In May 2008, the Heldrich Center and the Mental Health Association in New Jersey (MHANJ) hosted a roundtable discussion on the key workforce development challenges facing the behavioral health community. Over 30 individuals joined Heldrich Center Executive Director Kathy Krepcio, MHANJ Executive Director Carolyn Beauchamp, and keynote speaker Dr. Michael Hoge to discuss the key workforce challenges facing the field.

Participants — who included high-level New Jersey policymakers; representatives from New Jersey psychiatric hospitals and developmental centers, national mental health organizations, community-based organizations and agencies, the education community; and mental health advocates — identified five key priorities for community-based providers and state agencies: (1) Prioritize workforce issues and solutions (especially for state hospitals) and establish guiding principles for change, (2) Develop a mechanism to promote sustained planning for the behavioral health workforce pipeline, (3) Develop strong institutional leadership to develop and promote evidence-based training practices that improve the quality of care for consumers, (4) Introduce motivational practices and incentives to retain qualified staff and to encourage the development of new staff competencies, and (5) Develop cost-effective training solutions. Participants also identified key priorities for state higher education institutions that prepare behavioral health care workers: (1) Prioritize research-based teaching practices tied to the workforce needs of employers (including work-based learning), and (2) Ensure workers and other non-traditional students have access to training and education. Click here to download a copy of the proceedings.