The peer workforce is one of the fastest-growing groups of mental health and psychiatric rehabilitation workers in the U.S., with more than 300,000 peers employed in Medicaid-billable mental health organizations alone (Cronise et al., 2016). Iowa has seen a 200% increase in the number of peers employed between 2015 and early 2024, and there is every indication that the number of peer programs and employees will continue to grow. 

Currently, there is no web page where peers or providers can go to find peer programs by geographic location. As part of the Iowa Peer Interconnect (IPI) work plan, we’ll maintain the Iowa Peer Services Database through 2025. You can download the database from our IPI web page. Todd Lange of Wellpoint initially developed this database in 2015 to inventory peer services in Iowa and track the growing peer workforce. This database includes 245 peer program locations in Iowa, contact information, the number and type of peer professionals employed, a link to their jobs page, and other useful information. Please share this Excel spreadsheet widely and check back in after the new year for an updated spreadsheet!