Teresa launched the organization’s first national, state and local government relations strategy, restructured the business development department to pursue strategic sales and positioned the organization for national advocacy through national alliances and campaigns. She was a key contributor to the IL Behavioral Healthcare Workforce Shortage Task Force that resulted in the creation of a Behavioral Healthcare Workforce Center. These shortages are driven not only by increased demand, but also by burnout, limited scopes of practice, and gaps in ongoing training. The urgency of preparing current professionals to meet this growing need has never been greater.
Ohio has introduced two new types of certified peer specialists—certified youth peer supporters and certified family peer supporters—to assist in navigating treatment and recovery support services for youth and families. Evolving state policies include new certification programs, credentialing standards, and expanding peer support roles. These policies support a streamlined pathway for individuals with lived experience to advance in behavioral health roles through leveraging licensing flexibilities to integrate diverse skills to meet growing care demands. Arizona’s unique licensing flexibilities enable BHPPs to gain supervised experience in supportive roles and permits BHTs to provide clinical services under structured oversight of BHPs within accredited health care facilities, including biweekly check-ins that can occur remotely. The state also implemented new provider options, including creating entry-level behavioral health technicians, allowing psychologists to prescribe, and providing master’s level addiction counselors a licensing pathway, to improve service delivery and access to care. In the 2024 legislative session, Utah policymakers, guided by OPLR recommendations, focused on reforming supervision and training by improving supervision quality and expanding capacity, reducing burdensome continuing education requirements, and offering alternative licensure pathways to recruit and retain Utah’s workforce.
- In the realm of behavioral health, the development of a robust workforce is contingent upon the cultivation of strategic alliances that serve as conduits for expertise, resources, and innovation.
- As Senior Learning Specialist at The Jewish Board, she oversees the Social Work Residency Program, managing curriculum development, training, and integrating evidence-based practices in outpatient mental health settings across New York City.
- The funding is often targeted to agencies that primarily serve the uninsured or publicly insured (Medicaid/Medicare) and/or to increase workforce diversity.
- AHP’s Workforce Innovation Lab for Behavioral Health and Human Services (WIL) delivers strategic, sustainable, and scalable workforce development solutions for behavioral health and human services.
- In the 2024 legislative session, Utah policymakers, guided by OPLR recommendations, focused on reforming supervision and training by improving supervision quality and expanding capacity, reducing burdensome continuing education requirements, and offering alternative licensure pathways to recruit and retain Utah’s workforce.
Minnesota provides grant funds to support mental health providers of color and those from underrepresented communities, helping them qualify as supervisors, and offers free training to less-experienced practitioners. In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers and the Department of Health Services awarded $1 million in grant funds to 10 organizations to build out a behavioral health workforce focused on supporting diversity and cultural competency. States are expanding the scope of practice for various behavioral health providers to optimize care approaches and extend workforce capacity. In Illinois, the CRSS Success Program supports students with lived experience of mental health or substance use recovery to successfully complete all requirements necessary to obtain either the certified recovery support specialist (CRSS) or certified peer recovery specialist certification and enter the workforce. Over 49 states and territories cover peer specialists’ services in Medicaid, with 38 states offering Medicaid reimbursement for both substance use and mental health support services.
Successful Partnerships in Action
Remember, the well-being of behavioral health practitioners directly impacts the communities they serve. Behavioral health practitioners often experience burnout due to heavy workloads, exposure to traumatic stories, and the emotional toll of supporting vulnerable populations. By fostering emotional resilience, implementing organizational strategies, and providing targeted training, we can build a workforce that thrives in the face of adversity. Peer support groups allow professionals to share experiences, exchange coping strategies, and validate each other’s feelings. Behavioral health agencies must create supportive environments that foster resilience. Training programs can simulate telehealth sessions and teach effective communication through screens.
Prior to this, Teresa was chief of staff for the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Specialized Services, leading school redesign, strategic district-wide initiatives, and public information initiatives focused on special education, juvenile justice, and disability access. Most recently, she was the executive vice president of strategy, development and growth, with Rogers Behavioral Health How Right Now: Mental Health Resources System, where she led the development of a multi-disciplinary division, encompassing government relations, national policy, payor contracting, marketing, communications, business development and real estate development. Where behavioral health leaders collaborate to grow and transform communities across the nation. We help organizations build a data-informed workforce, organizational and community resilience, trauma-informed supervision and leadership, and eliminate gaps in implementation of organizational, systemic culture change.
Developing a Comprehensive Behavioral Health Workforce Plan
The mission is to ensure safe and competent patient care by licensing health professionals, enforcing standards of practice, and providing information to healthcare practitioners and the public. Efforts to strengthen the behavioral health workforce should continuously adapt. By streamlining processes and efficient use of resources, healthcare leaders can ensure quality care while addressing mental health needs in their communities. Programs like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) have provided funding to enhance the behavioral health workforce, enabling states to improve service delivery. Federal support is crucial for sustaining efforts in workforce development and initiatives aimed at addressing current shortages.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has implemented a tiered model through its coordinated care organizations (CCOs), the state’s regional managed care entities. Payments are distributed to providers based on a scoring system, and those under the Department of Mental Health receive a 3 percent payment increase from allocated state funds. Additionally, $1.1 million was redistributed based on caseload, service intensity, and quality of services based on value-based payment measures. Notably, following the increased rates, there was a significant uptake of SUD services by Medicaid beneficiaries, defined by a 96.5 percent increase in billing for certain SUD procedure codes (H0015 and H0035). Some states are deploying one-time funding alongside multiyear investments to enhance their systems, driving both direct and indirect improvements in workforce capacity.