SB 371: Mental Health and Penal Institutions; grant program to create peer support programs in hospitals; establish

Georgia currently has no formal certification or funding structure for peer specialists, people who use their own lived experience with mental illness or addiction to support others in recovery. This bill sets up that structure. It amends Title 37 to define certified peer specialists, addiction recovery support centers, and peer support programs, and directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to certify peer specialists and award grants, subject to legislative funding, to hospitals or recovery centers that want to start peer support programs for people with substance use disorders. The bill also requires an independent contractor to evaluate the programs before funding begins and to submit quarterly reports, and requires the department to submit annual reports to state leaders on grant activity. Separately, it adds a new article to Title 42 requiring the Department of Corrections and the Department of Community Supervision (DCS) to establish forensic peer mentor programs, led by certified peer specialists, in every state prison, county jail, and municipal jail, and to coordinate with courts and other agencies serving people who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation.

• Creates a legal definition and certification process for 'certified peer specialists' who provide recovery support based on their own lived experience with mental illness or addiction.
• Directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to award grants, subject to state funding, to hospitals and addiction recovery support centers that want to start peer support programs.
• Requires the department to contract annually with an independent group to provide technical assistance to grant recipients and to evaluate program effectiveness before funding begins.
• Requires quarterly reports on program effectiveness and annual reports on grant activity to the Governor and relevant legislative committees.
• Requires the Department of Corrections and the Department of Community Supervision to establish forensic peer mentor programs, led by certified peer specialists, in every state prison, county jail, and municipal jail.
• Requires the Department of Corrections and DCS to coordinate with courts, probation programs, and other agencies to set up these mentor programs for people who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation.

People recovering from substance use disorders or mental health conditions, hospitals and addiction recovery support centers seeking grant funding, certified peer specialists and the organizations that train and certify them, and people who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation along with the Department of Corrections, DCS, courts, and probation programs that serve them.

If enacted, hospitals could get state funding to add peer mentors for patients with substance use disorders, and every Georgia prison and jail would be required to offer forensic peer mentor support, potentially changing how people receiving addiction treatment or reentering society from incarceration are supported.

• Section 1 adds certified peer specialists to the list of personnel the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities must train and support, with designations for youth, parent, and maternal mental health focus.
• Section 2 creates a new Chapter 8 of Title 37 defining key terms including certified peer specialist, addiction recovery support center, and peer support program.
• New Code Section 37-8-3 authorizes the department to award grants, subject to legislative appropriations, to hospitals or addiction recovery centers that show a need for financial help implementing peer support programs.
• New Code Section 37-8-4 requires the department to contract annually with an independent technical assistance provider for grant recipients.
• New Code Section 37-8-5 requires an independent evaluation of program effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and impact before funding starts, plus quarterly reporting to state officials.
• New Code Section 37-8-6 requires the department to write rules for administering the grant program and for a forensic peer mentor training program.
• Section 3 adds Article 7 to Title 42, requiring the Department of Corrections and DCS to establish forensic peer mentor programs in every state prison, county jail, and municipal jail, led by certified peer specialists.
• Section 3 also requires coordination with courts, probation programs, accountability courts, and other diversion programs to set up these mentor programs.

1. 2025-04-02Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-04-02Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Brian Strickland (R, SD-42)Primary sponsor

• mental health
• addiction recovery
• peer support programs
• prisons and jails
• hospital grants