President Cudd discusses behavioral health workforce issues with federal leaders

On Friday, August 4, PSU President Ann Cudd participated in a roundtable on Behavioral Health Workforce Development and Retention. Hosted by Congresswoman Andrea Salinas at Tigard High School, the roundtable included Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, Senator Jeff Merkley, and a number of experts from around the Portland region.

The event’s goal  was to identify solutions to the shortage of behavioral health workers — a shortage that prevents Oregonians from gaining access to the health services they need to recover from addiction and other mental and behavioral health issues.

“I hear from Oregonians everywhere I go about the need for increased mental health care resources in our communities, and just how difficult it is to find help,” Senator Merkley said in a post on social media. “An especially big issue is the shortage of behavioral health care workers. We are working to grow federal investments that boost the recruitment and training of counselors, addiction treatment professionals, and other skilled mental health care workers in every corner of Oregon.”

President Cudd informed the delegation that half of the state’s licensed social workers are PSU graduates, making PSU an important part of the solution to this problem. PSU’s School of Social Work graduates over 400 students per year, and 50% of those graduates are Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) — an important factor in providing culturally informed services to BIPOC patients. PSU is working  to increase the number of graduates to address the shortage of behavioral health service providers.

“PSU has a proud history of being an academic and research partner at all levels of government,” President Cudd said. “We are also working with our regional universities to help expand behavioral health care capabilities to rural Oregon.”

President Cudd shared two primary factors limiting PSU’s capacity to produce more behavioral health workers. First, a shortage of faculty limits our capacity and forces us to turn away over 200 qualified graduate applicants every year. Second, a shortage of scholarship funding for students limits our ability to reduce the debt load on graduates. That debt load can discourage entry into a profession with modest wages compared to wages in other health related careers.  

President Cudd called on the delegation to partner with PSU to increase this capacity by providing funding to hire additional faculty and fund scholarships. This investment will pay off within 6 years as the state’s higher education funding model catches up with the increased enrollment that will result from expanded capacity.