Name: Asynchronous: October 5 – November 3, 2026
Start: 2026-10-05
End: 2026-11-03
Location: On Learning Platform (Canvas)

Values	Ethical Standards
	Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialists:
Hope	Inspire hope in those engaging in services by living a life of recovery and/or resiliency Hold hope for someone having a hard time seeing it themselves. Relate their own recovery stories.
Person-Driven	Support individuals receiving services and their support network within the context of the individual’s worldview, to achieve their goals based upon their needs and wants. Focus on self-determination, as defined by the person engaging in services, and support the person’s participation in their own recovery. Inform others about options, provide information about choices, and then respect peers’ decisions. Encourage people to look at the options, take risks, learn from mistakes, and grow toward healthy interdependence with others. Uphold the principle of non-coercion as essential to recovery and encourage those engaging in services to make their own decisions, even when the person engaging in services is under mandated treatment. Assist those they support to access additional resources. Disclose lived experiences of recovery in a way that maintains the focus on and is beneficial to the person engaging in services. Support the recovery process for the peer, allowing the person to direct their own process. Shall not force any values or beliefs onto the person engaging in services. Recognize there are many pathways to recovery that can be very different than their own journey.
Family Driven and Child-Centered	Promote the family member’s ethical decision-making and personal responsibility consistent with that family member’s culture, values, and beliefs. Respect and value the beliefs, opinions, and preferences of children, youth, family members, parents, and caregivers in service planning. Promote the family members’ voices and the articulation of their values in planning and evaluating behavioral health related challenges or concerns. Support other family members as peers with a common background and history. Disclose personal lived experiences of building resiliency in a way that focuses on and is beneficial to the child, youth, family member, parent, or caregiver engaging in services. Build supports on the strengths of the child, youth, family, or caregiver. Build partnerships with others who are involved in the care of our children, youth, or adult family members. Communicate clearly and honestly with children, youth, family members, and caregivers.
Holistic Wellness	Promote the family member’s ethical decision-making and personal responsibility consistent with that family member’s culture, values, and beliefs. Practice in a holistic manner that considers and addresses the whole health of those engaging in services. Recognize the impact of co-occurring challenges (substance use, developmental and physical challenges, poverty and homelessness, stigma and discrimination) in the recovery resiliency journey and provide supports sensitive to those needs. Recognize the impact of trauma on the recovery/resiliency journey and provide the support specific to those challenges. Honor the right of persons engaging in services to choose alternative treatments and practices, including culturally specific traditional methods; healing arts, including acupuncture and meditation; spiritual practices or secular beliefs; and harm reduction practices.
Authenticity	Practice honest and direct communication in a culturally relevant manner, saying what is on their mind in a respectful way. Difficult circumstances are addressed with those who are directly involved. Direct communication moves beyond the fear of conflict or hurting other people to the ability to work together to resolve challenges with caring and compassion. Share own lived experience to provide hope and inspiration for recovery. Practice healthy disclosure about their own experience focused on providing hope and direction toward recovery and/or resiliency. Work within their scope of practice as defined by their employing agency and the service components outlined in this BHIN, including the Code of Ethics. Remain aware of their skills and limitations, and do not provide services or represent themselves as an expert in areas for which they do not have sufficient knowledge or expertise. Know that maintaining the authenticity and integrity of their role is critical to the effectiveness of Medi-Cal Peer Support Services. Seek supervision, peer support, and/or other contact with peer colleagues or other supports to stay within their scope of practice. Behavioral Health Information Notice No: 25-010
Cultural Responsiveness & Humility	Acknowledge the importance of language and culture; intersecting identities; knowledge and acceptance of dynamics of cultural differences; expansion of cultural knowledge; curiosity; humility; and adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs. Strive to demonstrate cultural humility and provide culturally responsive and relevant services to those they support. Respect cultural identities and preferences of those engaging in services and their families, and respect the right of others to hold opinions, beliefs, and values different from their own. Shall not discriminate against others on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, age, religion, national origin, marital status, political belief, or mental or physical differences. Shall not discriminate against others on the basis of any other preference, personal characteristic, condition, state, or cultural factor protected under Federal, State, or local law. Seek further information, education, and training in cultural competence as necessary to assist those they support. Understand their own personal values and culture and how these may contribute to biases, judgments, and beliefs.
Respect	1. Provide a welcoming environment for persons engaging in services. Approach each person, youth, parent or family member with openness, genuine interest, and appreciation. Accept each person/family and situation as unique. Provide empathy and be able to “put oneself in the other person’s shoes.” Will make an honest effort to empathize with the emotional connection and cultural context that the persons engaging in services bring to the recovery/resiliency relationship. View everyone as having something important and unique to contribute. Value and treat others with kindness, warmth, dignity, and without judgment. Accept each other and be open to sharing with people from many diverse backgrounds including ethnicity, educational levels, socio-economic background, sexual preference, and religion/spirituality. Honor and make room for everyone’s opinions and see each other as equally capable of contributing. Demonstrate respect toward those supported, colleagues and the community. Use language that is respectful, “person-first,” and culturally mindful to, and with, those supported, colleagues, and the community. Never use language that could be construed as, or is, derogatory, insulting, or demeaning in written, electronic, or verbal communications. Communicate with co-workers and colleagues in ways that promote hope, compassion, and solution-focused interactions.
Integrity	Act in accordance with the highest standards of professional integrity. Avoid relationships or commitments that conflict with the interests of persons engaging in services, impair professional judgment, imply a conflict of interest, or create risk of harm to those supported. Conduct themselves in a way that does not jeopardize the integrity of the peer relationship. Seek supervision to handle any real or potential conflicts when and if a dual relationship is unavoidable. Follow organizational policies and guidelines regarding giving and receiving gifts. Consider the cultural context and other potential considerations related to gifts. Do not lend, give, or receive money or payment for any services to, or from, persons they support. Demonstrate accountability in fulfilling commitments. Resist influences that interfere with professional performance. Shall not commit fraud, waste or abuse in the delivery of Medi-Cal services. Cooperate with complaint investigations and supply information requested during complaint investigations unless such disclosure of information would violate the confidentiality requirements of Subpart 2, Title 42, Code of Federal Regulations or other applicable state and federal information privacy laws. Shall not provide services under the influence of any amount of alcohol, marijuana, or illicit drugs. “Illicit drugs” means any substance defied as a drug in Section 11014, Chapter 1, Division 10, Health and Safety Code, except: Drugs or medications prescribed by a physician or other person authorized to prescribe drugs, in accordance with Section 4036, Chapter 9, Division 2, Business and Professions Code, and used in the dosage and frequency prescribed; or Over-the-counter drugs or medications used in the dosage and frequency described on the box, bottle, or package insert. Shall not secure a certification by fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. This includes, but is not limited to: Making a false statement on any application for certification. Withholding material information on any application for certification. Impersonating another Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist or permitting or allowing another person to use their certification for the purpose of providing Medi-Cal Peer Support Services. Shall not engage in gross negligence or incompetence in the performance of Medi-Cal Peer Support Services. This includes: Failing to maintain records consistent with sound judgement, the standards of the profession, and the nature of the services being rendered.
Advocacy