Within the nurturing canopy of Peer Services, we find Youth Support services—a caring companion for young individuals on their journey through life’s challenges. These services offer a guiding hand, helping young members to comprehend their roles in seeking out help and becoming educated participants in their own care, armed with knowledge and self-advocacy skills.
Youth Support extends beyond the traditional boundaries, encompassing mentorship, advocacy, and education, whether on an intimate one-to-one basis or within the dynamic energy of group sessions. Each interaction is crafted to be youth-centered, embracing the uniqueness of every child, while supporting the family unit, and is delivered with the intention of empowering youth to guide their paths and recognize their own strength
The approach is a holistic one—a mosaic of professional teamwork, community engagement, and meaningful outcomes, all while being attuned to the individual cultural contexts of each youth. We strive to provide a responsive and sensitive environment that respects the complex psychological, developmental, and treatment needs of the young individuals we serve.
Youth Support is tailored for those young people who possess the awareness and capacity to understand their diagnoses, identify their needs and strengths, comprehend their behaviors and symptoms, and are ready to actively engage in the decision-making process for their personalized care. Here, within the Youth Support services, we walk alongside them, helping to illuminate their potential and celebrate their progress.
Training details
June 22nd & 23rd, 2024, 8am-6pm PT/9am-7pm MST (10 hours each day, with a lunch break and two short breaks AM and PM). Participants need to attend all two days plus a required interview and technology check prior to approval into the training. The deadline to submit an enrollment application is May 25th, 2024.
*The deadline to submit an enrollment application is May 25th, 2024.*
If you are interested in providing this service, you must meet the required qualifications listed
below. As a reminder, a Youth Support provider must have an existing
Peer Support Certification. Youth Support endorsement is Optum Idaho-issued and only valid
within Idaho Medicaid.
Provider Qualifications
1. Minimum of a high school diploma (or equivalent)
2. Current Idaho Peer Support Specialist Certification
3. Lived experience with serious emotional disturbance (SED) or SED co-occurring with
substance use disorder (SUD) as a youth or adolescent (standalone SUD lived experience is not
eligible)
4. In recovery for a minimum of one year
5. Successfully passes the screening process
It is recommended that providers of this service are between the ages 21-30 and have a strong
personal connection to current youth culture to connect with youth on a peer-to peer level based
on shared knowledge and experience
Endorsement
The Optum Idaho Youth Support endorsement is granted upon completion of all the following:
- Full attendance at a live virtual training over a two-day period
- Passing of the final exam on the last day of the training
The cost of training is $50 per person for providers who pass the applicant screening process (the
remaining cost of training is covered by Optum Idaho). Instructions for payment to the Idaho Federation
of Families will be provided upon acceptance into the Youth Support endorsement training.
Thank you,
For more information on other Peer training, such as Family Support and Peer Support, please contact:
BPA Health Peer and Family Support Certification
Phone: 208-947-1300
Email: info@idahopeercert.com
Website: www.idahopeercert.com