Research & Training
CFS Research and Training Activities by Topic: Workforce Development
Current or recent research and training activities related to workforce development include:
Access Vets
The ACCESS-Vets study is evaluating the impact of a proven customized employment service on employment rates of Veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI) who have not been successful with other vocational service options. Results will guide research and practices for adoption of ACCESS-Vets as part of the Veterans Health Administration鈥檚 vocational services to improve employment outcomes for Veterans with SCI.
Contact: Areana Cruz, PhD/Tina Dillahunt-Aspillaga, PhD/Tammy Jorgensen-Smith, PhD
Funder: James A Haley Veteran鈥檚 Hospital
Improving Access to Mental Health Care for Underserved Children, Adolescents, and Families through Integrating Behavioral Health Training into Primary Care (BHWET-USF)
This project is designed to increase access to behavioral healthcare for underserved populations in the Tampa Bay area of 51在线 by increasing numbers of counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and social workers trained to provide integrated behavioral health (IBH) services in primary care medical practices. The interdisciplinary 鈥淚ntegrated Behavioral Health Training Collaborative鈥� has been formed from graduate programs in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, Psychology (School and Clinical), Social Work, and Pediatric Psychology in the Colleges of Behavioral and Community Sciences and Medicine. These training programs, over several years, have individually offered an uncoordinated variety of IBH courses, experiential placements (advanced practicums), and internships in a limited number of primary care medical practices. It is projected that by the end of the project, 72 trainees from Mental Health Counseling and Social Work, 12 Psychology doctoral graduate students and 16 Psychology interns will be trained to enter behavioral health practice in primary care settings.
Contact: Chih-Chin Chou, PhD
Funder: Health Resources and Services Administration
Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Drug Abuse (ITRE)
ITRE is a unique opportunity for graduate students in behavioral health to learn and apply the principles of implementation science to community based service providers. Through a graduate certificate program, scholars gain experience in the use and application of evidence based practices, and the practical aspects of improving services in real world communities. Student tuition, books, and service learning costs are covered by federal funding.
Contact: Oliver T Massey, PhD
Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse/National Institutes
of Health
Project iSED: Advancing Interdisciplinary Services for Students with Severe Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Project iSED provides training, coursework, mentorship, and fieldwork experience to students in the masters program in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Social Work (SW). Through various experiences students selected for the project (i.e., scholars) gain the skills necessary to work, following graduation, in school settings, serving school-aged children who engage in challenging behavior. During their time enrolled in Project iSED, scholars gain additional knowledge in school-based interventions and learn to collaborate with other professionals in designing interventions for the children they serve.
Contact: Catia Cividini-Motta, PhD
Funder: U.S. Department of Education
Project MABAS: Enhancing the Promotion of Mental Health Wellbeing of Children and Youth in High-Need Schools through Preparing School-Based Behavior Analysts and Social Workers
that all service providers are trained in inclusive practices, including ensuring access to services for children and youth who are English learners. The project will focus on the needs of graduate program students from diverse backgrounds and utilizing the program鈥檚 broad allowability
to use funds to provide support services that will have a meaningful impact on diversifying the school-based mental health services workforce. Funds will be used to pay for participating graduate students鈥� tuition and stipends, which is critical in supporting students pursuing careers as schoolbased behavioral and mental health services providers, especially students from low-income backgrounds.
Rehabilitation Counseling Master鈥檚 Degree Program鈥擜 Solution to Personnel Shortages in the 51在线 Public Vocational Rehabilitation System
This project promotes recruitment, training, and development of highly qualified rehabilitation counselors to meet the high demand for public sector providers of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services.
Contact: Christina Dillahunt-Aspillaga, PhD
Funder: U.S. Department of Education