Behavioral Health Workforce Development Technical Assistance Program - Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI), in partnership with its affiliate Weitzman Institute (WI), is in an ideal position to serve as HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce Development (BHWD) Technical Assistance (TA) program. CHCI, founded in 1972, is a federally qualified health center committed to special populations, improving health outcomes, and building healthier communities through clinical excellence, research and innovation, and training the next generation. CHCI provides comprehensive primary care services in medicine, behavioral health, and dentistry to nearly 110,000 people. Its integrated health care services are delivered where they are needed most to improve health outcomes for its patients and build healthy communities. CHCI’s Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Program is fully accredited as of 2020 by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association and is also a current grantee of the HRSA Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program. WI is the research, education, and policy center born out of CHCI in 2007. WI is grounded in community health and committed to improving healthcare for the vulnerable and underserved in the U.S. Its education and workforce development activities, including on Opioid Use Disorders (OUD)/Substance Use Disorders (SUD), have reached all 50 states. CHCI/WI and its partners Fordham University, National Council on Mental Wellbeing, and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) will collaborate to develop and implement targeted training, TA, and capacity-building initiatives. We aim to establish a robust infrastructure through community and academic partnerships and foster collaborative learning across the HRSA BHWD program recipients. Our actionable framework for TA uses an evidence-informed system which involves proactive planning, readiness assessment, and capacity building along with evaluation and continuous quality improvement that demonstrates the effectiveness of the TA. Our approach means developing deeper, transformative relationships, as opposed to transactional ones, with the TA recipients, such as through the use of the community of practice, learning collaboratives, and individual and group coaching in this project. We will address critical challenges, such as the uneven distribution of providers in rural and low-income communities, as well as social barriers to accessing behavioral health services, including stigma and social determinants of health. By equipping program recipients and trainees with the necessary tools and expertise, we will strengthen the behavioral health workforce, improve patient care outcomes, and better support underserved populations affected by mental health and substance use challenges. Our project includes 1) training for program recipients to enhance the curricula, clinical skills, and externship placements for their students in academic institutions and community partner settings; 2) training for practicing behavioral health professionals and paraprofessionals to ensure they have the most up-to-date, evidence-based research and practice tools for mental health and OUD/SUD interventions for their patients; and 3) a robust website that serves as a central hub for TA resources, including e-based materials, toolkits, and services related to mental health and SUDs. The site will also feature a private portal only accessible to BHWD recipients, and will allow recipients to request TA support. Our project is designed to address the unique challenges and priorities of the 170 BHWD program recipients and trainees, ensuring that TA efforts are tailored to their distinct needs in workforce development. Through targeted education, resources, and capacity-building strategies, we will enhance the program recipients’ training programs for their trainees related to knowledge and skills in mental health and OUD/SUD care.
