Behavioral health workforce education and training program - the northeast new york behavioral health workforce education and training partnership (NENY-BHWETP) will increase the supply of a diverse…

Behavioral health workforce education and training program - the northeast new york behavioral health workforce education and training partnership (NENY-BHWETP) will increase the supply of a diverse behavioral health workforce that is trained to provide integrated behavioral health care and committed to working in high-need and high-demand areas. The project is a collaboration between the graduate counselor education and social work programs at the state university of new york (SUNY) plattsburgh with support from an array of behavioral health providers within the targeted region. The program will (1) increase the number of new or expanded community partnerships with experiential training sites in high-need and high-demand areas; (2) promote collaborative training by using team-based models of care to integrate behavioral health care into interprofessional primary care settings; (3) recruit a diverse workforce interested in working with children, adolescents, and young adults; (4) recruit, develop, and expand the capacity to train clinical supervisors to support and mentor behavioral health trainees; and (5) create a sustainable infrastructure to offer trainings developed through this project to the broader behavioral health workforce to support expanded access to integrated behavioral health services in the region. The geographic target area for this project is northeast new york, from the state capital of albany to the canadian border, much of which includes underserved and rural areas. The NENY-BHWETP addresses three interrelated unmet needs: (1) an inadequate supply of behavioral health providers in a high-need, high-demand area; (2) limited experiential learning opportunities for graduate-level clinical mental health counseling and social work students largely due to a dearth of trained clinical supervisors; and (3) high levels of community need for integrated behavioral health services, including for children, adolescents, and young adults. The NENY-BHWETP has two primary components: the behavioral health fellows training program will provide specialized training opportunities and a $25,000 stipend to 16 behavioral health fellows who are advanced graduate-level mental health counseling and social work students enrolled at SUNY plattsburgh. Fellows supplement their coursework and experiential training with workshops on topics including cultural competency; integrative behavioral health with a focus on children, adolescents, and young adults; and post-graduation careers in high-need, high-demand areas. These workshops are developed and delivered by the second project component, the northeast new york integrated behavioral health training institute. The institute will increase regional capacity to provide integrated behavioral health services in underserved and high-need communities by providing training and professional development opportunities for fellows, faculty, preceptors, and educational partners (field site supervisors), as well as the broader northeast new york behavioral health community. The training institute will offer a clinical supervision certificate to educational partners serving as field instructors for behavioral health fellows. Other workshops on topics relevant to meeting the behavioral health needs of children, youth, and young adults and cultural competency and the national clas standards will also be offered to medical professionals, psychologists, addiction professionals, and clinical staff at mental health, addictions, and youth-serving agencies throughout northeast new york. The expectation is that the institute will become a self-sustaining, long-term training partner for the region's behavioral health community upon completion of the grant. The project is seeking a funding preference based on a high rate of graduates placed in practice settings that have a principal focus on serving residents of medically underserved communities.