Bowen’s Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce is getting attention in the press across Indiana. Check out this article from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette:
Indiana has a shortage of mental health professionals, a situation a provider describes as a crisis, a report released Wednesday says.
“The Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce” seeks to address that shortage by identifying opportunities and recommendations to strengthen the state’s pipeline of those professionals.
Indiana’s mental health care is in crisis, with both real-life impacts on the everyday lives of millions of Hoosiers and for the long-term economic outlook of our state. Our Playbook tackles that crisis head-on, offering concrete policy solutions to increase the number of mental health care workers in Indiana. Find out more here.
We’re pleased to see Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) sharing their involvement in the Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce.
CTS’s unique model of integrating education, clinical experience, and community outreach was recognized as an institutional best practice in the Playbook.
Bowen Center Director Dr. Hannah Maxey presented August 1 the Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce to the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder. Indiana faces an enormous challenge of recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of mental and behavioral health workers, with every county in the state meeting the criteria for a federally designated workforce shortage in these areas.
The results are staggering, with real-life implications for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers:
We are excited to announce that 4C Health, a leading Community Mental Health Center in North Central Indiana, has made a significant commitment to support the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research & Policy’s “Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental & Behavioral Health Workforce.” This commitment, announced on July 12, 2024, represents a crucial step towards addressing the pressing workforce challenges in Indiana’s mental health sector.
Dr. Carrie Cadwell, CEO and President of 4C Health, emphasized the importance of this commitment:
“The need in our rural communities is so great, and the critical factor in our ability to meet that need is workforce. We hope our transparent and public commitment to these Playbook strategies spurs others to do the same. Together we can be industry transforming!”
4C Health has outlined an impressive array of initiatives aligned with the Playbook’s strategies, including:
Increasing the number of behavioral health students trained annually to 50
Expanding their Peer Workforce from 12 to 30 peers
Implementing a Doctoral Psychology Practicum program
Developing an APA-approved psychology internship and post-doctoral program
Collaborating with local educational institutions to create new pathways into behavioral health careers
Continuing and expanding their Tuition Assistance and Loan Repayment Programs
Implementing a 4-day work week model for all staff
These commitments demonstrate 4C Health’s dedication to not only enhancing their own workforce but also contributing to the broader goal of strengthening Indiana’s mental health services.
Indiana’s mental health care system faces significant challenges, with real-life impacts on millions of Hoosiers and long-term implications for our state’s economic outlook. The Bowen Center’s Playbook offers concrete solutions to increase the number of mental health care workers in Indiana. To learn more about the Playbook and its strategies, visit The Playbook home page.
Together, we’re building a stronger, more resilient mental health workforce for Indiana. We encourage other organizations to consider how they can contribute to this crucial effort and make their own commitments to the Playbook’s strategies.
