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What's New
- Greater Bay Area Regional Partnership Implementation Report
- 02/25/2011 - Central Regional Partnership Implementation Report - 02/22/2011
- Los Angeles Regional Partnership Implementation Report - 02/17/2011
- Southern Regional Partnership Implementation Report - 02/17/2011
- Superior Regional Partnership Implementation Report - 02/17/2011
- DMH Information Notice 10-27, Implementation of the State-Administered Mental Health Loan Assumption Program (MHLAP) for State Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-11.
-
California’s Public Mental Health Workforce: A Needs Assessment
- 11/18/2010
-
Licensed Mental Health Professionals in California
- 11/18/2010
- Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas
- This booklet has
been updated (January 2011). - The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD),
through a Memorandum of Understanding with DMH, is working to increase the number of California
communities that are federally designated as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (Mental HPSA).
A Mental HPSA designation provides access to federal benefits to increase mental health
professionals in designated shortage areas. Benefits include student loan repayment, scholarships
and scholar placement programs, visa waiver programs, bonuses to psychiatrists, and a drug discount
program. This booklet describes benefits of a designated Mental HPSA. For information on obtaining
a Mental HPSA designation, or to add programs or correct information in this booklet, please
email Andre Haynes at Andre.Haynes@oshpd.ca.gov.
For DMH technical assistance or information, please contact Inna Tysoe at
Inna.Tysoe@dmh.ca.gov 01/11/11
General Information
The California voters approved Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), in November 2004; it became effective on January 1, 2005. To view the full text of the MHSA (link to: http://www.dmh.ca.gov/Prop_63/MHSA/docs/Mental_Health_Services_Act_Full_Text.pdf)
The Workforce, Education and Training component provides dedicated funding to remedy the shortage of qualified individuals to provide services to address serious mental illness (WIC 5820). Requirements include:
- Expand capacity of postsecondary education programs
- Expand forgiveness and scholarship programs
- Create new stipend program modeled after the federal Title IV-E program
- Create new regional partnerships among the mental health system and educational entities to increase the diversity, reduce the stigma, and promote distance learning techniques
- Implement strategies to recruit high school students for mental health occupations
- Develop and implement curricula to train staff on WET principles
- Promote the employment of mental health consumers and family members in the mental health system
- Promote the meaningful inclusion of mental health consumers and family members
- Promote the inclusion of cultural competency in the training and education programs in subdivisions (a) through (f).
Five-Year Plan
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The Five-Year Plan, required in Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5820-5822, was approved by the California Mental Health Planning Council in April 2008. It covers the period April 2008 to April 2013, with subsequent plans to be developed every five years. This document articulates a vision, values and mission for implementation of Workforce, Education and Training programs and activities. The Plan provides guidance to assist in long-range planning toward an integrated mental health service delivery system.
California Mental Health Planning Council
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The California Mental Health Planning Council advises DMH on issues related to education and training policy development, and provides oversight for DMH’s education and training plan development via its Human Resources Committee. The Planning Council is mandated by federal and state statute to advocate for children with serious emotional disturbances and adults and older adults with serious mental illness, to provide oversight and accountability for the public mental health system, and to advise the Administration and the Legislature on priority issues and participate in statewide planning. Visit the Planning Council’s Webpage.
Resources and Guidelines
- Compendium of Rural Best Practices/Models (3.4 mb) - 01/12/2011
This report highlights successful WET programs in Calaveras, Siskiyou, and San Bernardino counties, in addition to five other successful and replicable rural health programs in the United States (and one in Japan). It was developed by the National Rural Task Force in 2010 to serve as a resource to policy makers, legislators, and direct service providers.
State Level Programs
- Loan Assumption Programs: MHLAP - The Mental Health Loan Assumption Program (MHLAP), created under the MHSA, is a loan forgiveness program aiming to retain qualified mental health professionals working within the public mental health system. The MHLAP is administered through a contract with the Health Professions Education Foundation. Five million dollars is allocated yearly to loan assumption awards. Multiple professions are eligible to apply: Registered or Licensed Psychologists, Registered or Licensed Psychiatrists, Postdoctoral Psychological Assistants, Postdoctoral Psychological Trainees, Registered or Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Registered or Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Registered or Licensed Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners. Upon receipt of an award up to $10,000, recipients commit to working for twelve months in a hard-to-fill or -retain position in the public mental health system. Visit the Mental Health Loan Assumption Webpage.
- Stipend Programs - DMH administers, through contracts with ten higher educational entities, stipend programs for graduate students who plan to work in the public mental health system. The goals of the stipend programs are to increase the number of licensed mental health professionals in public mental health, and to incorporate the MHSA principles into graduate level curriculum. The graduate degrees represented in the WET stipend program are: Master of Social Work; Marriage and Family Therapist; Clinical Psychologist; Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner; Psychiatric Residency; and Physician Assistant.
- Technical Assistance: Statewide Technical Assistance Center - To promote the employment of mental health clients and family members in the mental health system (WIC Section 5822(g)), DMH has contracted with Working Well Together (WWT) to establish a statewide technical assistance center. WWT is a collaborative of four statewide mental health agencies (California Network of Mental Health Clients, NAMI California, United Advocates for Children and Families, and the California Institute of Mental Health). WWT promotes the employment of individuals with client and family member experience in the public mental health system. The center gathers and develops resources to assist public mental health agencies in recruiting, hiring, training, supporting and retaining multicultural consumers, family members and parents/caregivers as employees. Visit the Statewide Technical Assistance Center Webpage.
- Technical Assistance: Regional Partnerships - Five Regional Partnerships (RPs) have formed across the state to promote building and improving local workforce, education and training resources (WIC Section 5822(d)). The RP collaboratives represent Bay Area counties; Central Valley counties; Southern counties; Los Angeles County; and Superior Region counties. RPs include representation from mental health, community agencies, educational/training entities, consumers, family members, and other partners to plan and implement programs that build and improve local workforce education and training resources. Each RP focuses on projects and goals specific to their regional needs. Visit the Regional Partnerships Webpage.
County Level Programs
In support of the MHSA, an overall investment of $210 million from the MHSA was designated solely for County-administered Workforce, Education and Training (WET) efforts. To access these funds, each County is required to perform a local workforce needs assessment and local stakeholder process. Conducted on a county level to identify local needs and priorities, this information is used to prepare counties’ Workforce, Education and Training (WET) plans. These plans include strategies, activities and programs that promote the employment of clients and family members, increase the cultural and linguistic competency of the workforce, outreach to unserved and underserved populations, enhance the effectiveness and diversity of the workforce, and increase access to services for mental health clients.
Info Notices
- DMH Information Notice 09-19, Implementation of the State-Administered Mental Health Loan Assumption Program (MHLAP) for State Fiscal Year (FY) 2009-10
- DMH Information Notice 09-03, Implementation of the State-Administered Mental Health Loan Assumption Program (MHLAP) for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2008-09 - 03/11/09
Contact Us
California Department of Mental Health
Prevention, Education and Training Section
Office of Workforce, Education and Training
Inna Tysoe, Staff Mental Health Specialist
Email: Inna.Tysoe@dmh.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 654-3662