CPSS Advocacy 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A peer specialist is asked to sit on a county advisory board for behavioral health services. This role represents which form of advocacy?
- Crisis intervention
- Systems-level or policy advocacy (Correct answer)
- Individual case management
- Clinical consultation
Correct answer: Systems-level or policy advocacy
Participating in advisory boards is a form of systems-level advocacy where peer voices help shape policy and service delivery decisions.
Question 2: When advocating for someone from a marginalized community, a peer specialist should FIRST:
- Assume they understand the person's experiences based on general knowledge
- Ask about the person's specific cultural preferences and how they want to be supported (Correct answer)
- Apply the same advocacy approach used with all other individuals
- Focus exclusively on clinical needs
Correct answer: Ask about the person's specific cultural preferences and how they want to be supported
Culturally responsive advocacy begins with asking rather than assuming, ensuring support aligns with the individual's actual cultural identity and preferences.
Question 3: A person in recovery wants to return to work but fears discrimination from employers who know about their mental health history. A peer specialist can BEST help by:
- Advising the person not to disclose anything to any employer ever
- Educating the person about ADA protections and their right to request reasonable accommodations (Correct answer)
- Contacting the employer directly without the person's permission
- Suggesting the person pursue disability benefits instead of employment
Correct answer: Educating the person about ADA protections and their right to request reasonable accommodations
Peer specialists can empower individuals by educating them about their legal rights under the ADA, including the right to reasonable workplace accommodations.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST describes the difference between peer support and advocacy within the CPSS role?
- They are identical responsibilities with no distinction
- Peer support focuses on emotional connection and shared experience; advocacy focuses on asserting rights and influencing systems (Correct answer)
- Advocacy is only performed by lawyers, not peer specialists
- Peer support is more important than advocacy
Correct answer: Peer support focuses on emotional connection and shared experience; advocacy focuses on asserting rights and influencing systems
While related, peer support centers on empathy and connection through shared experience, while advocacy focuses on navigating systems and protecting rights.
Question 5: A peer specialist discovers that a local shelter regularly turns away people with mental health diagnoses. The MOST appropriate advocacy response is:
- Warn all individuals never to use the shelter
- Document the pattern, consult a supervisor, and connect with fair housing organizations (Correct answer)
- Accept it as a shelter policy that cannot be changed
- File a criminal complaint against the shelter
Correct answer: Document the pattern, consult a supervisor, and connect with fair housing organizations
Documenting discriminatory patterns, involving supervisors, and partnering with fair housing advocates is the structured and effective response to systemic housing discrimination.
Question 6: The Peer Support Specialist's role in advocacy is BEST described as:
- Replacing case managers and social workers in all advocacy tasks
- Complementing the work of other professionals by bringing lived experience and recovery perspective to advocacy efforts (Correct answer)
- Advocating only for medication-based treatment approaches
- Deciding on behalf of individuals what services they should receive
Correct answer: Complementing the work of other professionals by bringing lived experience and recovery perspective to advocacy efforts
Peer specialists bring a unique lived experience perspective that complements—not replaces—the work of clinicians and case managers in advocacy settings.
Question 7: If a person receiving services in North Carolina wants to file a complaint about their treatment, which resource provides the formal complaint process?
- The local police department
- The NC DHHS Client Rights and Consumer Affairs office or the facility's grievance process (Correct answer)
- Social media platforms
- The peer specialist's personal network
Correct answer: The NC DHHS Client Rights and Consumer Affairs office or the facility's grievance process
NC DHHS Client Rights and Consumer Affairs handles formal complaints about behavioral health services, and facilities must maintain grievance procedures as well.
CPSS Advocacy 4
A peer specialist is asked to sit on a county advisory board for behavioral health services.
This role represents which form of advocacy?