systems can shift their time toward paperwork.
Role Drift
Peer staff may gradually be assigned:
- Case-management responsibilities
- Transportation
- Administrative work
- Surveillance
- Clinical tasks
Organizations should protect peer role fidelity.
Fragmented Technology
Programs may use separate systems for:
- Referrals
- Scheduling
- Peer documentation
- Participant communication
- Credential tracking
- Supervision
- Continuing education
- Medicaid billing
- PROMISE reporting
- Grant reporting
- Outcomes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is peer support covered by Delaware Medicaid?
Yes, within specific programs and services.
PROMISE explicitly includes peer support as a community-based Medicaid service for qualifying beneficiaries. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
What is Delaware’s main peer credential?
The Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, or CPRS.
Delaware law defines CPRS as an individual holding valid certification issued by the Delaware Certification Board. (Delaware Code Online)
Who certifies Peer Recovery Specialists?
The Delaware Certification Board administers the professional CPRS credential. (Delaware Certification Board)
Who provides the state peer training?
The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health operates Delaware’s Peer Support Program and provides or coordinates Peer 101, advanced certification-preparation training, supervision training, continuing education, networking, and technical assistance. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
How old must I be?
Current DSAMH requirements for the certification training pathway require an applicant to be at least 18. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Do I need a high school diploma?
Yes.
Both DSAMH training eligibility and current DCB CPRS requirements identify a high school diploma or GED as the minimum educational requirement. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Is lived experience required?
Yes.
Current DSAMH requirements require direct personal experience with mental illness and/or addiction and recovery and willingness to appropriately disclose that experience in the peer role. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
How much experience is required before certification training?
DSAMH currently requires at least three months of experience while working or volunteering under supervision in a peer role before its advanced certification training. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
How much peer work experience is required for the CPRS credential?
The current Delaware Certification Board CPRS page identifies 500 hours of work or volunteer experience in the peer recovery domains. (Delaware Certification Board)
How much supervision is required?
Current DCB CPRS requirements specify 25 hours of on-the-job supervision in the CPRS domains. (Delaware Certification Board)
How much training is required?
Current DCB CPRS requirements specify 46 hours of relevant peer education and training across required professional domains. (Delaware Certification Board)
Is an examination required?
Yes.
The CPRS certification pathway includes a peer recovery specialist certification examination. (Copeland Center)
How much continuing education is required?
Current DCB recertification guidance requires 20 hours of peer-recovery continuing education, including 6 hours of ethics. (Delaware Certification Board)
Does Delaware have a peer supervisor credential?
Yes.
The Delaware Certification Board administers the Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists credential. (Delaware Certification Board)
Can a CPRS bill Medicaid independently?
Do not assume so.
Certification establishes professional peer qualifications. Medicaid billing authority depends on the enrolled provider organization and the specific covered benefit.
Does Delaware Medicaid have a peer service?
Yes.
PROMISE explicitly includes Peer Support for qualifying Medicaid beneficiaries. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
What is PROMISE?
PROMISE stands for Promoting Optimal Mental Health for Individuals through Supports and Empowerment.
It provides individualized, community-based, recovery-oriented supports for qualifying adults with behavioral health needs. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Can peers work in crisis services?
Yes.
Delaware law expressly identifies Certified Peer Recovery Specialists as professionals who may serve on mobile behavioral health crisis teams. (Delaware Code Online)
Can peers work in emergency departments?
Yes.
DSAMH identifies emergency departments among settings employing Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Can peers work in substance use treatment?
Yes.
Delaware uses Peer Recovery Specialists throughout its publicly funded addiction treatment and recovery system. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Can peers work with people who have mental health conditions?
Yes.
Delaware’s CPRS pathway explicitly recognizes lived experience of mental illness and recovery. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Can peers work with co-occurring conditions?
Yes.
Delaware’s peer system spans mental health, substance use, and co-occurring behavioral health conditions. (Delaware Health and Social Services)
Can peers work in courts?
Yes.
Delaware Superior Court operates a Mental Health Court Peer Mentor Program. (Delaware Courts)
Are Peer Recovery Specialists clinicians?
No.
The CPRS role is a peer role grounded in lived experience. Holding CPRS certification does not by itself create a clinical professional license.
Can peers write progress notes?
Yes, when documentation is required by the program, payer, employer, Medicaid benefit, or contract.
Documentation should remain within peer scope and accurately represent the service delivered.
Official and State-Recognized Delaware Peer Support Resources
Certification and Training
Delaware DSAMH Peer Support Program Official state hub for Delaware Peer Recovery Specialist requirements, Peer 101, advanced certification training, supervisor training, continuing education, peer networking, technical assistance, and workforce resources. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/division-of-substance-abuse-and-mental-health/peer-support-program/
Delaware Certification Board Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Current credentialing resource for Delaware’s CPRS credential, including work experience, education, supervision, lived-experience documentation, and certification requirements. (Delaware Certification Board) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://www.decertboard.org/certified-peer-recovery-specialist-cprs
Delaware Certification Board State-recognized behavioral health credentialing organization responsible for the CPRS credential and multiple other behavioral health certifications. Delaware law expressly identifies the Board as the issuer of valid CPRS certification. (Delaware Code Online) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://www.decertboard.org/
DSAMH Training, Credentialing and Licensure Official Delaware behavioral health workforce training hub containing current training registration, continuing education information, certification resources, and professional development opportunities. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/division-of-substance-abuse-and-mental-health/training-credentialing-and-licensure/
Delaware Certification Board CPRS Recertification Official recertification resource identifying current continuing education requirements for CPRS renewal, including peer-recovery and ethics education. (Delaware Certification Board) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://www.decertboard.org/RecertificationGeneral
Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists Delaware Certification Board credential for professionals supervising Peer Recovery Specialists, with qualification pathways based on education, behavioral health experience, CPRS experience, and peer-supervision experience. (Delaware Certification Board) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://www.decertboard.org/certified-supervisor-peer-specialists-csps
Medicaid and Reimbursement
Delaware PROMISE Program Official DSAMH resource for the Medicaid-funded Promoting Optimal Mental Health for Individuals through Supports and Empowerment program, including eligibility and Peer Support services. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/division-of-substance-abuse-and-mental-health/promise/
Delaware Medicaid Provider Portal Official Delaware Medical Assistance Program resource for current provider manuals, policies, bulletins, fee schedules, enrollment information, and billing guidance. Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://medicaidpublications.dhss.delaware.gov/
Delaware Medical Assistance Program State Medicaid program resource containing member, provider, managed care, benefit, and program information. Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dmma/
Delaware Medicaid Provider Publications Official source for current Delaware Medicaid provider guidance, manuals, fee schedules, program notices, and reimbursement information. Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://medicaidpublications.dhss.delaware.gov/
DSAMH Provider Information Official state behavioral health provider hub containing alerts, bulletins, funding opportunities, policies, resources, provider portals, training information, and licensed-provider resources. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/
State Agencies
Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Cabinet-level state agency responsible for Medicaid, behavioral health, public health, social services, developmental disability services, and other health and human services programs. Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/
Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Delaware’s primary adult behavioral health authority, responsible for mental health, substance use, gambling services, crisis response, recovery supports, peer workforce development, and the Delaware Psychiatric Center. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/
Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance State division responsible for administering Delaware Medicaid and the Delaware Medical Assistance Program. Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dmma/
Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families State agency responsible for children’s behavioral health, child welfare, youth rehabilitation, and related youth and family services. Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://kids.delaware.gov/
Delaware 988 Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention System State crisis infrastructure incorporating mental health, substance use, mobile crisis services, and Certified Peer Recovery Specialists as recognized crisis-team personnel. (Delaware Code Online) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title16/c102a/sc01/index.html
Community and Peer Recovery Resources
Help Is Here Delaware State-supported behavioral health resource connecting Delaware residents with addiction treatment, mental health services, recovery resources, and community supports. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://www.helpisherede.com/
Delaware Treatment and Referral Network State behavioral health referral resource helping individuals and providers locate mental health and substance use treatment and recovery services across Delaware. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://treatmentconnection.com/
DSAMH Bridge Clinics State-operated behavioral health access clinics pairing people with licensed clinical professionals and Peer Recovery Specialists while connecting them with ongoing community care. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/division-of-substance-abuse-and-mental-health/bridge-clinics/
DSAMH Publicly Funded Addiction Treatment Programs Official state resource explaining Delaware’s publicly funded addiction treatment continuum, including the role of Peer Recovery Specialists in supporting recovery from addiction and mental health conditions. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dsamh/division-of-substance-abuse-and-mental-health/publicly-funded-addiction-treatment-programs/
Delaware Mental Health Court Peer Mentor Program Delaware Superior Court program using peers with relevant lived experience to provide recovery support, understanding, encouragement, and hope to Mental Health Court participants. (Delaware Courts) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/mentalhealth/mental_health_peers.aspx
Champions for Children’s Mental Health Delaware family peer organization identified by the state’s children’s services agency as providing peer support, training, and resource information to families caring for children and youth with mental or behavioral health needs. (Kids Delaware) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://championsforchildrensmentalhealth.org/
Addiction Treatment Resource Center DSAMH provider resource hub containing behavioral health best practices, training, funding opportunities, overdose-system resources, implementation materials, and recovery-support information. (Delaware Health and Social Services) Last checked: August 12, 2026 Link: https://atrc.dhss.delaware.gov/
Technology for Delaware Peer Support Programs
Technology designed for Delaware peer programs should account for both the state’s professional peer credentialing pathway and its Medicaid program structures.
Programs may need technology supporting:
- CPRS credential tracking
- Peer 101 completion
- Advanced nine-day peer training
- Three-month supervised experience before advanced training
- 500-hour professional peer experience requirements
- 25 supervision hours
- 46 education and training hours
- Certification examination status
- CPRS recertification
- Continuing education
- Ethics hours
- Certified Supervisor of Peer Specialists workflows
- Peer-specific documentation
- Participant-defined goals
- Recovery-oriented language
- Mental health peer support
- Substance use peer support
- Co-occurring conditions
- PROMISE workflows
- Referrals
- Caseload management
- Scheduling
- Groups
- Participant communication
- Recovery planning
- Medicaid documentation
- Crisis-services workflows
- Emergency department referrals
- Bridge Clinic transitions
- Community resource navigation
- Justice and Mental Health Court workflows
- Grant reporting
- Outcomes
- Role-based permissions
- Sensitive substance use information
- Mobile and community-based services
Delaware’s credentialing pathway creates a particularly important workforce-management challenge because a program may simultaneously employ people who are:
- New peer workers
- Completing their first three months of experience
- Eligible for advanced training
- Completing CPRS education requirements
- Accumulating 500 work or volunteer hours
- Accumulating supervision hours
- Preparing for the examination
- Fully CPRS certified
- Approaching recertification
- Completing ethics continuing education
A generic clinical record may capture encounters while failing to capture these workforce requirements or the recovery goals, relationships, natural supports, community connections, and lived-experience interventions that distinguish peer support.
Technology should strengthen peer practice rather than force peer services into a purely clinical model.
About Peerakeet
Peerakeet builds infrastructure for organizations delivering peer support and recovery services.
The platform supports peer-specific documentation, program workflows, supervision, participant engagement, scheduling, reporting, credential management, and day-to-day operations.
Peerakeet does not determine whether a service is billable and does not replace guidance from Delaware Medicaid, DSAMH, the Delaware Certification Board, managed care organizations, attorneys, compliance professionals, or other applicable authorities.
Editorial Disclaimer
This guide is provided for general educational purposes. It is not legal, billing, credentialing, clinical, or regulatory advice.
Delaware peer-support requirements may vary by Medicaid benefit, provider type, credential, contract, funding source, population, and program. Certification standards, Medicaid requirements, procedure codes, reimbursement rules, and state guidance may change after publication.
Organizations and Peer Recovery Specialists should verify current requirements with the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Delaware Medicaid, the Delaware Certification Board, current provider guidance, applicable contracts, and qualified professional advisors.
Last reviewed: August 2026.