H13 - From Discovery to Action: Building a Sustainable Peer Workforce in Integrated Health Care Settings

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM MDT

Location: 201

In 2025, the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, with the National Council’s Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Solutions, conducted a national discovery process to strengthen the peer workforce in integrated care. This included a literature review, expert interviews, and national listening sessions, followed by a learning collaborative. The project identified workforce challenges including low wages, fragmented certification, supervision gaps, and role drift, while documenting promising practices in recruitment, retention, supervision, and career advancement. This session shares data, innovations, and policy recommendations, offering strategies for providers, policymakers, funders, and peer leaders to ensure a sustainable and empowered peer workforce.

Learning Objectives:

Describe key findings from the 2025 national peer workforce discovery process, including barriers such as low compensation, fragmented certification, and role drift.
Analyze outcomes from the six-part national learning collaborative, including effective recruitment, retention, and supervision strategies.
Apply actionable recommendations for workforce sustainability such as national certification reciprocity, Medicaid financing reform, and career ladders that can be replicated across integrated health systems.

Disclosure(s):

Shannon Higbee: No financial relationships to disclose

Daniella Labate-Covelli, MSW, CPRP: No financial relationships to disclose

Breakout Presenter(s)

Shannon Higbee

Chief Strategy Officer
The Alliance for Rights and Recovery
Jamestown, NY 14701, New York

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Daniella Labate-Covelli, MSW, CPRP

Vice President of Recovery and Rehabilitation Training
The Alliance for Rights and Recovery
Albany, New York

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

Slides