Jail-Based Peer Support Specialist | Justice Services

Clinica Family Health & Wellness; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 29,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Clinica Family Health & Wellness in Boulder, CO is seeking a Jail-Based Peer Support Specialist to assist individuals transitioning after legal involvement. You will use lived experience to support recovery, provide hope, and connect clients with community resources.

Under supervision, you will collaborate with care teams, lead peer-led activities, maintain HIPAA compliance, and help clients set goals, monitor progress, and reduce stigma through evidence-based practices like WHAM and shared

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED is required.
• Bachelor’s degree is preferred.
• Clinica Peer Support Training Certificate or Clinica-approved equivalent is required.
• Lived experience with mental illness is required; preferable in the public mental health system.
• Must be at least 21 years of age and possess a CO Driver’s License with a safe driving record.

Responsibilities

• Build professional relationships with clients founded on hope, equality, respect and self-determination.
• Share personal experiences to offer hope and motivation.
• Promote recovery and healthy lifestyle behaviors.
• Encourage active participation in managing illness and pursuing wellness goals.
• Deliver peer-led evidence-based services to help clients set and achieve goals.
• Help bridge gaps to health professionals and community resources.
• Assist with paperwork and coordination with Care Coordinators to keep clients engaged.
• Maintain HIPAA compliance.

Education

High school diploma or GED

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Jail-Based Peer Support Specialist | Justice Services

Job Category: MHP Legacy

Requisition Number: PEERS005004

• Posted : August 27, 2026
• Full-Time
• On-site

Locations

Showing 1 location

Boulder, CO 80304, USA

• Pay or shift range: $21 USD to $23 USD
  The estimated range is the budgeted amount for this position. Final offers are based on various factors, including skill set, experience, location, qualifications and other job-related reasons.

Description

Purpose:

The Justice Services Jail Based Peer Support Specialist provides hope and supports necessary to assist others to make lifestyle changes that lead to better whole-health outcomes while transitioning after legal involvement. The peer specialist is empowered to share their experience of stigma, discrimination and self-determination, and the impact of behavioral health challenges to offer empathy, improve motivation, and guide improvement.

Job Summary:

The Jail Based Peer Support Specialist (PSS), under general supervision, assists clients in articulating their goals for recovery, helps them monitor their progress, models effective coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the specialist's own recovery experience, and advocates for the client in obtaining effective services. The PSS collaborates with individuals in groups and one on one to help people live their lives to the fullest. By modeling the use of personal power, they provide hope and encouragement to support others in reaching their goals and realizing their dreams. The PSS also coordinates with internal and external providers to provide connection to community resources and encourage engagement as a community member.

Essential Functions:

• Build professional relationships with clients without the constraints of the traditional expert/patient or expert/family member role and one built on mutual learning founded on the key principles of hope, equality, respect, personal responsibility, and self-determination
• Offer hope through their own life example and use personal stories in a conscious, deliberate, and professional way in the service of helping another
• Promote recovery, wellness, and healthy lifestyle behaviors
• Encourage active participation in managing illness and assist people with behavioral health issues to identify and pursue a change they would like to make in an area of wellness
• Deliver peer-led evidence-based services that help individuals, set, and achieve goals, increase healthy lifestyle habits, maximize/prioritize their time with treatment professionals, reduce self-stigma and find or recover lost roles and goals in life (For example: Whole Health Action Management (WHAM), Shared Decision Making, movement groups, heart health activities/programs, walking groups, weight loss groups, smoking cessation groups, etc.)
• Help clients cope with social or emotional barriers to stay motivated to reach their goals
• Share strategies and skills for activation and self-management of health conditions
• Help bridge the gap between clients and health professionals and help individuals seek out clinical and community resources when it is appropriate
• Help identify key resources, such as where to buy healthy foods or pleasant, convenient locations for exercise, low cost/free social events, etc.
• Assist clients with understanding and filling out challenging paperwork
• With Care Coordinators and Health and Wellness Coaches, proactively keep clients engaged by following up with them and monitoring their progress between visits and seeking to re-engage clients into treatment when visits are missed
• Regular maintenance calls for a defined period following end of treatment to help prevent relapse
• Comply with HIPAA and other Federal or State Data Privacy laws related to the handling of organization data.
• Effectively interact and communicate with other CFHW staff/clients/customers/partners/etc.

Specialized Duties:

• Specialized ongoing caseload comprised of clients currently on probation and/or parole requiring therapeutic treatment
• Assists in developing plans of transition for clients to successfully transition back into community from jail/prison while achieving mental wellness
• Works collaboratively with internal and external partners such as: Boulder County Jail, Probation, Public Defender, District Attorney, law enforcement, monitoring agencies, and other treatment providers to assist clients in the recovery process and to ensure the continuity and quality of care
• Provide some community based services to enhance skills and promote community integration as needed
• Some positions may be required to have a current CO Driver’s License, and a safe driving record.
• Ability to travel within Boulder and Broomfield counties to deliver services in the community.
• Attend regular staffing's as needed for clients, including as needed meetings in criminal justice settings such as court or jail.

Attend and meet expectations for specialized justice services training required by the state

What's In It For You

• Full-time job with benefits (medical, dental, vision, life, disability and retirement plan)
• Paid time off (26 days in total Jan-December in Vacation, Personal Days and Sick Days) and paid holidays (10 holidays)
• Engaged employer who believes you are an essential factor in delivering our mission to the community
• Training: personal and professional growth opportunities
• A team that will support you, and ask you to jump in to lend your

What we need for this job:

• High school diploma or GED required; Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Clinica Peer Support Training Certificate or Clinica-approved equivalent, required
• Must have lived experience with mental illness, preferable in the public mental health system
• Must be at least 21 years of age, possess a current CO Driver’s License and a safe driving record

As a condition of employment, you will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination (and any subsequent boosters) and the annual influenza vaccine. Medical exemptions or religious accommodations may be requested.

This position will be posted, at minimum, until April 15th and may remain open until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.