San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services and HealthForce Partners Northern San Joaquin Valley have joined forces to launch a workforce development program aimed at creating new jobs in the behavioral health sector.
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors has provided $5.2 million in grant money to support the initiative.
The county has been facing a shortage of behavioral health workers, a situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there are about 700 behavioral health workers in the county, with a total of 840 allocated positions.
Greg Diederich, the County Health Care Services director, noted that the demand for services has increased, particularly for children and youth affected by the pandemic and homeless residents.
The workforce development program will collaborate with San Joaquin Delta College, University of the Pacific, and California State University, Stanislaus to offer financial support to students pursuing careers in the behavioral health field. The program aims to make careers in this sector more accessible and to provide support in the form of clinical placements, scholarship support, and student loan repayments.
Those interested in the Behavioral Health Pathway can visit healthforcepartners.net for more information or contact county director Christina Gilbert at cgilbert@healthforcepartners.net.
