Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - Trauma-Based Behavioral Health Fellowship: Healing-Centered Integrated and Interdisciplinary Care Training project aims to expand and sustain the trauma-informed behavioral health workforce in southern Illinois, a region characterized by rural, medically underserved communities (MUCs), and designated by HRSA as a healthcare workforce shortage area. This collaborative initiative seeks to address health disparities by enhancing the provision of trauma-informed, bilingual mental health services to children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth in behavioral health (BH) and integrated care (IC) settings. At the heart of this project is the widely recognized Trauma-Based Behavioral Health Fellowship (TBBHF) at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine (SOM). An integrated/interprofessional training program that equips graduate students for careers in BH. The program focuses on trauma-informed systems of care, integrated health systems, and preparing students to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams with vulnerable populations, particularly in rural and underserved communities. This project is focused on children, adolescents and young adults. Building on the program's 11 years of success, the continued funding will strengthen the hybrid, interdisciplinary didactic training curriculum with a focus on healing-centered integrated trauma-informed care, evidence-based trauma interventions, telehealth, and enhanced clinical offerings for students, faculty, and field site supervisors. Key components of the continuation project include: Enhanced Supervision Framework: Development of a robust supervision curriculum for both MSW students and clinical supervisors; educational sessions for clinical supervisors in the region to ensure quality practice in community mental health organizations; post-graduation opportunities for clinical supervision to support licensure attainment. Professional Development: a preparatory course for students to obtain licensure; guided instruction for obtaining an NPI number, a program requirement; continuing education in interdisciplinary and IC teams for field site supervisors to enhance integrated service delivery and streamline patient care. Diverse Clinical Caseloads: using virtual training to expose students to diverse clients, diagnoses, cultural backgrounds, and complex, multifaceted cases; opportunities for students to develop critical thinking and decision-making skills through simulated and real-world scenarios. Enhanced Support for Experiential Sites: targeted training and resources to assist experiential sites in adopting IC systems and providing streamlined, patient-centered services. This project will recruit a diverse group of 48 students over the 4-year grant period, from the MSW program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Each student will be assigned a mentor/site supervisor at one of the 7 integrated/interdisciplinary sites. Once accepted, the MSW Fellows will attend a didactic training every Friday for 4 hours over two semesters. The Healing-Centered Integrated Interdisciplinary curriculum is built organically with the latest research in trauma informed evidence based clinical practices. To fortify the MSW TFs professional growth and clinical success, a Healing-Centered Integrated Interdisciplinary Clinical Supervision Training. with additional group consultation. will be a resource for the site supervisors, who will meet quarterly for consultation. Additional professional development enhancement for graduating students include a licensing prep course and connection to employment opportunities in the medical underserved region of southern Illinois. This will increase the supply of a diverse BH workforce who are trained to provide integrated care in rural southern Illinois which aims to improve patient care and health equity. This project meets the qualifications for a funding priority and preference. (attachment 8)
