Seven Projects, One Goal: Strengthen Florida’s Behavioral Health Workforce

FCBHW announces a new round of research grant funding, investing $1.9 million in initiatives focused on expanding access, improving training and supporting providers statewide

Florida’s behavioral health system is at a critical juncture. Demand for services continues to rise, yet persistent workforce shortages limit access to care — particularly for vulnerable populations across the state.

To help address these challenges, the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce (FCBHW) is investing more than $1.9 million in seven research projects designed to grow, retain and innovate Florida’s behavioral health workforce. Selected through a competitive, statewide grant process, these initiatives represent a strategic and coordinated investment in workforce development.

“FCBHW’s funded grant awards reflect a core principle: the most effective solutions to behavioral health workforce and training challenges are those shaped by the people closest to them,” said FCBHW Executive Director Courtney Whitt, PhD. “By partnering with vested stakeholders across education, practice, and community systems, these projects are grounded in real-world needs and informed by frontline expertise.”

Spanning multiple sectors of the behavioral health system — including healthcare, schools, community-based organizations and specialty care settings — each project targets a distinct workforce need. Together, they share a common goal: building a skilled, prepared workforce capable of meeting the evolving behavioral health needs of Floridians.

From training graduate students to deliver evidence-based interventions in public schools to developing new behavioral health career pathways for Community Health Workers, the funded projects reflect a comprehensive approach to workforce capacity building.

“Funding critical research on workforce barriers and opportunities is a core responsibility of our center,” said FCBHW Director of Research and Dissemination Oliver T. Massey, PhD. “This latest cycle brings the center to 13 funded research projects addressing the needs of Florida's behavioral health workforce.”

As the research progresses, FCBHW will monitor outcomes, share findings and identify strategies that can be scaled across Florida’s behavioral health system.

By investing in innovative, community-informed solutions, Florida is taking meaningful steps to strengthen its behavioral health workforce and improve access to care across the state.

2026 Funded Research Projects

Wakulla Rural Workforce Demonstration Project

Partners: Florida Department of Health in Wakulla County; Florida State University
Project Director: James Lewis, BSBA
Principal Investigator: Cindy Wilson, PhD, CFLE
Co-Principal Investigator: Kaley Turner, PhD, CFLE

Why it matters:
Rural communities experience some of Florida’s most severe behavioral health workforce shortages, significantly limiting access to care and increasing strain on existing providers.

Project focus:
Evaluation of a telehealth-based service delivery model in Wakulla County compared to in-person therapy delivered through the same clinical training program.

Key efforts:

• Establish community-based telehealth access points
• Deliver services using supervised graduate student clinicians
• Compare patient outcomes between telehealth and in-person services
• Assess the model’s potential for recruiting, training, and retaining providers in rural and Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)

Expected impact:
Evidence informed workforce strategies that can be scaled across rural Florida to improve access and strengthen behavioral health training and workforce pipelines.

Building Florida’s Dementia-Capable Behavioral Health Workforce

Partners: University of South Florida; Alzheimer’s Association Florida
Principal Investigator: Nik Lampe, PhD

Why it matters:
Florida’s behavioral health workforce serves nearly 580,000 older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. However, many providers lack the specialized education and skills necessary to meet the complex needs of this population. This gap contributes to fragmented care, crisis-driven service use and increased workforce burnout.

Project focus:
Development and evaluation of an online training program to strengthen dementia-specific knowledge and skills among behavioral health workers.

Key efforts:

• Assess behavioral health workers’ current knowledge, competencies, and training needs
• Develop an asynchronous online training series to enhance capacity to support individuals living with dementia, caregivers and high-risk older adults
• Evaluate feasibility, acceptability and changes to provider knowledge, skills and confidence

Expected impact:
A scalable, cost-effective online training program offering free continuing education units to improve dementia-informed behavioral health services statewide.

A Community–Academic Partnership to Develop a Statewide Mental Health Training Pathway for Community Health Workers in Florida

Partners: Florida State University; Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH)
Principal Investigator: Javier Rosado, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator: Paula DiGrigoli, BS

Why it matters:
Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a vital role in improving access to care, yet Florida lacks a standardized behavioral health training pathway tailored to this workforce.

Project focus:
Development of Florida’s first mental health specialization pathway aligned with CHW certification requirements.

Key efforts:

• Design a 10-hour, online certification-aligned training focused on child and maternal mental health
• Train CHWs in early identification, stigma reduction and care navigation
• Evaluate online implementation, usability and competency gains among CHWs

Expected impact:
A scalable, statewide pathway that equips frontline, community-embedded workers to address and support early behavioral health intervention in children and mothers.

INTERACT: Integrating Non-Specialist Therapy to Enhance Continuity of Care

Partners: University of South Florida; BayCare Behavioral Health; George Washington University
Co-Principal Investigators: Jerome T. Galea, PhD; Kristin Kosyluk, PhD

Why it matters:
Delays in access to care are one of the greatest challenges facing patients with depression and anxiety. Longer duration of untreated depression is associated with poorer treatment response, and many individuals disengage from care entirely while waiting for services.

Project focus:
Pilot testing a model within Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) that integrates non-specialist delivered intervention into existing care coordination systems to reduce client distress while waiting for psychological services.

Key efforts:

• Deliver a structured psychological intervention provided by trained, non licensed staff to individuals awaiting appointments with licensed clinicians
• Assess acceptability, safety, adoption, competency, fidelity and cost-effectiveness
• Compare pilot outcomes with standard CCBHC care coordination measures, including time to first intervention and symptom outcomes three months after intake

Expected impact:
A replicable model for Florida’s community behavioral health system that expands access to care by leveraging and upskilling the existing workforce to promote quicker engagement, stronger continuity, and improved patient outcomes.

BOOST (Behavioral Health Onboarding, Orientation, Support and Training) Project

Partners: David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health; Florida Gulf Coast University
Project Director: Lance Fenton
Principal Investigator: Chih-Chin Chou, PhD, CRC
Co-Principal Investigator: John Harding, EdD, MBA, FACHE

Why it matters:
Behavioral health organizations face persistent challenges recruiting, onboarding and retaining qualified staff — contributing to workforce instability, burnout and reduced quality of care.

Project focus:
Development and pilot testing of BOOST, a structured, theory informed onboarding model designed to strengthen workforce stability among newly hired behavioral health staff.

Key efforts:

• Conduct a needs assessment to identify onboarding barriers and support needs
• Design an evidence-informed, organization-specific onboarding program enhanced with an AI-supported chat assistant
• Pilot test the model to assess feasibility, acceptability, usability and fidelity

Expected impact:
A scalable, replication-ready onboarding model that improves role clarity, early support and workforce retention across Florida’s behavioral health organizations.

Preparing Pre-Service School Psychologists to Strengthen Behavioral Health Supports in High-Need Florida Community Schools

Partners: University of South Florida; Hillsborough County Public Schools
Principal Investigator: Kahlila Lawrence, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator: Jose Castillo, PhD

Why it matters:
Florida faces a critical shortage of school psychologists, limiting student access to behavioral health services and reducing opportunities for graduate students to gain hands on clinical experience.

Project focus:
Development and evaluation of a competency based training model that prepares graduate student trainees to deliver evidence based behavioral health interventions in high need schools.

Key efforts:

• Provide didactic instruction, problem-based learning and skills training to graduate students
• Embed trainees in community schools to deliver small-group interventions with ongoing supervision, coaching and fidelity monitoring
• Evaluate program feasibility and acceptability
• Assess changes in trainees’ beliefs regarding small-group management for community school students

Expected impact:
A scalable school psychology workforce pipeline that strengthens school based behavioral health services, reduces reliance on intensive student supports and improves student access in under-resourced communities.

Training and Professional Development in an Innovative Service Delivery System Across Florida’s Children’s Advocacy Centers

Partners: University of South Florida; Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers
Principal Investigator: Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW

Why it matters:
Childhood trauma results in significant long term behavioral health consequences. Despite this need, access to evidence based care remains limited due to provider shortages, costs, and logistical barriers.

Project focus:
Implementation of a stepped care model that uses parent-led, therapist-assisted intervention as an initial treatment approach.

Key efforts:

• Train providers in stepped care delivery
• Assess provider knowledge, confidence, skill and treatment fidelity
• Identify implementation barriers, facilitators and sustainability factors
• Develop a statewide implementation manual to support consistent delivery across centers

Expected impact:
A workforce equipped to deliver stepped care interventions, reducing provider burden while maintaining quality, expanding access to care, and allowing clinicians to focus on children with the greatest clinical needs.