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The Foundations of a New “Wellness” Workforce
A revolution in the payment and delivery of behavioral health services is poised to transform the healthcare industry and all of its participants. Key stakeholders, including service recipients and their families, medical professionals, social service and community-based organizations, governmental...
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Increasing the Addiction Workforce: Fellowship Training in Addiction Medicine
Substance use is one of the most significant public health issues in the United States. Annual costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care due to use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs exceeds $700 million annually (http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics)....
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Training Increases Substance Abuse and Mental Health Interventions
Two to three brief training sessions can significantly increase pediatricians’ use of techniques for identifying and treating young people with potential alcohol, substance use, and mental health problems, according to a new study in a large pediatric primary care clinic. Collectively known as...
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Workforce Development Needs of Addiction Professionals in New Jersey
A unique structure has been created to support the training and workforce development needs of addiction professionals in New Jersey. Through the NJ Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, a statewide Addiction Training & Workforce Development (ATWD)...
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Addressing Workforce Challenges in Serving Individuals with Co-Occurring MI/IDD
Individuals with mental illness (MI) co-occurring with intellectual/developmental disability (IDD) have complex needs and present clinical challenges to the professionals, programs, and systems. These individuals are among the most challenging, expensive, and intractable to work with. Although the...
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Supporting Peer Specialists
An increasingly common workforce issue is preparing “traditional” providers for working beside peer providers, that is, individuals with the lived experience of mental health issues. SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) defines a peer provider as “a person who...
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Preparing the New Behavioral Health Workforce
The Affordable Care Act marked a national healthcare reform effort, and within that context, New York State, led by Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team, is undergoing a substantial shift in publicly funded physical and behavioral healthcare. The authors have been deeply involved in the...
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Meeting the Challenges of Healthcare Reform: Preparing the Workforce for Transformational Practice Change
There has been a tremendous amount of discussion associated with workforce retraining since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since its inception, it has been clear that the ACA establishes a new framework for health care from nearly universal insurance coverage to the...
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Investing in a Professional, Caring, and Mission-driven Workforce
The behavioral health care workforce is one of the fastest growing in the country. Projections for 2020, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, forecast a significant rise in employment for substance abuse and mental health counselors with a 36% increase from 2010-2020 – greater than the 11%...
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Dual Career Path Development: A Critical Component of Staff Retention and Development
The creation and implementation of a dual career path program can dramatically improve an organization’s staff retention rates. Most organizations offer only one track for advancement for employees, the entry into management. Employees choosing not to enter into management are often left with...
