Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the authority shall establish a behavioral health workforce pilot program and training support grants for community mental health providers including, but not limited to, clinical social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, clinical psychologists, and substance abuse treatment providers. The authority must implement these services in partnership with and through the regional accountable communities of health or the University of Washington behavioral health institute. (1)(a) The intent of the pilot program is to provide incentive pay for individuals serving as clinical supervisors within community behavioral health agencies, state hospitals, and other facilities operated by the department of social and health services. The desired outcomes of the pilot program include increased internships and entry opportunities for new clinicians through recruitment and retention of supervisors. The authority must ensure the pilot program covers three sites serving primarily medicaid clients in both eastern and western Washington. One of the sites must specialize in the delivery of behavioral health services for medicaid enrolled children. Of the remaining two sites, one must offer substance use disorder treatment services. (b) The authority must provide a report to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature by September 30, 2023, on the outcomes of the pilot program. The report must include: (i) A description of the mechanism for incentivizing supervisor pay and other strategies used at each of the sites; (ii) The number of supervisors that received bonus pay at each site; (iii) The number of students or prelicensure clinicians that received supervision at each site; (iv) The number of supervision hours provided at each site; (v) Initial reporting on the number of students or prelicensure clinicians who received supervision through the pilot programs that moved into a permanent position with the pilot program or another community behavioral health program in Washington state at the end of their supervision; (vi) Identification of options for establishing enhancement of supervisor pay through managed care organization payments to behavioral health providers; and (vii) Recommendations of individual site policy and practice implications for statewide implementation. (2) The authority shall establish a grant program to mental health and substance use disorder providers that provides flexible funding for training and mentoring of clinicians serving children and youth. The authority must consult with stakeholders, including but not limited to behavioral health experts in services for children and youth, providers, and consumers, to develop guidelines for how the funding could be used, with a focus on evidence-based and promising practices, continuing education requirements, and quality monitoring infrastructure. [ 2021 c 170 s 3.]
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