Establishes a peer support program for veterans.
This bill amends the Mental Hygiene Law to create a peer support program for veterans, with a particular focus on women veterans. It directs the commissioner, working with the commissioners of addiction services and supports and veterans’ services, to develop regional or county-based peer support services programs. The bill defines peer support services broadly to include services used in the treatment and recovery of mental illness, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and chemical dependence, and it recognizes veteran peer counselors who have military service and appropriate training, credentials, or experience recognized by the office.
The program is intended to provide counseling and support services tailored to veterans’ needs, including help with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use, family support, domestic violence, mental health, child care, physical health, and legal issues. It also requires the state to foster training and development of qualified peer counselors and to establish procedures for issuing credentials, as well as for suspending, revoking, or annulling those credentials for good cause. The bill would take effect one year after becoming law, with immediate authorization for any necessary implementing regulations.
The bill would add a new section to the Mental Hygiene Law, creating a state framework for veteran peer support services and credentialing of veteran peer counselors. It would require coordination among the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, and the Department of Veterans’ Services, and it would authorize the state to set minimum qualifications and credentialing procedures for peer counselors. The measure would primarily affect veterans, especially women veterans, and the agencies responsible for mental health, addiction, and veterans’ services.
The bill appears generally supportive and service-oriented, with no recorded votes or committee transcript indicating opposition in the materials provided. Its focus on mental health, substance use recovery, and tailored support for women veterans suggests a policy goal likely to receive favorable treatment as a veterans’ assistance measure. Because there is no voting history or discussion transcript available, the overall sentiment can only be characterized as broadly positive based on the bill’s purpose and structure.
The main potential points of contention are likely to involve program scope, administrative responsibility, and credentialing standards. The bill gives state agencies significant discretion to define minimum qualifications, issue credentials, and determine who qualifies as a recognized or certified veteran peer counselor, which could raise questions about oversight and implementation. Another possible area of debate is the bill’s emphasis on women veterans and whether the program should be expanded more broadly to all veterans, though the text itself frames women veterans as a priority population rather than an exclusive one.