Exploring Innovative Strategies for Sustainability and Retention in the Behavioral Health Field
Community-based organizations (CBOs) across the nation are experiencing challenges in sustaining programs and services, staff retention and training, and organizational capacity. With the COVID-19 emergency relief funding coming to an end this summer, many organizations are left wondering how to access long-term funding to continue to serve their communities’ increasing behavioral health needs. The pandemic prompted many CBOs to expand their services to address social determinants of health (SDOH) interrelated with behavioral health — including housing, food insecurity, and employment training — making them “one-stop shops” seeking new ways to tap into funding sources. Compounding these issues is the limited organizational capacity to continue to seek, apply for, and meet the deliverables of grants. As the nation witnesses the “great resignation” with a current quit rate of 3% (~4.6 million — nearly doubled since April 2020), organizations of all sizes are enduring the effects (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). CBO staff are experiencing high rates of burnout and limited support trying to keep up with the rise of behavioral health needs and filling in workforce gaps.
Join this NNED Virtual Roundtable to gain insight from federal agencies, CBOs, and behavioral health leaders around creative methods to sustain the work being done at the community level. Panelists will provide examples of success stories and discuss strategies for organizations to be able to continue their efforts long into the future.
During this NNED Virtual Roundtable, participants will learn:
- Innovative ways to secure funding and address reporting and compliance needs
- How to seek and/or create collaborative opportunities to increase organizational capacity
- Approaches to growing and diversifying the behavioral health workforce
- How to provide professional development and prevent overextending existing staff
The event will also be shared on Facebook Live at fb.com/nned.net and closed captioning will be available through Zoom.
This NNED Virtual Roundtable is hosted by the NNED National Facilitation Center and SAMHSA’s Office of Behavioral Health Equity.