BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SAMHSA Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative The recruitment and retention of staff, managers and leaders in the behavioral health (BH) workforce are vexing issues that have taken center stage as a Program Priority at SAMHSA and as a defined action step in the Federal Action Agenda, a collaborative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seven other departments, and the Social Security Administration It is with this mandate that SAMHSA, primarily through this Initiative, is leading the effort to transform the behavioral health workforce by creating a National Strategic Workforce Development Plan which will be implemented in collaboration with other Federal partners, provider organizations, states, counties, universities and other stakeholders. AHP as national experts on behavioral health workforce issues understand the solution is not just more education and training, but more strategically focused education and training based on well-developed competency standards, as well as strategies to address the universal talent shortage, individual economic self-interests, the preparation of future practitioners, and the organizational systems that support and sustain an effective workforce. As such, AHP is working with SAMHSA to define policies and program priorities; develop systems that can leverage the various workforce development efforts underway in different disciplines and organizations across the country; develop implementation strategies regarding core competencies, licensing and credentialing, recruitment and retention and other key issues; and develop communications tools that facilitate more comprehensive and effective education, training and technical assistance to the field.
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