The Indiana Department of Education, at the direction of Phyllis Lewis, commissioned the National Association of Peer Programs (NAPP: formerly known as the National Peer Helpers Association) and the authors listed above to develop a rubric for peer helping programs. Development of the rubric began with a review of the NAPP Programmatic Standards and Ethics. The Standards were either stated directly in the rubric or the essence summarized. In a few instances, the Standards were modified to reflect recent developments or more informed or preferred practices. The overarching intention of the rubric is to improve the quality of peer-helping programs.