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Workforce Summit Highlights Crisis and Promising Models
Open Sky, Seven Hills, UMass Chan Medical School and the City of Worcester hosted a summit at Worcester State University on Monday, June 26, to highlight the current human services/behavioral health workforce crisis and to share information about innovative responses the group has developed.
Among the attendees at the summit were Brooke Doyle, Commissioner of Mental Health, Jane Ryder, Commissioner of Developmental Services (DDS), and Toni Wolf, Commissioner of Mass Rehab Commission (MRC). The guest speaker was Mary McGeown, Undersecretary for Human Services in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
The program highlighted the Behavioral Health and Human Services Career Pathway Collaborative of Central MA – a group of providers and others who have partnered to develop creative ways of addressing workforce shortages, attracting immigrants and refugees and young people to human services careers, and addressing racism in hiring, advancement and the workplace environment.
Models highlighted included:
- The Human Services Career Support program for immigrants and refugees which has graduated 38 people thus far, and experienced an 87% retention rate over one year.
- The Clinical Leadership and Support Pathway, which helps BIPOC employees develop and implement career plans in the industry.
- The Dynamic Futures program which will host 25 BIPOC high school-aged youth to a four-week program this summer, two weeks of which will be in residency at Worcester State University.
Central to the group’s success has been a focus on collaboration, addressing racism, providing Career Support and Advancement Navigators, wraparound supports and using a Cohort model where peer support reinforces participation and achievement.
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