Due to the severe shortage of mental health providers in schools, the primary outcome of this project is to help increase our partner Lead Educational Agency's mental health service provider talent pipeline. The Center for Restorative Change will partner with Coppin State University as well as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to lead the recruitment, training, and placement (internships, field placements, full-time employment) of 105 social workers from diverse backgrounds that reflect the communities, identities, ethnicities, abilities, and cultures of the students in Central Maryland’s high-need LEAs over the next five years. Our program seeks to improve the mental health provider workforce shortage in high-need LEAs by supporting the capacity of the current mental health provider training paradigm through our intensive and collaborative program, Fellowship for School-Based Mental Health.
The four key pillars of our program are: (1) creating new pathways for students, (2) collaboration & collective impact, (3) mitigating financial barriers & increasing workforce diversity, and (4) intensive & immersive learning experiences for our Fellows.