Minority Fellowship Program Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and Services for Transition Age Youth - The aim of the APA Minority Fellowship Program in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and Services for Transition Age Youth is to identify, select, and support the training of psychology doctoral and master’s students and postdoctoral trainees who will significantly contribute to the behavioral health outcomes within communities of color. This aim includes the need to reduce health disparities within communities of color in the U.S. specific to culturally competent and evidence-based mental health and substance abuse treatment. Thus, the APA MFP has two target populations at the center of its efforts: communities of color in need of mental health services and doctoral and master’s students and postdoctoral trainees in psychology committed to working with communities of color. To fulfill our aim, the APA MFP will: (a) Increase the number of master’s and doctoral level psychology professionals providing behavioral health services to underserved populations by identifying and selecting at least 2 postdoctoral, 26 doctoral, and 15 master's Fellows; (b) Provide culturally competent training and support to increase Fellows' knowledge, skills and abilities by hosting a professional development workshop to orient Fellows to MFP and SAMHSA, providing at least 8 training opportunities during the annual training summit and professional development workshop, hosting three training webinars, proving mentoring opportunities through the training advisory committee, and evaluating each training and mentoring experience in each year of the project; (c) Expand and maintain the infrastructure necessary to implement, sustain, and improve effective mental health and substance abuse services for the target population by implementing a robust marketing and social media strategy to increase program visibility and Fellow engagement, and conducting at least six recruiting presentations in regions with minimal MFP representation, including three site visits to HBCUs, HSIs, MSI, and TCUs. We will continue to implement an online database for more efficient tracking of Fellows and by year five of the project, MFP will receive at least 100 master's, 200 doctoral, and 20 postdoctoral applications for fellowships.
