Indiana’s behavioral health and human services (BHHS) workforce plays a vital role in supporting the wellbeing of communities across the state. The 2024 BHHS Workforce Data Report provides a look at who makes up this workforce, where they practice, and the services they deliver.
This year’s findings highlight that more than 10,460 professionals actively practice in Indiana, with clinical social workers representing the largest share. The report reveals a workforce that is predominately female, largely trained at the master’s level, and significantly engaged in telehealth.
The data also offers insight into supervision, populations served, and geographic distribution, identifying areas of strong coverage and continued need.
Indiana’s behavioral health workforce depends on strong field and clinical supervision, yet many professionals struggle with access. New data show that fewer than one in five licensed clinicians participate in field or clinical supervision.
Many current supervisors report they they do not receive financial incentives for serving in this capacity and also report that supervision causes disruption to daily workload. This highlights that there may be opportunities to better support the workforce currently serving as clinical supervisors through financial incentives or modifications to operational productivity procedures.
Additionally, the data show that many individuals serving as supervisors are concentrated in urban areas across the state. Innovative solutions are necessary to ensure sufficient clinical training capacity to support the growth of a qualified workforce able to serve Hoosiers living in rural communities.
During the 2025 legislative session, several bills were introduced or passed focused on clinical training for behavioral health professionals. This signals promising momentum, but the data suggests a continued need for strategies to grow the pool of supervisors.
According to SAMHSA, nearly 50 million Americans meet diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders, yet significant workforce shortages continue to limit access to care. Our national initiative, funded by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts, aims to address one aspect of this challenge by developing a national framework. This framework will provide recommendations to move towards consistency in how behavioral health/substance use paraprofessional roles are regulated, educated, and reimbursed.
In this recorded webinar, Bowen Center Director Dr. Hannah Maxey shares initial findings from our 50-state policy review and wage economic analysis, discusses the current landscape of paraprofessional roles, and outlines opportunities for stakeholders to contribute to framework development.
Certified nurse midwives (CNMs) play a vital role in supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and beyond. In addition to maternity care, CNMs provide primary care, gynecological services, and newborn care during the first month of life. These advanced practice nurses work in diverse settings, including hospitals, clinics, and birth centers, and their expertise is increasingly in demand across Indiana.
Read more about them below. Watch the Indiana Department of Health’s two short vide4os that offer an inside view of the profession. These “day-in-the-life” videos highlight the variety and impact of CNM work in real-world settings.
The Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy is proud to announce our continued partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts on a new initiative focused on suicide prevention policy. This collaboration builds on shared efforts to strengthen the Suicide Care and prevention health workforce and improve care delivery through evidence-based policy analysis.
The project will examine how state-level policies and programs, including training requirements, staffing ratios, workforce incentives, and liability protections, impact the implementation of suicide prevention services in acute care settings. Through state policy case studies and key informant interviews, the Bowen Center will assess policy design, implementation, and outcomes, offering practical considerations for improving the workforce providing Suicide Prevention services and care.
This announcement coincides with Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness and promoting action to reduce suicide risk. By continuing this partnership, the Bowen Center and Pew aim to inform policy decisions that address workforce barriers and enhance suicide prevention efforts nationwide. The Bowen Center remains committed to supporting data-driven strategies that empower health professionals and improve access to quality care in Suicide Prevention.
We’ve re-thought and redesigned our data reports, and are moving to a web-based design, which allows for more interactivity and lets users directly download the underlying data. Let us know your thoughts on this new, web-first interactive data report design by sending an email to bowenctr@iu.edu.
