Welcome to our Equity & Justice-Focused Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH), School-Based Mental Health (SBMH), and Disability (DCT) Counselor Training Projects, housed within the Department of Counseling in the College of Health & Social Sciences at San Francisco State University. Our projects are designed to address the behavioral health crisis in California by increasing the supply of equity and justice-focused (EJF) IBH and SBMH counselors accessible to California youth – particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds living in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). Our DCT project seeks to increase the supply of counselors trained in disability, disability justice, community mental health and psychiatric rehabilitation. These projects aim to establish a workforce pipeline between SF State’s counselor training program and high needs public schools as well as Bay Area community health centers located in HPSAs, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), and other non-profit organizations serving people from culturally and linguistically diverse background and those with disabilities.
These projects are funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA-BHWET - HRSA Project #M0141989), the US Department of Education (S184X230064), and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (H129H190016 & H129B200053-23).
- Supply the Bay Area Behavioral Health Workforce with IBH-trained MFT, PCC, and school counselors
- Establish new internship sites at Bay Area FQHCs/HPSA sites
- Increase the number of IBH-trained faculty and staff in partner behavioral health agencies
- Recruit MFT, PCC and SC students from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
- Award and disburse HRSA stipends to MFT, PCC and SC advanced-level trainees
- Provide EJF-IBH 10-module didactic training annually to stipend trainees and community agency staff
- Place advanced-level stipend trainees at IBH-oriented internship sites and support IBH supervision and on-site training annually
- Graduate MFT, PCC, and SC stipend trainees committed to working in an IBH-oriented job (e.g., FQHC, HPSA )
- Establish internship sites at FQHCs and/or in HPSAs
- Expand School-based mental health (SBMH) pre-graduate fieldwork capacity in SFUSD and OUSD high- need schools
- Increase number and diversity of high quality, SBMH providers to address the shortages of mental health service professionals in high-need schools
- Develop a sustainable training and workforce pipeline between SFSU, other Bay Area SBMH training programs, and partner high-need schools
- Recruit SC, MFT, & PCC students from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
- Award and disburse Department of Education stipends to SC, MFT, & PCC trainees
- Partner with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to support the professional development of qualified school counselors.
- Provide access to annual training on best practices in school based mental health for stipend trainees and school district staff
- Place stipend trainees at the highest need internship sites at SFUSD and OUSD and support supervision and on-site training annually
- Graduate SC, MFT, & PCC stipend trainees with committments to working in highest need schools.
- Supply the Bay Area counseling workforce with counselors trained in disability, Disability Justice, psychiatric rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, community mental health and mental health recovery.
- Increase the number of counselors completing their field placements in agencies/organizations that serve people with disabilities.
- Increase the number of counseling graduates who enter the counseling workforce and are employed in non-profit agencies/organizations that serve people with disabilities including (but not limited to) such agencies as the California Department of Rehabilitation, Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California, Felton Institute’s Deaf Community Counseling Services, Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Citywide Case Management.
- Increase Disability Justice & Mental Health Justice awareness and action.
- Recruit counseling students including those with disabilities and those from other culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- Award and disburse disability counselor training stipends to 1st, 2nd and 3rd (or more) year students who are committed to the project aims.
- Support students in obtaining field placements which serve our disability communities.
- Provide stipend recipients training in disability, disability justice, psychiatric and vocational rehabilitation and mental health recovery through COUN 704 (Biopsychosocial aspects of health, disability and aging) and COUN 870 (Professional Issues, Clinical Case Management & Systems of Care)
- Support graduates in obtaining employment in a non-profit setting serving people with disabilities provide (to meet stipend recipient requirement of providing two years of service payback in a non-profit setting serving people with disabilities for every year they received the stipend)
These projects are supported by (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,905,974 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources, (2) Department of Education (DOE) as part of an award totaling $5,667,660, and (3) the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) as part of awards totalling $1,827,507. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, DOE, RSA, or the U.S. Government.