How Do Peers Rate their Supervisors on Emotional and Task Support? 
Carol Coohey & Abigail Heaton, National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, University of Iowa, January 2025

We surveyed all peer support employees in Iowa in 2024 and found higher quality supervision was related to higher job satisfaction, higher commitment to the peer field and their organization, a higher sense of personal achievement, and lower emotional exhaustion. Lower quality of supervision was strongly related to greater intention to leave their organizations. 

How Family Peer Support Specialists Help Families Navigate the School System
Carol Coohey & Carrie Means, National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, June 2024 

FPSS provide a bridge between parents and schools so children with behavioral and educational challenges can get what they need. In this study, FPSS describe in-depth the skills they use to help families and the challenges they encounter. This study was funded by the UI Scanlan Center on School Mental Health, which offers many free trainings for behavioral health professionals working with Iowa’s schools. 

Peer Support Worker Supervision and Retention: Focus Group Results 
Carol Coohey, Abigail Heaton, Kellee Thorburn McCrory, & Miriam J. Landsman, National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, University of Iowa, February 2024

Supervisors and their organizations play a vital role in supporting and retaining peer staff. Peer supervisors described high-quality supervision that meets peer workers’ needs. Supervisors offered several recommendations to support and retain peer workers.

Iowa Peer Jobs Study: Job Titles, Credentials, and Wages
Carol Coohey, Carrie Means & Kellee Thorburn McCrory, National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice, University of Iowa, April 2024

The purpose of this study was to describe key characteristics of peer worker job ads, including job titles and earnings, in Iowa and nationally. The low hourly wage offer for all Iowa peer-eligible positions was $16.47; however, when we removed crisis worker positions from the analysis, it was $15.31. The median hourly wage offer for all peer-eligible positions was $17.57 (after removing crisis workers: $16.51).