County and Partners Kick Off New $75 Million Investment to Build Behavioral Health Workforce

The County and its partners gathered Thursday to kick off the Health Workforce Fund (ELEVATE) , a $75 million investment to build a stronger behavioral health workforce in our region to meet the needs of residents.

Administered by the San Diego-based Policy & Innovation Center in partnership with Social Finance, Trailhead Strategies and other agencies, the fund aims to add 3,000 new professionals into jobs supporting behavioral health.

A workforce assessment completed in 2022 at the request of the County Board of Supervisors found that an additional 18,500 behavioral health workers will be needed to meet anticipated demand for mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services in the region by 2027.

"There are many barriers San Diegans face in accessing careers in behavioral health like high tuition costs for students, a lack of training programs and paid internships," said Nadia Privara, Acting Director of County Behavioral Health Services. "These barriers have a larger impact on the diversity of the workforce. That's why a major focus of ELEVATE is to build a diverse and culturally competent workforce who are representative of the communities being served."

ELEVATE has five new programs to enhance the skills of current and prospective behavioral health professionals.

• San Diego Pay it Forward Loan Program - Provides zero-interest loans to new and established behavioral health workers to pursue graduate level degrees. Loan repayments are recycled to help fund future students. .
• Behavioral Health Apprenticeship Network Program - Provides apprenticeships to help people become SUD counselors, case managers, community health workers and fill other in-demand roles.
• Peer Support Training Grant Program - Expands training and job placement for certified peer support specialists who are people who have lived experience in recovery. The program is in partnership with Pacific Clinics and National Alliance on Mental Illness San Diego & Imperial Counties.
• Social Work, Therapy Counseling Internship Program - Provides paid internships in public behavioral health settings to master's level social work, counseling, and therapy students.
• Nurse Practitioner Expansion Program - Supports students in nurse practitioner programs to obtain educational and clinical experience in public behavioral health settings.

More information for current and future behavioral health workers is available on the Elevate Behavioral Workforce Fund website.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, call 9-8-8 to speak to a trained crisis specialist. Calling 9-8-8 will connect you to the San DiegoAccess & Crisis Line, available seven days a week/24-hours a day. Support is free, confidential, and available in over 200 languages within seconds.