We’re very excited to announce major funding for Susan Neely-Barnes, Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work along with her colleagues Elena Delavega and Susan Elswick, Assistant Professors.  They have been awarded a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training for Professionals Grant, $473,892 during year one with a possible $1.4 million over a three year period.

The grant will fund the establishment of the Mid-South Social Work Professional Development Initiative (MSW-PDI) which will train 102 advanced Master of Social Work students over a three to four year period on: violence prevention; integration of behavioral health and primary care; working with transition age youth; interprofessional education; engagement with families; and cultural and linguistic competency. Students participating in the program will have experiential training and provide direct services to children, adolescents, or transition age adults in the Mid-South region. Trainees will also receive a $10,000 stipend.

This grant’s goal, part of a White House “Now is the Time” initiative, is to train more quality behavioral health professionals with a commitment to serve populations who are at-risk or have developed a behavioral health disorder. The grant, in response to school shootings and other national tragedies involving youth and gun violence, focuses on transition age youth who are the least likely among the population to receive continuous services.