Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals - The proposed project is designed to train community members to be paraprofessionals helping to address the mental health needs of their communities. The communities where the training will take place include areas of California’s Inland Empire within San Bernadino and Riverside counties as well as bordering areas. A broad coalition or community-based organizations, health service providers, a managed care plan, a local school district, and local universities will collaborate to prepare a future workforce capable of extending the reach of mental health services in the area. Specifically, the two-level Community Mental Health Worker (CMHW) training and certification program is to prepare capable individuals recruited from the community to work within health care teams to provide a medley of individual and resource assessment, triage, case management, referral, navigation, coaching, and advocacy skills to assist children/adolescents and their families to attain optimal levels of neurocognitive and social-emotional development through critical periods from childhood to early adulthood. The Level 1 training involves two main aspects over the course of a year. The first is a didactic component that features short courses implemented by local community and health care organizations as well as two local universities. The second is an experiential component where trainees work under supervision with community-based health care teams in various settings including community clinics and local elementary, middle, and high schools. Level 2 training extends Level 1 training by adding a formal one-year apprenticeship at a local health care service organization. Level 2 trainees will work directly with clients and conduct community outreach and screenings under supervision and with the aid of mentors. We are requesting a funding priority (Priority 1) as our project emphasizes the role of the family and lived experience of consumers and family members in behavioral health training. We are also requesting a funding preference (Qualification 3) as we are a new health program. More detail is available in Attachment 8.
