Research

At the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce, we conduct and support research that is stakeholder-informed and needs-driven. Our studies explore innovative strategies for workforce training, development, retention and well-being. We also evaluate the impact of state policies on our behavioral health workforce, with a focus on actionable insights and sustainable solutions. Explore related reports, briefs and findings on our Library page.

Center-Led Research

Non-Traditional Behavioral Health Workforce Needs Assessment in the Tampa Bay Region

Principal Investigator(s):
Kathleen Moore, PhD
T. Freeman Gerhardt, PhD

This mixed-method pilot evaluation focuses on the challenges and opportunities for non-traditional behavioral health providers such as law enforcement, emergency medical services and hospital-based emergency departments in five Tampa Bay counties.

The evaluation includes:

• An environmental scan to identify and describe non-traditional behavioral health providers in the region including co-responder teams (e.g., law enforcement paired with clinicians), behavioral health-trained EMS personnel and peer specialists embedded across systems of care.
• Key informant interviews and surveys will explore perceived workforce gaps, training needs, role clarity, interagency collaboration and opportunities for workforce development.
• A summary of preliminary recommendations to strengthen workforce capacity and retention and service delivery in non-traditional behavioral health settings.

Findings will inform future planning and capacity building efforts to support Florida’s behavioral health workforce, particularly in high-stress and high-turnover environments.

Predictors of Workforce Retention and Intention to Leave

Principal Investigator(s):
Jacob Gray, PhD
Oliver “Tom” Massey, PhD

This survey study aims to identify the key predictors of workforce retention among Florida’s mental health professionals, including workplace, environmental and personal factors that predict a desire to leave their professions.

Social Work Licensure Pathway in Florida

Principal Investigator(s):
Roxann Taormina, PhD, MSW
Cathy Sowell, MSW, LCSW
Chris Simmons, PhD, LCSW

Florida is facing a critical workforce challenge: too many registered clinical social work interns are unable to pass the national exam required for independent practice. To better understand and address this barrier, the research team will engage key stakeholders in the licensure pipeline — Master of Social Work students, registered interns, licensed clinical social workers, program leaders and behavioral health agency partners — through a series of focus groups and interviews. These conversations will explore topics such as education and training, supervision, exam preparation and test-taking environments. Findings from the project will inform the development of targeted training and support tools designed to improve pass rates and reduce bottlenecks in Florida’s behavioral health workforce pipeline.

Strengthening Peer Support in Florida’s Substance Use System of Care

Principal Investigator(s):
Courtney L. Whitt, PhD
Kathleen Moore, PhD

This comprehensive evaluation examines the effectiveness of and individual, relational, organizational and systemic barriers in the use of certified recovery peer specialists (CRPS) within Florida’s recovery-oriented systems of care (ROSC) for opioid-related and other substance use disorders through a statewide survey, qualitative interviews and policy review.

Findings will inform recommendations for reducing barriers and improving systems and regulations to support the recruitment, development, advancement, retention and sustainable integration of the recovery peer workforce.

Supported Research Projects

FUNDING CYCLE 2025

Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Substance Use

Principal Investigator(s):
Oliver “Tom” Massey, PhD

The Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Substance Use (ITRE) develops and disseminates best practices in translational research on adolescent substance use. ITRE focuses on training scholars in translational research methods, policies and perspectives, and practical skills through a cross-disciplinary collaborative approach, with special attention to evidence-based practice, translational research and adolescents as an at-risk population.

Integrated Behavioral Health Care Workforce Study

Principal Investigator(s):
Linda M. Callejas, PhD
Chih-Chin Chou, PhD, CRC

This mixed-method study investigates the factors influencing behavioral health workforce development among clinicians receiving specialty Integrated Behavioral Health Care (IBHC) training at Florida universities.

Findings will inform the development of a conceptual model to guide workforce improvement strategies and provide recommendations for specialized training in clinical programs statewide. By clarifying how IBHC training programs can better support workforce retention and career advancement, this research aims to strengthen workforce sustainability, enhance training program effectiveness and contribute to policy recommendations for strengthening and expanding IBHC training statewide.

Enhancing Addiction Training for Florida’s Behavioral Health Workforce

Principal Investigator(s):
Khary Rigg, PhD

Behavioral health providers often report receiving little to no formal training in the diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). To address this knowledge gap, this project aims to: 1) Quantitatively assess the level and type of SUD-related knowledge, comfort with treating SUD and attitudes toward persons with SUD; 2) Qualitatively explore the underlying reasons behind SUD knowledge gaps, low comfort levels in treating SUD and negative attitudes toward persons with SUD; 3) Determine the extent to which training programs in Florida prepare clinical students in SUD diagnosis and treatment. Findings will generate valuable insights about where the largest knowledge gaps are related to SUDs and how best to modify behavioral health training programs to better meet the needs of Florida clinicians.

INSPIRE – Innovative Supervisory Practices

Principal Investigator(s):
Amy Vargo, PhD
Pam Hardy-Jones

The behavioral health workforce faces significant challenges related to turnover, burnout and inadequate supervisory support — issues that directly impact care continuity and access. This mixed-methods study aims to identify organizational and relational supports that promote clinician retention. Using the Job Demands–Resources framework, the investigators will survey behavioral health professionals across Florida to explore the relationship between support structures and intent to stay, utilizing latent class analysis. A subsample of 30 participants will engage in in-depth qualitative interviews, including story completion and visual elicitation techniques, to provide deeper insight into supervision, mentoring, peer support and interprofessional communication. Reflexive thematic analysis, using a framework matrix will be used to explore supervisory support experiences. Qualitative Comparative Analysis will be used to identify actionable, cross-case patterns. Findings will guide development of a scalable digital training module for supervisors, with the ultimate goal of strengthening workforce sustainability in Florida’s behavioral health system.

FUNDING CYCLE 2026

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

Florida continues to face critical behavioral health workforce shortages, particularly in child and maternal mental health. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are essential frontline providers who can expand early identification and navigation support, yet Florida lacks a standardized, scalable mental-health–focused training aligned with CHW certification requirements. Through a Community–Academic Partnership, the Florida State University College of Medicine and Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) will develop and evaluate a 10-hour, certification-aligned online curriculum that fulfills the Florida Certification Board’s elective training requirement for the Certified Community Health Worker (CCHW) credential. Content will focus on child and maternal mental health literacy, communication, stigma reduction, early identification and navigation. During the first 15 months, the project team will build the fully asynchronous online course; the remaining 9 months will evaluate online implementation, usability and preliminary competency gains. This initiative will establish Florida’s first statewide, mental-health–specialized CHW elective training pathway.

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

Behavioral health agencies face persistent challenges recruiting, onboarding and retaining qualified staff, leading to instability, burnout and diminished quality of care. To address these gaps, David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC), in collaboration with academic partner Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), seeks support to develop and pilot a structured, theory-informed onboarding model, BOOST (Behavioral Health Onboarding, Orientation, Support and Training), to strengthen workforce stability among newly hired behavioral health staff. Guided by organizational socialization and implementation science frameworks, the project will (1) conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify onboarding barriers and support requirements; (2) design an evidence-informed, organization-specific onboarding program enhanced by an AI-supported chat assistant; and (3) pilot test BOOST to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, usability and fidelity. The resulting scalable, replication-ready model aims to strengthen role clarity, improve newcomer support and enhance early workforce retention to help address critical behavioral health workforce shortages.

Building Florida’s Dementia-Capable Behavioral Health Workforce

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

Florida’s behavioral health workforce supports nearly 580,000 older adults living with Alzheimer’s dementia, yet many professionals lack formal dementia-specific education and skills-based training to meet the needs of these individuals and their families. In partnership with Alzheimer’s Association Florida, this project aims to strengthen dementia-capable behavioral health practice through enhanced workforce training and readiness by: (1) assessing behavioral health workers’ dementia-related knowledge, competencies, training needs and psychosocial barriers and facilitators to inform development of the Dementia-Capable Behavioral Health Workforce (DCBHW) asynchronous online training series; (2) developing and refining DCBHW training content and delivery procedures to improve workers’ capacity to support Floridians with dementia, caregivers and high-risk older adults; and (3) conducting a mixed-methods evaluation to determine the training’s feasibility, acceptability and preliminary impact on provider knowledge, skills and self-efficacy. This research addresses a critical workforce readiness gap by providing a scalable training model that enhances dementia-capable behavioral health services statewide.

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

INTERACT (INTegrating Non-Specialist ThERApy to Enhance ConTinuity of Care) is a pilot type-2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial comparing Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) standard care coordination (care as usual arm) with care coordination combined with delivery of a non-specialist delivered psychological intervention called “Problem Management Plus” (PM+, the experimental arm). The study has two outcomes: time to start psychological services (implementation outcome) and depression-anxiety symptoms at 3 months (effectiveness outcome). We hypothesize that adding PM+, delivered by non-licensed CCBHC care coordinators, will result in shorter times to first psychological intervention and improved depression and anxiety symptoms. If acceptable, feasible and effective, this train-the-workforce model could be replicated across Florida’s CCBHCs, general CBHCs and community providers, supporting quicker engagement, better continuity and improved outcomes— directly aligning with CAP priorities to strengthen, retain and modernize the behavioral health workforce and, eventually, inform National CCBHC guidelines.

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

Community schools that provide behavioral health services are negatively impacted by workforce shortages. Shortages of school psychologists limit opportunities for pre-service school psychology graduate students to gain field experience in behavioral health intervention delivery. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to enhance a structured training project for pre-service school psychology students to provide behavioral health intervention in community schools. We will provide didactic instruction, behavioral skills training, weekly intervention sessions and ongoing supervision and fidelity monitoring to school psychology students. We aim to evaluate (1) changes in graduate student beliefs regarding small group intervention management, (2) changes in fidelity to intervention components, and (3) feasibility and acceptability of the intervention through a rigorous pre-post design. The small group intervention training experience and the rigorous evaluation of its impact will provide results that will lead to replicable solutions for behavioral healthcare workforce shortages in community schools.

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

Florida faces shortages of behavioral health providers, limiting access to evidence-based treatment and placing substantial strain on the existing workforce. Strengthening provider capacity and utilizing innovative service delivery approaches are essential for meeting the state’s behavioral health needs. Stepped Care CBT for Childhood Trauma, developed and tested in Florida, offers an efficient model that reduces clinician burden, expands access and reserves intensive services for children who need them most. This project evaluates a trainer-led program to prepare Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) behavioral health workers to deliver Step 1, Stepping Together for Children after Trauma, a parent-led, therapist-assisted effective and cost-efficient treatment. Aim 1 assesses training effectiveness, including knowledge, confidence, engagement, skill, fidelity, usefulness, trauma-informed self-care and child outcome. Aim 2 identifies implementation barriers, facilitators and sustainability factors across CACs. Aim 3 develops a comprehensive implementation manual to guide statewide fidelity and scale-up. Findings will support a trauma-competent, sustainable Florida workforce.

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

Behavioral health agencies face persistent challenges recruiting, onboarding and retaining qualified staff, leading to instability, burnout and diminished quality of care. To address these gaps, David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC), in collaboration with academic partner Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), seeks support to develop and pilot a structured, theory-informed onboarding model, BOOST (Behavioral Health Onboarding, Orientation, Support and Training), to strengthen workforce stability among newly hired behavioral health staff. Guided by organizational socialization and implementation science frameworks, the project will (1) conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify onboarding barriers and support requirements; (2) design an evidence-informed, organization-specific onboarding program enhanced by an AI-supported chat assistant; and (3) pilot test BOOST to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, usability and fidelity. The resulting scalable, replication-ready model aims to strengthen role clarity, improve newcomer support and enhance early workforce retention to help address critical behavioral health workforce shortages.