CRSS Advocacy and Self-Determination 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the term 'person-first language' mean in the context of recovery advocacy?
- Prioritizing the peer's needs over paperwork
- Describing the person before their condition (e.g., 'person with a substance use disorder') (Correct answer)
- Always letting the peer speak first in meetings
- Focusing only on the individual rather than systemic issues
Correct answer: Describing the person before their condition (e.g., 'person with a substance use disorder')
Person-first language places the individual before their diagnosis to reduce stigma and affirm dignity.
Question 2: A peer advocate is asked to testify at a state legislative hearing about recovery housing access. Which preparation step is most important?
- Memorize complex legal statutes
- Prepare a personal or shared story paired with specific policy recommendations (Correct answer)
- Avoid mentioning personal recovery history
- Focus only on national statistics, not local data
Correct answer: Prepare a personal or shared story paired with specific policy recommendations
Effective legislative testimony combines personal narratives with clear, actionable policy asks to be most persuasive.
Question 3: Which approach best reflects the CRSS role in supporting self-advocacy?
- Speaking on behalf of the peer at all meetings
- Teaching the peer skills to advocate for themselves and stepping back when appropriate (Correct answer)
- Making decisions for the peer when they seem uncertain
- Limiting advocacy to what the supervising agency approves
Correct answer: Teaching the peer skills to advocate for themselves and stepping back when appropriate
The CRSS role is to build the peer's own capacity to self-advocate, not to replace their voice.
Question 4: A peer in recovery is denied housing due to a past felony conviction related to drug use. Which law may provide the strongest protection against this discrimination?
- HIPAA
- Fair Housing Act with ADA protections (Correct answer)
- Older Americans Act
- Family and Medical Leave Act
Correct answer: Fair Housing Act with ADA protections
The Fair Housing Act, combined with ADA protections for people in recovery, can protect against housing discrimination based on past drug-related convictions.
Question 5: What is a key difference between individual advocacy and systems advocacy in peer support?
- Individual advocacy involves changing laws; systems advocacy helps one person
- Individual advocacy helps one person navigate services; systems advocacy aims to change policies affecting many (Correct answer)
- Systems advocacy is outside the CRSS scope of practice
- Individual advocacy is more important than systems advocacy
Correct answer: Individual advocacy helps one person navigate services; systems advocacy aims to change policies affecting many
Individual advocacy assists a specific person, while systems advocacy addresses structural barriers affecting entire populations.
Question 6: A CRSS observes that peers with co-occurring disorders are consistently denied services at a local agency. What type of advocacy is most appropriate?
- Informal peer encouragement
- Systemic advocacy to change agency policy or practices (Correct answer)
- Advising peers to find services in another state
- Reporting each peer's case to their family
Correct answer: Systemic advocacy to change agency policy or practices
A pattern of denial affecting multiple peers calls for systemic advocacy to address the policy or practice causing the barrier.
Question 7: How does motivational interviewing support the principle of self-determination in advocacy?
- It directs people toward provider-approved goals
- It helps people explore and strengthen their own reasons for change without imposing external values (Correct answer)
- It replaces advocacy by resolving ambivalence
- It is only used in clinical, not peer, settings
Correct answer: It helps people explore and strengthen their own reasons for change without imposing external values
MI's spirit of autonomy and evocation honors the person's own goals and values, reinforcing self-determination.
CRSS Advocacy and Self-Determination 3
What does the term 'person-first language' mean in the context of recovery advocacy?