Unit of competency details

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

• Undertake peer worker planning and recruitment

1.1 Identify and assess mental health peer participation requirements in collaboration with consumer and carer leaders

1.2 Plan processes and recruitment strategies that align with national policy and recommendations of the consumers and carers in service delivery

1.3 Develop job specifications and position responsibilities in collaboration with consumer and carer leaders

1.4 Determine and address reasonable adjustment needs in all aspects of recruitment and employment

1.5 Recruit peer workers as required using timely and appropriate processes and providing all relevant documentation as required by the organisation

1.6 Provide relevant induction, orientation and training plans for new peer workers

1.7 Establish a work plan in consultation with the peer worker

1.8 Promote to others positive inclusion of peer workers in the organisation

• Support peer work

2.1 Create work practices that optimise the intended objectives, values and ethics of mental health peer work

2.2 Define, agree and communicate peer worker roles, responsibilities

2.3 Develop work practices that are equitable for peer workers, including the same access to resources and work related facilities and opportunities as other workers

2.4 Provide peer workers with appropriate access to supervision, mentoring and debriefing by experienced peer workers and other people best able to satisfy their agreed work and development needs

2.5 Provide opportunities as appropriate for peer workers to operate in leadership and management roles

2.6 Ensure that peer workers are supported and have access to peer mentoring and peer networking opportunities on an ongoing basis

2.7 Put in place mechanisms to continually evaluate support strategies and ongoing skills development available to peer worker

2.8 Ensure peer work plans and organisational policy are consistent with peer worker frameworks and principles

2.9 Identify and address risks and evidence of role strain, role conflict and role confusion in relation to peer worker role

2.10 Recognise performance achievement and encourage self-assessment and reflective practice

• Promote and support the inclusion of peer workers in the workplace

3.1 Promote the value of peer work to all staff

3.2 Identify and manage service culture issues and procedures that are barriers to effective peer work

3.3 Consult with peer leaders in the development and delivery of staff training

3.4 Provide support and training about peer work to staff to clarify role delineation and minimise the risk of role strain, role conflict and role confusion

3.5 Encourage all staff to attend consumer and carer events

3.6 Collaborate with peer workers to establish a self-directed workplace wellness plan to assist maintaining employment

• Promote and champion peer work

4.1 Develop, manage and review policies and procedures to support the delivery and promotion of peer work within the organisation

4.2 Advocate with peer workers within the organisation and sector

4.3 Ensure peer worker participation in all relevant planning, implementation, education and evaluation activities, both within the organisation and sector

4.4 Ensure information about peer work programs appear in organisational brochures, promotional materials and annual reports

4.5 Seek or allocate funding for peer worker driven resource and program development and other initiatives

4.6 Maintain current knowledge of peer work developments and innovations

Essential knowledge:

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively perform task skills; task management skills; contingency management skills and job/role environment skills as outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit.

These include knowledge of:

• History of emergent mental health consumer and carer movements
• Philosophical, ethical and values based approaches to mental health peer work
• The mental health peer workforce, and consumer and carer participation
• Theoretical perspectives on approaches to mental health peer work
• Innovative approaches to mental health peer work
• Working from a rights based framework
• Impacts of stigma, prejudice and discrimination on recovery journey
• Social justice issues and approaches
• Organisation objectives, policies and procedures required to support a mental health peer workforce
• Ethics and practice differences between mental health peer work, and mental health work
• Human resource management theory, principles and practices as they relate to mental health peer work
• Duty of care for the supervision of others in the workplace
• Rights and responsibilities of mental health peer workers, and employers
• Research on the value and challenges of peer work in mental health settings
• Strategies for ongoing development, support and promotion of mental health peer workers in the organisation
• Current knowledge of consumer and carer developed literature, research and resources
• Development of peer delivered mentoring and supervision
• Barriers experienced by mental health peer workers, and strategies to address these barriers
• Relevant legislation, policies and guidelines that impact on the mental health peer workforce and the organisation

Essential skills:

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Plan, recruit, support and retain mental health peer workers in a manner consistent with the ethics, duty of care, job readiness, principles and practices of mental health peer work
• Allocate work within the agreed guidelines, work plans, job descriptions and principles of mental health peer work
• Negotiate reasonable adjustment to work plans including modifying continuous periods of work, workplace, assess and modify workloads, arrange mentoring or buddying where necessary
• Manage and facilitate team work and a service culture that supports and acknowledges the importance and role of mental health peer workers in the organisation
• Supporting mental health peer worker integration in the workplace including awareness of different levels of support needs and application of differences
• Provide a safe and healthy workplace that meets mental health peer worker needs, and collaboratively review on a regular basis
• Manage reasonable adjustments in the workplace, as required and in consultation with the individual peer worker
• Effectively develop and maintain the relevant infrastructure and systems supports required to sustain a mental health peer workforce
• Identify and minimise role strain, role conflict and role confusion in mental health peer work
• Conduct a structured debriefing process
• Demonstrate application of skills in:
• Risk management
• Contingency management
• managing people
• effective interpersonal and communication skills
• team management
• working effectively with mental health peer workers, consumers and carers including structured debriefing
• Use and coordinate the use of relevant information technology effectively in line with work health and safety (WHS) guidelines

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency:

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
• This unit is most appropriately assessed in the workplace or in a simulated workplace and under the normal range of workplace conditions
  This may include the use of languages other than English and alternative communication systems
• Assessment may be conducted over more than one occasion or use material drawn from the workplace for a period of time
• The candidate must show evidence of planning, promoting and supporting peer work within their management area of responsibility

Access and equity considerations:

• All workers in community and health services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work, in particular people with mental health problems or psychosocial dysfunction
• All workers in community services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In recognition of particular issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities

Context of and specific resources for assessment:

• This unit can be assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other community services units of competency is encouraged
• Resource requirements for assessment of this unit include access to an appropriate workplace where assessment can be conducted

Method of assessment:

• Assessment may include observations, questioning and evidence gathered from the workplace

RANGE STATEMENT

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Job specifications and position responsibilities include:

• Job functions reflective of the intentions of employing the knowledge and skills of an individual based on their lived experience
• Clear and intentional descriptions of the duties/work to be undertaken and how this role fits within the broader scope of service delivery
• Accountability processes and decision making
• Specifications are to clearly identify "lived experience" as employment criteria

Induction, orientation and training plans may include:

• WHS systems and equipment orientation
• Access to policies and procedures, ethics and codes of conduct including confidentiality, record keeping
• Establishing a training plan in collaboration with the individual and relative to the work role expectations and outcomes

Work plan is defined in this context as:

• A work plan is an outline of all tasks that need to be completed over a specified period of time and/or project negotiated between employee and employer and accommodates reasonable adjustment where this is preferred by the consumer or carer peer worker

Promote to others positive inclusion may include:

• Developing policies on consumer/carer participation
• Modelling inclusive practices
• Demonstrating and leading by example to others in the team the importance and value of consumer/carer participation in the work environment
• Planning for consumer worker/carer workers to provide education and information to other workers and services based on their lived experience

Appropriate access to supervision ,mentoring and debriefing may include:

• Peer supervision
• Group supervision
• Team leader supervision
• Peer coordinator supervision
• Determined as appropriate by the individual
• Reflective practice opportunities
• Counselling
• Peer mentoring/ co-worker debriefing
• Peer worker networks and forums

Mechanisms to continually evaluate support strategies may include:

• Review of management systems
• Worker feedback processes
• Intentional inclusion of seeking effectiveness of support provided to consumer/carer workforce

Ongoing skills development may include:

• Work place training opportunities
• Mentoring
• Coaching
• External training opportunities
• Research
• Conference attendance