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* This is much-needed here. People of all political and ideological persuasions talk about the dire need for mental health care all the time. To do this, we need more trained people. We don’t have to build the best program in the nation, but we definitely need to do a lot more.
You may have noticed earlier today that the Choate revamp will be led by this very same Behavioral Health Workforce Center. Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker along with state and local officials celebrated the launch of a new Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center, which will increase Illinois’ capacity to recruit, educate, and retain behavioral health professionals. The Center builds upon the state’s commitment to behavioral health transformation, strengthening behavioral health care infrastructure and access across the state.
Housed at Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine, the Center was created in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Jane Addams College of Social Work, the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), and the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS).
“From care portals and universal screenings to improved coordination of service delivery and increased statewide capacity, we are laying out a plan to build the best behavioral health system in the nation,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’re launching the Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center, a partnership between the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine, and the University of Illinois Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. It will begin with a $5 million annual investment from the Department of Human Services to help both rural and urban areas of our state address the behavioral healthcare crisis to increase access to effective services for all Illinoisans”
In Illinois and across the nation, behavioral health professionals are only able to provide a fraction of the services required to meet the population’s needs due to a national shortage of workers. The Center was established to combat these critical shortages in the workforce by addressing barriers to recruitment and training, collecting data on behavioral health needs, increasing diversity in the workforce, and expanding the capacity of health care providers to meet behavioral health needs.
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU SOM) will serve as the primary administrative hub in Springfield, providing coordination and support for building the behavioral health workforce pipeline and increasing entry into the field. The UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work will serve as the secondary hub, supporting specific data collection and training initiatives. Public and independent universities, as well as community colleges in ten regions, will be invited to participate as partners to increase the statewide impact.
The creation of the Center is a milestone in a long-term plan to address the behavioral health workforce emergency. State lawmakers sounded an alarm about the staffing shortages in a unanimous 2018 resolution. In 2019, a Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center Task Force issued a final report recommending the creation of a hub-and-spoke center to address unmet mental and behavioral health needs.
SIU SOM, UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work, and all consortium members will coordinate programs and oversee initiatives to increase the behavioral healthcare workforce and its capacity to provide high-quality behavioral health services across the state.
“We have been facing a workforce crisis in mental health for years due to a shortage of behavioral health specialists. Local staffing levels were already critical in rural and small urban communities, and the pandemic made matters worse globally, with a 25 percent increase in people seeking mental health care,” said Kari Wolf, MD, Chair of Psychiatry at SIU SOM and CEO of the Behavioral Health Workforce Center. “Through the Center, we aim to assess current educational pathways and create additional training opportunities to develop a diverse behavioral health workforce that is distributed across the entire state.”
“We’re excited to have this opportunity to understand the needs of the behavioral health workforce and support their training and career development,” said Sonya Leathers, PhD, UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work professor and co-director of Center activities at UIC. “We hope to increase access to effective services through initiatives that will provide critically needed support and training for behavioral health providers in a range of traditional and nontraditional settings.” […]
“I commend and thank Governor Pritzker for prioritizing behavioral health workforce development in Illinois. The Workforce Center is an opportunity to transform the system to make it more responsive to the needs of individuals, families and children in this State,” said Grace B. Hou, Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services. “IDHS is energized to work with our partners to strengthen the infrastructure needed to provide critical services to those in need.”
“The Behavioral Health Workforce Center will help increase the number of behavioral health professionals in Illinois at a crucial time, as we are still grappling with the impacts of the pandemic,” said IBHE Executive Director Ginger Ostro. “Addressing workforce shortages and needs in the state is a key goal of the state’s strategic plan for higher education, and we are excited to work collaboratively with our agency and university partners to ensure we are meeting workforce needs in behavioral health in benefit of the people of Illinois.”
Numerous legislators were also quoted in the release.
Also, this ties in to the inadequate number of pediatric psychiatric hospitals in Illinois that we talked about today and the problems with finding placements for kids who are in those hospitals and don’t have a way out. It’s crucial that this succeeds.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 1:53 pm
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It won’t come cheap but is absolutely necessary. This population has been short-changed or flat out ignored for far too long.
Comment by Cubs in '16 Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 1:58 pm
A big step forward in this initiative is a guarantee of payment for follow up visits, or well being checks with health care providers fully paid for by health insurance.
After a heart attack, do they pay for well visits with a cardiologist?
Same deal.
Parity.
Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 2:32 pm
===Parity===
Yep. I had a loved one several years ago who suffered with some serious mental issues. What I found out back then was that health insurance wasn’t mental health insurance.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 2:34 pm
“Mental” and “Physical” are both antiquated and misleading/inaccurate terms that should be abandoned and replaced with a new single concept?
Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 2:53 pm
About time. You can’t be a good governor without dealing with administration of your agencies. And a great governor looks into revamping them for better/faster/more effective service delivery,
Comment by Jibba Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 2:56 pm
This is “legacy” work to the governing of it works for the patients and those most in need.
Otherwise it’s a marker, political as it sadly is, that haunts by a measure of walking the walk.
My hope is Pritzker can pull this off, for the sake of the patients.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 3:14 pm
To the comment regarding an “elective abortion”, that is called a DNC after a miscarriage. It isn’t always as it appears!
Comment by Woman's healthcare Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 3:25 pm
It is no exaggeration to say youth mental health and drug issues are destroying a generation of young adults. There is nothing more pressing for elected officials to spend time trying to correct.
Comment by Tom Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 3:39 pm
I ran a very large downstate mental health organization.
Two truths currently - 1) it is easier to get into the Oval Office than secure a State of IL mental health bed, and 2) the Medicaid clearinghouse (payment middlemen) is zero clinical value added and simply a rain delay in providers getting paid.
A huge number of mental health providers will not accept IL Medicaid. Ours did and others in the market simply guided all referrals to us when it became apparent that the person served was an IL Medicaid participant.
Comment by Interesting Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 3:45 pm
Trying to do something.. bravo JB. It’s needed and can only happen if someone tries to do something. Not trying ensures continuing decline…
Comment by Lincoln Lad Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 3:56 pm
This is wonderful news. I hope they go first class and also figure out residential placement for those who need it especially children
Pritzker is and can make a huge difference. I wish him luck. As and old literally Republican I am happy to have voted for him. I cannot imagine what our state would be like in the hands of people who call themselves Republicans today
Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 3:57 pm
Fantastic development.
Coincidentally(?) our school district just signed a contract with NIU to help provide services in the face of chronic and worsening shortages of school psychologists locally.
Comment by yinn Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 4:36 pm
Great time to remind everyone that the state providing the resources is way better than writing blank checks to third parties with no oversight.
I support the idea, but either the state needs to do it itself, or the state needs to be deeply and closely involved with monitoring.
Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 4:45 pm
I applaud the actions and the concept, but hope is not a plan.
I won’t repeat the well known phrase about wishing.
Maybe I’m just in a contrary mood today when it comes to language. I would have viewed the announcement more positively if they had used phrases like our aim is, our goal is, we intend to (etc) … be the best. The way it is phrased, it sounds to my ears like just another political promise with a wiggle room should it fails.
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Mar 8, 23 @ 5:19 pm