Council on social work education minority fellowship program - the council on social work education minority fellowship program (cswe MFP) strengthens and develops the behavioral health workforce by…

Council on social work education minority fellowship program - the council on social work education minority fellowship program (cswe MFP) strengthens and develops the behavioral health workforce by supporting master (MSW) and doctoral social work students committed to working with racial and ethnic minority populations who are living with or at risk of mental health and/or substance use disorders. The purpose of this program is to recruit, train and support MSW and doctoral social work students to reduce behavioral health disparities, advance the quality of mental and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services, and improve health care outcomes for racial and ethnic minority populations. Cswe MFP prepares students with an enhanced level of cultural competence, greater awareness of disparities, and experience with advocacy and policy reform that shape the types of services and access in behavioral health available for racial and ethnic minority populations. The fellowship targets, but is not limited to, social work students who are members of racial and ethnically diverse communities including american indian or alaska native, asian, black/african american, hispanic/latino and native hawaiian/pacific islander. Cswe will provide fellowship support and training to 40 MSW fellows and 30 doctoral fellows (new and renewed) during each one-year period. Doctoral fellows are eligible for fellowship renewal for up to three years. Therefore, cswe intends to support approximately 200 MSW fellows and 58 doctoral fellows over the five-year award period. The project goals and objectives include: goal 1: increase the knowledge of mental and/or substance use disorder behavioral health professionals on prevention, treatment, and recovery support for individuals who are from racial and ethnic minority populations and have a mental or substance use disorder. Objectives include providing at least one annual in-person training opportunity for 100% of fellows; providing four quarterly virtual professional development trainings that address mental health and substance use disorders prevention, treatment and recovery for 100% of fellows; providing 100% of fellows with professional development and/or licensure funds; and having 80% fellows report an increase in their knowledge and skills related to mental and/or substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery for racial and ethnic minority populations. Goal 2: increase the number of culturally competent mental and substance use disorder professionals who teach, administer services, conduct research, and provide direct mental and/or substance use disorder services to racial and ethnic minority populations. Objectives include recruiting a diverse pool of applicants (100 MSW and 100 doctoral) and appointing a diverse cadre of fellows for the MSW (40) and doctoral MFP program (30) each year; providing 100% of selected fellows with financial, academic and career readiness support; achieving an 80% MSW fellow graduation rate and an 80% doctoral fellow degree progression rate; and 80% of graduating fellows reporting employment in mental health and/or substance use disorder services to racial and ethnic minorities. Goal 3: improving the quality of mental health and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services delivered to racial and ethnic minority populations by strengthening the capacity and reach of the social work workforce. Objectives include connecting 100% of fellows with a social work mentor in the fellowship year; achieving an 80% participation rate from all fellows in two "MFP alumni series" workshops; providing 100% of fellows with resume coaching; and disseminating a virtual CV/resume viewbook to connect graduates with relevant internship and employment opportunities.