Workforce Expansion

Our Behavioral Health Workforce Expansion Students (BHWES) develops and implements behavioral health workforce recruitment, career pathways and new leadership roles for the H/L community. 

• We identify recruitment, retention and growth strategies customized to the H/L population. 
• Partnering with HSIS, we outreach to increase the number of H/L students who select areas of study that prepare them for advanced work and careers in behavioral health.
• Facilitate partnerships among HSIs, H/L serving community-based organizations, professional guilds and associations to increase exposure of H/L students to a wide range of career opportunities in the field. 
• Challenge the stigma associated with behavioral health conditions and professions. 
• Develop strategies and materials to enhance recruitment and retention of H/L behavioral health practitioners. 

Workforce Development of H/L Students and Providers in the Behavioral Health Field 

Empowerment and Leadership Academy

The H/LBH CoE will launch its first Empowerment Leadership Academy: Vamos Por Más.  The academy will provide 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 H/L communities and further advance behavioral health.

Through an application process, up to 10 early career behavioral health service providers will be selected to participate in this 12-month professional development initiative. Selected participants will gain direct access to mentorship and leadership skill-development opportunities on behavioral health topics. The academy will start in October 2025 and will consist of:

• Two, two-day in-person trainings.  
• Up to 11 virtual mentorship sessions geared at leadership-skill development as established by the participant with their mentor.
• Additional ongoing collaborative learning sessions, interactive mentorship sessions, peer resource sharing and virtual group learning sessions. 

Applicant Eligibility  

• This opportunity is open to any early career, H/L behavioral health service provider (LCSWs, psychologists, social workers, mental health or substance use counselors) currently working at a Community Based Organization serving H/L communities with behavioral health needs.
• Participants should have 3-6 years working in their organization
• Participants should currently work in behavioral health direct services.
• Participants should identify as H/L
• Participants should include a completed Organizational Agreement Form signed by their current supervisor with identified areas to develop strengthen/further. 

Policy Academy

Through the Policy Academy develop partnerships between counties or states officers to enable the implementation of public policy practices in the behavioral health field for H/L communities.

• The H/LBH CoE Policy Academy will last 12 months, with two face-to-face meetings (first and last encounters) and at least one monthly virtual meeting to support policy development strategies and monitor progress. The Center’s team will make connections with policymakers of the states/territories or counties to be part of the H/LBH Policy Academy. For this initiative, the Center will recruit at least five states, territories, or counties of the states identified as emerging and of top H/L populations, and their officials will agree to participate in the H/LBH CoE Policy Academy. The participation of states, territories, or counties will facilitate the implementation of public policy practices around BH. This dynamic will promote the discussion among ten states, territories, or counties participating in the Academy to do an in-depth analysis, develop policy strategies, revise and craft policies, and do the beginning steps to move forward or implementation for eliminate, change, or develop BH policies for H/L populations services. At the end of the year, a product of policies identified as effective or ineffective, stories of the beginning steps for moving forward, policy implementations, and specific recommendations for the states, territories, or counties to enhance BH. 

Student Workforce Initiative

The Student Workforce Initiative will select universities from the ten states with the highest emerging H/L populations with undergraduate and graduate degree programs in behavioral health areas to increase awareness and strengthen the future providers abilities to incorporate H/L cultural values, promote linguistically and community‑informed formulations when presenting behavioral health issues, and support the H/L students to choose practicums/internships in organizations serving H/Ls.