Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - The University of Redlands proposes the IE STRIVE (Service Training for Resilient and Integrated Behavioral Health Excellence in the Inland Empire) program to address the critical shortage of culturally competent behavioral health professionals in California's Inland Empire. This program aims to train 48 graduate students in the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program to deliver trauma-informed, integrated, and culturally responsive care in high-need, underserved areas. Leveraging partnerships with SAC Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), and Caravel Health, the program will provide trainees with experiential learning opportunities across four integrated care sites, emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration and tele-behavioral health services. The program includes modernized coursework covering trauma-informed practices, substance use treatment, and culturally relevant interventions. Financial barriers will be mitigated through stipends, tuition remission, and resilience-building workshops, supporting a cohort primarily comprising first-generation college students and individuals from rural and underserved communities. Recruitment efforts target these underserved and rural communities, aligning with the Inland Empire 2030 (IE 2030) regional initiative to address systemic inequities in mental health care access. Trainees will gain practical experience in integrated behavioral health care models, focusing on team-based care, crisis intervention, and the integration of mental health into primary care settings. Additionally, the program will train clinical supervisors in trauma-informed supervision and multidisciplinary practices to enhance mentorship capacity. Expected outcomes include an increase in access to behavioral health services in underserved communities, strengthened regional behavioral health infrastructure, and a workforce equipped to deliver integrated and comprehensive care. Continuous quality improvement processes and data-driven strategies will ensure program success and sustainability, positioning the IE STRIVE program as a transformative model for behavioral health education and workforce development.
