Virginia's Higher Education Mental Health Workforce Pilot
Six Virginia universities are piloting a program that provides grant-funded supervision to graduates seeking LCSW and LPC licensure. As you read, consider the program in comparison to the usual US practice of social workers paying for supervision to achieve licensure. |
In 2022, the Virginia General Assembly allocated funds to support a 2 year mental health workforce pilot program which awards grants to support the salaries and benefits for graduates pursuing licensure as Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) or Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC).
The program is administered by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF).
It is focused on campus behavioral health workforce development and each hosting institution is responsible to hire, train and supervise the LCSW/LPC candidates until licensed.
Ten institutions applied and demonstrated need, and the program provided funding for 6 universities - Christopher Newport, George Mason, James Madison, Longwood, Radford and Virginia Tech - awarding between ~$66,000 to $100,000 per year per institution.
The program is funded at $1 million, $500,000 per year for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
By the 5 month mark, benefits are being seen like - decreased appointment wait times, improved staff morale and interest in continuing to work at higher education institutions post-licensure.
Explore more about Virginia's Workforce Pilot program
UK's Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)
The UK has a government-sponsored program to provide supervision for new social workers and provides a stipend to participating employers. As you read, consider the AYSE program in comparison to the US practice of social workers paying for supervision to achieve licensure. |
Funded by the UK's Department of Education, the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) is a year long employer-led program that provides supervision, support and assessment for social workers in their first 4 years of practice.
The government pays employers of child and family social workers up to £2,000 per practitioner to participate in the program.
Skills For Care, the workforce development charity that manages the program, estimated 4,000 social workers were a part of the program in their 2020-21 fiscal year.
For reference, there are around 100,000 social workers in the UK with about half (50,000) working in child and family related care.
Explore more about the AYSE
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