California Issues $150 Million In Grants To Train Behavioral Health Providers

By Ria Roebuck Joseph | Center Square contributor, The Center Square California

22 hrs ago

(The Center Square) - The California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) will be issuing grants totaling $151.4 million to reinforce California’s healthcare workforce.

“The grants going out today will increase health care access throughout the state and educate our future health professionals. These are important jobs, good careers, and the state will help pay to educate and train those who want to enter the healthcare profession,” Governor Gavin Newsom stated.

HCAI is a state entity that plans for California’s healthcare needs in areas of workforce, facilities and health information.

HCAI Director Elizabeth Landsberg noted, “With awards like these and others, supporting training behavioral health providers, California’s commitment to expanding access to behavioral health care is clear.”

The $177.7 million will support behavioral health providers at 134 nonprofit Community-Based Organizations throughout California. Through the CBO Behavioral Health Workforce Grant Program as many as 5,000 eligible individuals will get support through scholarships, loan repayments, stipends and recruitment and retention incentives.

Behavioral Health Workers are part of the larger plan to transform California’s health and human services system into one where all Californians can access services for emerging and existing behavioral health needs, regardless of health payer status, through the expansion of the workforce to meet the demand for mental health and substance abuse care to children and youth through age 25.

“Through these grant awards we will put more behavioral health professionals in areas of unmet need and further our goal of increasing access to equitable and affordable health care for individuals throughout the state,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.

Another $33.7 million will go to University of California at Berkeley to 892 students participating in The Behavioral Health Social Work Training and Fellowship program under Berkley’s California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC). Funding is derived from the Social Work Education Capacity Expansion Grant Program, which benefited from $59.4 million in awards from HCAI.

“We know California needs more social workers and needs them now. This funding will pay stipends to support those getting their clinical hours for an MSW degree and those working to become Licensed Clinical Social Workers,” said HCAI Director Elizabeth Landsberg.

Newsom’s 2023 Budget Act included $4.7 billion for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative and $1.4 billion for the Workforce for a Healthy California for All programs. Both of these initiatives provide for $151.4 million in grants issued by HCAI.

“California is going to need thousands more health care workers over the next several years to address growing patient needs and to replace retiring workers,” said Governor Newsom.

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