Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - As a historically black college/university (HBCU), North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has a rich history of developing a diverse workforce and serving high-need and high-demand areas. As such, the Counseling Programs in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education (DCHE) housed within the School of Education (SOE) seeks funding to increase the supply of behavioral health professionals and enhance the distribution of a well-trained behavioral health workforce to underserved communities across the state of North Carolina (NC). In particular, this project comprises three graduate counseling programs housed in the DCHE: Master of Arts (MA) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC), Master of Arts (MA) in School Counseling (SC), and the Educational Doctorate (Ed.D) in Counseling, Counselor Education, and Supervision. The doctoral program is practitioner-oriented with emphasis on the development of advanced counseling practice and clinical supervision. Faculty from these programs have established the project entitled IMPACT NC: Integrated Mental and Physical health Access for the Care and Treatment of North Carolina Youth and Families. IMPACT NC aims to partner with local school systems, primary care providers, and the Eagle Counseling, Consultation, and Research Clinic (ECCRC) to address the mental and physical health care needs of children, adolescents, and young adults in the central region of NC. Specifically, the faculty of the counseling programs will lead efforts to develop and deliver training that promotes an understanding of mental health, trauma, and behavioral health disorders within these age groups, with emphasis placed on interprofessional team-based models of care. The project will fund integrated behavioral health training and supervision for a total of 34 master’s students and 15 doctoral students across the three graduate programs each year. The proposed program will lead students to: 1) complete targeted training that emphasizes the use of interprofessional team-based models of care to deliver effective behavioral healthcare to members of underserved communities, 2) Participate in an intensive, year-long integrated behavioral health field experience as part of their plan of study, 3) graduate from a CACREP program equipped with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills requisite for the provision of committed, competent, and collaborative integrated behavioral health practice in underserved communities, 4) qualify for licensure as a licensed clinical mental health counselor associate (LCMHC-A; master’s graduates), licensed school counselor (master’s graduates), or meet the educational requirements for licensed clinical mental health counselor supervisor (LCMHC-S; doctoral graduates) and become employable as integrated behavioral health providers in the underserved communities. Each year, we will use formative and summative assessments to measure the program’s objectives using a mixed methods design. Ongoing evaluation of implementation and outcome data will drive continuous improvement of training and field experiences and ensure program quality and rigor are maintained throughout the grant and beyond.
