CPSS Advocacy 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people in recovery from mental health or substance use disorders primarily by:
- Guaranteeing employment in the mental health field
- Prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public services based on disability status (Correct answer)
- Requiring employers to provide mental health treatment
- Mandating that all workplaces have peer support programs
Correct answer: Prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public services based on disability status
The ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities—including those in recovery—across employment, housing, and public accommodations.
Question 2: Which legislative act specifically protects the privacy of a person's substance use disorder treatment records beyond standard HIPAA protections?
- The Mental Health Parity Act
- 42 CFR Part 2 (Correct answer)
- The Affordable Care Act
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Correct answer: 42 CFR Part 2
42 CFR Part 2 provides heightened confidentiality protections for substance use disorder treatment records, restricting disclosure more strictly than HIPAA.
Question 3: A peer specialist wants to help someone understand their patient rights before a psychiatric hospitalization. The BEST resource to share is:
- A general internet health website
- The facility's patient rights information and NC Behavioral Health Crisis System resources (Correct answer)
- The peer specialist's personal opinions about the facility
- A lawsuit waiver form
Correct answer: The facility's patient rights information and NC Behavioral Health Crisis System resources
Facilities are required to provide patient rights information, and NC-specific behavioral health resources help individuals understand their legal protections.
Question 4: Community advocacy by peer specialists can influence policy MOST effectively when peer specialists:
- Act independently without coordination
- Share their personal recovery stories in public forums and with policy makers (Correct answer)
- Avoid discussing mental health in public settings
- Focus only on individual support and avoid policy discussions
Correct answer: Share their personal recovery stories in public forums and with policy makers
Personal recovery narratives are a powerful advocacy tool that humanizes policy issues and can shift how decision-makers understand and prioritize behavioral health.
Question 5: When a peer specialist advocates for parity between mental health and physical health insurance coverage, they are applying which federal law?
- The Fair Housing Act
- The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) (Correct answer)
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
- The Social Security Act
Correct answer: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)
The MHPAEA requires that insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders be comparable to coverage for medical and surgical conditions.
Question 6: A peer specialist notices that a community mental health center has no accessible entrance for wheelchair users. This is an example of a barrier that should be addressed through:
- Peer support group discussions only
- ADA compliance advocacy and reporting to the facility administration (Correct answer)
- Individual peer support sessions
- Reducing services at the location
Correct answer: ADA compliance advocacy and reporting to the facility administration
Physical accessibility barriers violate ADA requirements and should be escalated through formal channels including facility administration or ADA compliance officers.
Question 7: In the CPSS role, 'self-advocacy' support means a peer specialist helps individuals:
- Rely on the peer specialist to speak for them in all situations
- Build skills and confidence to identify and communicate their own needs and rights (Correct answer)
- Avoid any conflict with providers
- Follow the treatment team's decisions without question
Correct answer: Build skills and confidence to identify and communicate their own needs and rights
Supporting self-advocacy means empowering individuals to develop their own voice and skills, reducing dependence on the peer specialist over time.
CPSS Advocacy 3
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people in recovery from mental health or substance use disorders primarily by: