§ 2–1517.33. School-based behavioral health student peer educator pilot.

(a) In Fiscal Year 2024, the Department of Behavioral Health ("DBH") shall award by December 31, 2023, up to 2 grants totaling $325,000 to non-governmental entities to train and supervise, in total, at least 100 high school student behavioral health peer educators ("peer educators"). Peer educators shall work in public and public charter schools as behavioral health peer educators and perform the functions identified in subsections (d) and (e) of this section.

(a-1) In Fiscal Year 2025, DBH shall award by October 15, 2024, grants totaling $325,000 to the same non-governmental entities that received a grant under subsection (a) of this section to continue to train and supervise peer educators to perform the functions identified in subsections (d) and (e) of this section.

(b) To qualify for a grant, an applicant shall:

(1) Submit an application that specifies:

(A) At least 3 public and public charter school high schools, with a preference for schools identified in Cohort 1 of the DBH School Based Behavioral Health Program expansion or located in Wards 5, 7, or 8, that the applicant intends to partner with;

(B) The maximum number of peer educators the applicant plans to recruit, train, and supervise;

(D) Target numbers for each intervention type;

(2) Be located in the District;

(3) Have experience providing workshops and programming to youth ages 14 to 21 on behavioral health, resiliency, and workforce readiness; and

(4) Agree to:

(A) Create a plan to reach at least 25% of the students, calculated by the in-seat attendance rate, at each school the applicant partners with;

(B) Recruit, train, and supervise at least 50 peer educators to work during the 2023-2024 school year; provided, that if only one grantee is selected, the grantee shall agree to train at least 100 peer educators;

(D) On a monthly basis, provide peer educators with training and supervision, including at least 4 hours of training or supervision in person, as follows:

(i) At least 8 hours of behavioral health training;

(ii) At least 2 hours of training in workforce readiness, self-advocacy and personal agency, career exploration, life skills, and financial literacy; and

(iii) At least 4 hours of supervision;

(E) Provide quarterly reports to DBH that shall include:

(i) A list of public and public charter students working as peer educators;

(ii) A list of activities and interventions performed by peer educators;

(iii) The total number of training hours conducted with peer educators and the topics covered, including the number of peer educators who participated in each training session;

(iv) A list of the training topics that were covered during the reporting period; and

(v) Progress made on objectives and benchmarks identified in the grant agreement.

(c)(1) If there is more than one grantee, DBH shall provide an additional $25,000 from the funds identified in subsection (a) of this section to one of the grantees to serve as the coordinating organization for the pilot program. If only one grantee is selected, that grantee shall perform the duties of the coordinating organization.

(2) The coordinating grantee organization shall:

(A) Develop and collect behavioral health training curricula for peer educator training;

(B) Collect and share on a public dashboard or database data on peer educators' activities;

(C) Compile and maintain a public dashboard or database of information on the public and public charter schools in the pilot program, which shall include:

(i) The contact information and school location of clinicians and peer educators;

(ii) Information on school services and programs; and

(iii) A method for students and caregivers to make appointments with behavioral health staff and submit referrals for services.

(d) Peer educators shall perform at least 3 of the following activities:

(1) Conducting behavioral health classroom presentations and trainings;

(2) Working with public and public charter school clinicians and staff to co-lead support groups;

(3) Distributing paper and electronic materials on behavioral health and resilience-building topics;

(4) Distributing paper and electronic materials to public and public charter students on school and community behavioral health services, programs, and resources; and

(5) Conducting individual education sessions with public and public charter students on behavioral health and resilience-building topics.

(e) Peer educators may perform the following additional activities:

(1) Creating and leading school and community events and programs;

(2) Creating a website that includes public and public charter school behavioral health services and resources and behavioral health educational information;

(3) Surveying public and public charter students regarding their ability to access school and community-based behavioral health resources;

(4) Partnering with a DC Prevention Center to increase youth access to drug prevention resources;

(5) Partnering with governmental and non-governmental youth and adult peer support specialists; and

(6) Any other activities or interventions that increase public and public charter school student access to school and community based behavioral health services and resources, and behavioral health information.

(f) DBH shall provide to the grantees and peer educators the contact information, including phone number, email address, and office location, of public and public charter school clinicians and school behavioral health coordinators and connect grantees and peer educators with the clinicians and school behavioral health coordinators and with the operators of the DC Prevention Centers.