UNLV School of Social Work professors Ramona Denby-Brinson and Joanne Thompson and their team of collaborators have been awarded a $1.4 million Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training for Professionals grant.
The award is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.
The purpose of the three-year project is to work with local and state public and behavioral health partners to develop and expand clinical social work education with the goal of producing more than 100 highly competent practitioners who can intervene on behalf of children, adolescents, and transitional-age youths who are at risk of or who have developed behavioral health disorders.
The project has a strong research component and will utilize multiple innovative methods, including geodemographic recruitment, youth- and family-informed teaching models, mentoring groups, field site environmental scans, and clinical, cultural, and linguistic self-assessments/self-efficacy measures.
"We truly consider this to be good news for all of the children, youth, and families in our community that struggle daily with mental health challenges," says Denby-Brinson. "We are excited to be able to prepare additional, advanced-level social workers who will have the skills and specialized training necessary to intervene on behalf of this vulnerable group."
