Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program - This grant proposal seeks to support efforts aimed at increasing the availability of mental health professionals for children and adolescents in high-need areas of west-central Georgia. Current data indicates that mental health concerns among children and adolescents have increased in recent years and that these issues are more prevalent among young people who live in rural and low-income areas, such as west central Georgia (Health Resources & Service Administration [HRSA], 2024; Morales et al., 2020). Students in Georgia report experiencing depression, anxiety, and suicidality at significant rates (Georgia Department of Education, 2024); however, due to provider shortages, many young people in west central Georgia go without help. This proposal seeks to enhance the number of school counselors available to meet the needs of children and adolescents in high-need, high-demand schools across west-central Georgia through a variety of initiatives. First, by providing financial support to counselors-in-training (CIT) during their field experience semesters, the University of West Georgia (UWG) school counseling program can address a primary barrier to the successful recruitment and retention of students. Secondly, this proposal aims to expand the capacity of existing mental health professionals in targeted areas to provide supervision to CIT by providing professional development and financial incentives. The UWG school counseling program is uniquely poised to accomplish these goals. The program is led by five highly qualified faculty members, is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP), and has pre-established partnerships with the districts targeted for CIT’s site placements as they complete their field experience semesters. In addition, the program has an established history of recruiting diverse counselors-in-training who graduate and pursue employment in the high-need areas of rural west central Georgia, an identified funding preference of this grant opportunity.
