April 2024 Supervisor’s Community of Practice

Peer Supervision Series: “How Person-Centered Supervision Creates a Culture of Community” (1/2)
with Tanya Kraege & Kristina Vaccaro
Thursday, April 25th, 2024 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • Tanya Kraege
    Tanya Kraege is the Drug Poisoning Prevention Team Manager at Safe Communities MDC. She works alongside people experiencing substance use challenges, birthing folx using substances during pregnancy, trauma, relationships, formerly incarcerated, and mental health experiences. Tanya has been a part of mental health and substance use work for 14 years. Currently, she oversees programs that use Recovery Coaches and Certified Peer Specialists who work in various environments in Dane County, Rock County and Jefferson County in Wisconsin to support people with substance use, and mental health experiences and their loved ones. Over the past few years in this role, Tanya has secured grant funding to design and implement a Salesforce-based recovery practice management solution that has increased productivity by 40% in peer provider management and has given the flexibility to serve over 1600 people in her community. Tanya also works around the Country regarding anti-stigma work and peer provider programs. Tanya played a role in the Health Care Task Force on Safe Opioid Prescribing by participating in the academic detailing program for working with clinicians on co-prescribing Naloxone with opioid prescription medications, in addition to being a Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor, and community advocate. Tanya is also a Recovery Coach, Recovery Coach Trainer, and Certified Peer Specialist, using her story of addiction and recovery to help others gain hope and insight into new ways of living.
  • Kristina Vaccaro
    Kristina Vaccaro is the Drug Poisoning Prevention Peer Provider Team Supervisor at Safe Communities of Madison and Dane County, WI. Kristina has worked with the substance use and recovery community for nearly six years, using her experience in recovery to inspire and support those currently struggling with substances or mental health challenges. She started providing peer support to those struggling with substance use in 2017 and eventually moved into a leadership position with Safe Communities. She has worked alongside the program manager to implement programs and supervise a team of 18-20 Recovery Coaches/Certified Peer Specialists providing direct services. Kristina works closely with the program manager, funders, and developers to bring to life a recovery practice management solution to ease the daily burden of program management and supervision. Kristina is a recovery coach, recovery coach trainer, and a WI Certified Peer Specialist. She also serves on the board and volunteers at a Dane County-based recreational BMX track and, most recently, on the board of directors for her family foundation working with Wisconsin-based nonprofits to enhance their work. Kristina would tell you she loves her job and the people she gets the honor to work alongside. Kristina’s children and husband mean the work to her outside of work and spends her time outside of work with them.
Description:

In this first part series focusing on peer supervision, we will be peeling back the layers of depth as to what occurs on peer-led teams. Participants will hear about overcoming supervision challenges in peer-led groups with discussions around community grief, personal grief, fostering individual wellness journeys, burnout, self-care, staff retention, and additional impactful trainings pertinent to the peer-led teams’ specific work. We will discuss how we keep the fidelity of peer work through conversations in supervision when addressing issues or concerns.

 

 

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, May 9th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on May 16th, 2024. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

October 2023 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“Supervising Peers with Multiple Lived Experience”
with Startina White

October 18th, 2023 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

Facilitator:
  • Startina White
    Startina was born and raised in Milwaukee Wi. She has worked as a Certified Peer Specialist for 3 years all of which have been performed at Wisconsin Community Services. She has lived experience with mental health as well as substance use and has been in recovery for 4 ½ years. Startina believes in the Peer Specialist model of support because without it she believes that it would have taken her even longer to seek treatment and support for herself. Startina is now the Assistant Director of Community Based Peer Programs at WCS, yet still serves as a Certified Peer Specialist and states this work helps to keep me humble, motivated, and hard working in my own recovery, every day that I am blessed to wake up.
Description:

Join us in this Community of Practice gathering to learn how to support peers in their own recovery to prevent burnout, how to balance with work and home, and promote ethics and boundaries.

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Wednesday, November 1st. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on November 8th, 2023. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

April 2023 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice

“Supervising Staff Providing Multiple Services: Exploring the Nuances Between Coaching and Peer Support”
with Tim Saubers

April 27th, 2023 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT

 

Facilitator:

Tim Saubers

Tim got his start as a Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist in 2016, completed recovery coach training in 2019, and has worked in direct support, supervisory, and program management roles. He currently serves as the Program Coordinator for Workforce Development at the Peer Recovery Center of Excellence while also providing consultation centered on curriculum and exam development, research, and programmatic design. Additionally, Tim sits on a variety of state and national committees and workgroups including serving as Vice President of the board of the National Association of Peer Supporters, among others. In 2022, Tim created the Wisconsin Peer Support Advocacy Network with the goal of organizing and coalescing the voice of the grassroots peer workforce in order to affect change in support of the needs of the workforce. Tim centers the principles of equity and justice in his work while moving not just to disrupt and reform systems, but to create new systems in their entirety.

Description:

We’ll explore the importance of role clarity when supervising staff who are certified as Certified Peer Specialists and have completed recovery coach training as well. We’ll discuss the differences and overlap of Certified Peer Specialists who provide peer support, and recovery coaches who provide guidance and coaching. We’ll also spend time discussing how to navigate supervisory requirements that may vary depending on the services staff are providing, ethical concerns that may arise, and ensuring that the services that staff are providing are clearly delineated between peer support and coaching.

 

Feedback Survey/CEH Information:

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, May 11th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on May 18th, 2023. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

August 2022 CPS & CPPS Community of Practice

PART 2 with Vic Welle: “Putting Peer Support Values into Practice in Documentation“

August 23rd, 2022 from 1:30pm-3pm CT

Facilitator: Vic Welle (they/them) is a CPS, State of WI CPS Trainer, National IPS Trainer and Consultant

Victoria (Vic) Welle is peer support trainer who brings many years of experience providing peer support in diverse settings. Vic’s work experience includes community-based peer support, supervising peer supporters in a peer respite program, and working within the Comprehensive Community Services program in Wisconsin. Vic is a statewide trainer for the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative, a national trainer for Intentional Peer Support, and serves on the board of the peer-run organization Wisconsin Milkweed Alliance (WIMA).

Description:

Part 2 with Vic Welle on documentation. How do we complete this required task while holding true to our peer support values?

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Tuesday, September 6th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on September 13th, 2022. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

July 2022 Supervisor’s of CPS & CPPS Community of Practice:

“Peer Support Values and Documentation”

July 28th, 2022 from 1:30pm-3pm CT

Facilitator:

Victoria (Vic) Welle: Vic is peer support trainer who brings many years of experience providing peer support in diverse settings. Vic’s work experience includes community-based peer support, supervising peer supporters in a peer respite program, and working within the Comprehensive Community Services program in Wisconsin. Vic is a statewide trainer for the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative, a national trainer for Intentional Peer Support, and serves on the board of the peer-run organization Wisconsin Milkweed Alliance (WIMA).

Description:

Documentation, how do we complete this required task while holding true to our peer support values? Guest Facilitator, Vic Welle explored the topics, “Peer Support Values and Documentation,” with hope and engaged us in a broader conversation about values and advocacy around documentation on Thursday, July 28th, 2022. The Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative’s goal is to continue to provide mutually collaborative spaces where we all learn together to deepen our values in peer support while holding fidelity to the peer support framework.

We would love for you to share space with us each month, for our Communities of Practices as we will continue explore topics aligning with our work, supporting others and deepening our values. If you would like to stay informed or would enjoy receiving a reminder, please sign up to receive email updates by clicking About Us, then, scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up for updates on the latest news. We hope to engage with you soon!

We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, August 11th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on August 18th, 2022. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.

This website is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.