SACRAMENTO — Today the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) issued $59.4 million in awards under the Social Work Education Capacity Expansion grant program to support social work education at 23 schools.
“Supporting and protecting our youth’s behavioral health is a top priority for Governor Newsom’s Administration,” said HCAI Director Elizabeth Landsberg. “Thanks to this new grant program, we are able to help grow this vitally important sector in the health workforce and get children, youth and adults the care they need, when they need it.”
“Access to behavioral health care and expanding this workforce pipeline in California is critically important. This new grant program is an important investment to train social workers who play a crucial role in behavioral health care delivery,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “Our goal, under the Governor’s vision, is to reimagine behavioral health and emotional well-being for all children, adults and families in California. Awards like these will help us reach that goal.”
The grants support seven institutions developing new Bachelor of Social Work or Master of Social Work (MSW) programs. The funding also supports the expansion of 16 MSW programs. Overall, the funding will add 860 more social work student slots in California.
The Social Work Education Capacity Expansion grant program is designed to increase the supply of staff trained to provide behavioral health care through the development of new and expanded social work programs, especially programs training students to serve children and youth.
This new grant program is supported by the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) and the Workforce for a Healthy California for All package from the 2023 Budget Act. The $4.7 billion CYBHI and the $1.4 billion Workforce for All programs aim to transform California’s health and human services system to a system where all Californians can access services for emerging and existing behavioral health needs, regardless of health payer.