Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment


Description:

This study was conducted in collaboration with the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. The purpose was to identify workforce-related issues that affect access to behavioral health care services in Washington. Many different occupations were found to comprise the overall behavioral health workforce, some providing solely behavioral care and others who had behavioral health along with medical care roles, such as in integrated behavioral/physical health settings. The assessment described and quantified the size, distribution, and education/training pathways of and demand for behavioral health occupations in Washington and uncovered some data limitations. With considerable stakeholder participation, policy and programmatic recommendations to address these workforce-related barriers were identified and, in January, 2018, were presented to the Governor and the 2018 Legislature and are described in the project’s reports.
This study resulted in a full report that can be found in the publications section of our website.
Lead Researcher: Susan M. Skillman, MS
Contact Info: skillman@uw.edu

 

Funder:

U.S. Dept. of Labor, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

 

Status:

Complete

 

Links/Documents:

This study referenced in the May 2018 Milbank Memorial Fund Issue Brief, Behavioral Health Integration and Workforce Development by Rachel Block.

 

Publications/Presentations

Authors Title Type Date Documents/Media
Gattman NE, McCarty RL, Balassa A, Skillman SM Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment PUBLICATION 12-01-2017
Full Report
McCarty RL, Skillman SM Washington State's Behavioral Health Workforce (profiles) PUBLICATION 12-01-2017
Chemical Dependency Counselors
Community Health Workers
...
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Gattman N, Reule R, Balassa A, Skillman SM, McCarty RL, Schwartz MR Washington's Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment: Project Phase I PUBLICATION 11-01-2016
Final Report
McCarty RL, Schwartz MR, Skillman SM Washington’s Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment: Input from Key Informants PUBLICATION 11-18-2016
Full Report
Policy Brief
Skillman SM, McCarty RL, Gattman N, Balassa A Washington’s behavioral health workforce assessment: understanding barriers and finding solutions PRESENTATION 04-11-2018
Skillman SM, McCarty RL, Gattman N, Balassa A Washington’s behavioral health workforce assessment: understanding barriers and finding solutions. PRESENTATION 05-10-2018
McCarty RL Rural Insights from Washington’s Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment PRESENTATION 03-27-2018
McCarty RL, Skillman SM Washington’s Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment: Understanding Barriers and Finding Solutions PRESENTATION 01-09-2018
Skillman SM, McCarty RL Washington State’s behavioral health workforce assessment PRESENTATION 07-26-2017
Gattman N, McCarty RL Barriers and Solutions in Washington’s Behavioral Health Workforce PRESENTATION 06-15-2017
McCarty RL, Skillman SM Barriers and Solutions in Washington’s Behavioral Health Workforce PRESENTATION 03-30-2017
McCarty RL, Skillman SM Barriers and Solutions in Washington’s Behavioral Health Workforce PRESENTATION 03-01-2017
Gattman N, Skillman SM, McCarty RL Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Analysis PRESENTATION 11-22-2016