§50902 Best practices and support

Summary

The Attorney General, working with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, must develop a report on best practices and professional standards for peer support counseling programs for first responder agencies not later than 2 years after November 18, 2021. The report must give advice on starting and running programs, training and certifying peer support specialists, a code of ethics, continuing education, how to tell responders about confidentiality, and information on different program types, differences across responder groups, and the role senior responders play. Definitions (one line each): “first responder” = the same as “public safety officer” in section 10284; “first responder agency” = a Federal, State, local, or Tribal agency that uses first responders; “peer support counseling program” = agency program that gives counseling from peers to first responders; “peer support participant” = a first responder who gets that counseling; “peer support specialist” = a first responder trained to provide peer support and officially chosen by their agency. The Attorney General must put the report and a list of peer support specialist training programs on the Department of Justice website.