Eleven recent grants seek to strengthen the behavioral health workforce by bolstering expanded training programs, student support and increased access to care in underserved communities.
- New York City has launched the CUNY Social Work Fellows program to address its behavioral health workforce shortage. The initiative, funded with $3 million through fiscal year 2026, provides scholarships to 95 students pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at CUNY institutions. The program aims to improve access to care in high-need areas.
- The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has relaunched a scholarship program with more than $6.4 million in state and opioid settlement funding. The Pathways Behavioral Health Scholarship program offers up to $30,000 over two years for students pursuing a master’s degree in behavioral health fields and requires graduates to work at a state-contracted agency for the same duration.
- The University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Conn. was awarded a $2.4 million grant from the HHS’ Health and Human Services Administration to expand its Clinical Mental Health Counseling master’s program. The grant will fund the UB Multicultural Alliance aimed at strengthening Connecticut’s mental health workforce and will support graduate students in delivering trauma-informed, evidence-based care in underserved communities.
- Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. has received a $2.37 million grant from the HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration to support its Master of Arts in Counseling program. The grant will fund the Interdisciplinary Education in Action: Valley Counseling Expansion Project aimed at expanding behavioral health access in underserved areas across Virginia and West Virginia.
- The University of Montana in Missoula has received a $2.4 million grant from the HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant will fund the university’s Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program, which supports graduate students who will enter the behavioral health workforce. The program allows students to gain experience through practical hours and clinical hours in integrated care settings. This is the program’s third consecutive grant from the HRSA.
- AdvanceEDU in Denver has been awarded nearly $1 million in grants from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade to launch the Thrive in Mind program. The behavioral health program provides opportunities such as a debt-free education, stackable credentials — which can be completed in as little as six months — and paid, hands-on apprenticeships.
- Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo., has been awarded $2.4 million from the HRSA to support the Webster Institute for Clinical Scholarship. The scholarship provides professional counseling students access to serve a diverse client population across the St. Louis region. In 2021, the university received $1 million from HRSA for its Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program, which led to the establishment of the scholarship.
- Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., is set to receive $2.16 million from the HRSA to fund the university’s Advancing Collaborative Care, Integration, and Interprofessional Education in Rural North Carolina project. This initiative provides behavioral health students the opportunity to serve at integrated care sites in rural and underserved parts of North Carolina.
- A professor at Milwaukee-based Marquette University has been awarded a $2.4 million grant from HHS to expand the university’s behavioral health training program. This program supports clinical mental health counselors to serve children, adolescents and transitional-age youths.
- The University of Texas at Tyler is set to receive $1.5 million from the HRSA to expand its psychology internship program. The funding will add 24 internship opportunities, placing interns in East Texas clinics to increase access to mental health services in underserved communities.
- University of the Pacific’s School of Health Sciences in Stockton, Calif., has been awarded $2.4 million from the HRSA to support Pacific’s Master of Social Work and Doctor of Occupational Therapy programs. The programs aim to support students committed to working with underserved communities.
