Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals - Vermont Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training for Paraprofessionals (VT-BHWET-PARA) PROJECT ABSTRACT Name of organization: The University of Vermont (UVM); Larner College of Medicine (LCOM), College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS); College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) Funding requested: $1,400,000 Level 1 Pre-Service Training. Funding Priority 1 and Preference 3 requested: the program’s key personnel and training faculty reflect the role of the family and lived experience of the consumer and family paraprofessional partnerships; all programmatic activities are taught/co-taught and/or co-facilitated by CHWs, family members, and/or consumers with lived experience. This is a new program meeting 5 of the 7 criteria requirements. Overview of Proposed Project: The purpose of the VT-BHWET-PARA initiative is to develop and expand community-based experiential training to increase the skills and knowledge of individuals preparing to become mental health workers, peer support specialists, and other behavioral health paraprofessionals; with a focus on children, adolescents, and transitional age youth. Four identified needs will be addressed by this funding: (1) Behavioral health challenges for children, adolescents and transitional age youth; (2) Recruitment and retention of a skilled behavioral health paraprofessional workforce; (3) Lack of a workforce reflecting the populations served; and (4) Lack of providers with skills in trauma-informed, evidence-based, culturally responsive and interprofessional practice skills. To address these needs, VT-BHWET-PARA proposes to recruit 72 trainees from rural, underserved, and/or underrepresented backgrounds and institute the following program components: (a) Training and education through two certifications: Community Health Worker (CHW) and Integrative Health and Wellness Coach (IHWC); with specific focus on VT’s underserved, rural, remote communities, (b) Trainees will receive stipend and tuition support, (c) Experiential training settings serving children, adolescents and transition age youth. Trainees will complete placements in integrated behavioral health, school-based health, and/or primary care settings distributed throughout high need/high demand, rural, and/or underserved areas across VT. In addition, we will offer (d) Continuing Education Units approved professional development for field supervisors. Trainees will graduate with CHW and IHWC certifications; augmented by in depth behavioral health training focusing on trauma-informed, National CLAS, and interprofessional team practice. Trainees will gain competencies to effectively support the social/emotional/behavioral health and well-being of children, adolescents, and transitional age youth. UVM LCOM is partnering with UVM CNHS, UVM CAS and UVM CEMS. These colleges have had several successful training grants through DHHS and HRSA, which provided education to the child serving workforce. VT-BHWET-PARA funding will allow for the targeted expansion of behavioral health paraprofessionals creating a pathway into behavioral health programs. UVM, through key partnerships, is uniquely situated to utilize this HRSA funding opportunity to meet the following objectives. Program Objectives: (1) Increase the representation, skills, and professional self-efficacy of the behavioral health paraprofessional workforce; (2) Enhance partnerships with community-based agencies that can serve as experiential training sites in high need/high demand/rural areas in Vermont; (3) Enhance collaborative trauma-informed didactic training/education using distance technology; (4) Enhance and sustain distance learning opportunities to expand access and digital literacy.
