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AB 96

Mental health services: peer support specialist certification.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Corey Jackson

AB 96 recognizes certified peer support specialists as community health workers, meeting CHW training requirements and expanding the workforce with lived experience.

From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
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Bill Summary · AB 96

AB 96 — Community health workers (Jackson) — Summary

Purpose / Intent

AB 96 expands the statutory definitions and certification pathway for community health workers (CHWs) under the Welfare and Institutions Code and recognizes certified peer support specialists as meeting CHW education and training requirements. The bill clarifies core competencies, incorporates additional CHW roles (including violence prevention professionals), and codifies the use of “lived experience” as part of CHW qualifications.

Key provisions and changes

  • Amends Section 18998 (Welf. & Inst. Code) to broaden definitions and establish terminology:

    • Expands the list of persons considered CHWs to explicitly include:
    • Peer support specialists (as defined in Section 14045.12)
    • Violence prevention professionals
    • Promotores / Promotores de Salud, Community Health Representatives, navigators, and other nonlicensed health workers
    • Defines and lists CHW “core competencies” (communication, relationship-building, service coordination, advocacy, education/facilitation, assessment, outreach, professional conduct, evaluation/research, and a public health/social determinants knowledge base).
    • Defines “community-defined,” “cultural competence,” “lived experience” (examples provided such as mental health, substance use, homelessness, justice involvement, LGBTQ+ status, etc.), and “specialty certificate.”

  • Amends Section 18998.1 to add a certification pathway exemption:

    • A peer support specialist certified under Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 14045.10) of Chapter 7 of Part 3 is deemed to have satisfied all education and training requirements developed by the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) for certification as a community health worker.
    • Retains existing department duties (develop/approve statewide CHW certificate program requirements, curriculum, specialty certificate criteria, oversight structure, pathways from prior experience) originally required to be completed by July 1, 2023.

Who is affected

  • Peer support specialists certified under the referenced state certification will be recognized as meeting CHW training requirements without additional CHW-specific education.
  • CHW training providers and certificate programs (state-level curriculum and specialty programs).
  • Employers and organizations that hire CHWs (health systems, public health agencies, community-based organizations, violence prevention programs).
  • Individuals and communities served by expanded CHW workforce, potentially improving access and culturally competent services.

Procedural status and timeline

  • Introduced: January 7, 2025.
  • Legislative actions:
    • Jan 8, 2025 — From printer.
    • Feb 3, 2025 — Referred to Committee on Health.
    • Feb 11, 2025 — Amended by committee chair and re-referred.
    • Feb 12, 2025 — Re-referred to Committee on Health.
  • Current status: Re-referred to Committee on Health.

Potential impact / considerations

  • Lowers barriers for certified peer support specialists to function as CHWs, facilitating workforce integration and recognition of lived experience.
  • May reduce duplicative training and expand CHW workforce capacity, especially in behavioral health and community settings.
  • Affects state oversight and certification frameworks maintained by HCAI; does not appear to create a new appropriation.
  • Implementation depends on existing department rules and how prior deadlines and curricula are applied administratively.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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