Grant to expand Behavioral Health Education and Training in King County
The Training Fund has been awarded $4.8 million to expand our Behavioral apprenticeship pathway programs and strengthen the local behavioral health workforce.
The Training Fund is excited to announce grants awarded through King County to: (a) grow and strengthen the local behavioral health workforce through our behavioral health apprenticeships, and (b) advance behavioral health awareness, education, and training among local communities. Under the Crisis Care Centers Initiative (approved by voters in 2023), these efforts will address the dire need for skilled and diverse behavioral health workers to serve local King County communities.
This funding is part of King County’s $12 million investment to help behavioral health providers support, retain, and recruit employees, and also strengthen the local workforce. Importantly, it includes an additional $4.8 million specifically to expand the Training Fund’s Behavioral Health apprenticeships and other training pathway programs. These earn-while-you-learn apprenticeships have registered over 198 apprentices across three behavioral health career pathways: Certified Peer Counselor, Behavioral Health Technician, and Substance Use Disorder Professionals.
Training Fund Executive Director, Laura Hopkins, underscores the value and importance of these programs to meet existing community needs: “With King County’s financial support, we are proud and excited to provide this region’s behavioral health caregivers with unparalleled and much-deserved career growth opportunities.”
Tyrone Powell completed the SUDP behavioral health apprenticeship and is currently employed at Sea Mar Community Health Centers.
“I gained the competency and the confidence to address each and every community member with the understanding, the empathy and all of the things allowing them to know they’re sitting in front of someone who they matter and count to.”
Speaking to the overarching goals and vision of this program, Melody McKee, Director of Behavioral Health Strategy at the Training Fund, says:
“Our vision includes programs and strategies that holistically tackle recruitment, retention, and advancement, aiming not only to close workforce gaps but also to establish long-term, sustainable career pathways for individuals in the field.”