Programs and initiatives to increase the capacity of the workforce addressing prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. The center’s initiatives attend to three areas: strengthening the behavioral health workforce as they work with the impact of substance use and mental health disorders in communities; addressing behavioral health shortage and improving service delivery.
The Hispanic/Latino Behavioral Health Center of Excellence offers the Empowerment Leadership Academy: Vamos Por Más. The academy provides its participants with training, mentorship and collaborative learning experiences to develop critical leadership skills that facilitate transformative change within their organizations, improve the delivery of mental health services and meaningful engagement with Hispanic and Latino communities and further advance behavioral health.
Participants learn to develop innovative strategies aimed at reducing the overutilization of services, while simultaneously addressing the underlying health disparities in communities with a high prevalence of chronic and mental health conditions.
As part of our initiatives, the Center will establish a Policy Academy, bringing together teams from different states/territories to engage in comprehensive efforts. This collaborative platform will delve into crafting effective policies and strategies at the state level, targeting the reduction of behavioral health disparities among Hispanic/Latino populations.
The Public Policy Academy aims to facilitate partnerships between county or state officials, fostering collaboration for the successful implementation of behavioral health public policy practices tailored to Hispanic and Latino communities. The Public Policy Academy underscores our commitment to driving positive changes in the field of behavioral health.
