Nine incarcerated individuals in New Mexico are set to take their certification exam on August 13 to become certified peer support workers, following completion of a new training program inside the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants. The initiative is part of a partnership between the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Office of Peer Recovery & Engagement and the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD), making New Mexico one of the first states to offer Certified Peer Support Worker (CPSW) training and certification within correctional facilities.
A CPSW is someone who has experienced long-term recovery from mental health or substance use conditions and is trained to assist others in their recovery journey. The nine participants completed the inaugural training program in July and will be overseen by the New Mexico Credentialing Board of Behavioral Health Professionals for certification.
“No one can guide recovery like someone who’s lived it,” said Nick Boukas, director of the Behavioral Health Services Division at the New Mexico Health Care Authority. “Training certified peer support workers in New Mexico’s prisons and jails transforms lived experience into a lifeline for others going through the same struggles.”
The collaboration aims to integrate recovery support into correctional settings while expanding the state’s behavioral health workforce. Additional trainings are planned for other prisons and jails across New Mexico in coming months, preparing more incarcerated individuals for roles as peer support workers.
“This partnership is a powerful example of what can happen when behavioral health and corrections come together,” said Byron Brown, director of the New Mexico Corrections Department Reentry Division. “We’re proud to support a model that centers recovery, dignity, and opportunity.”
The training program is based on an intergovernmental service agreement between NMCD and the Health Care Authority, using an established CPSW curriculum already implemented elsewhere in the state.
More information about CPSW training programs can be found at nmrecovery.org.
