2025 ALL-VIRTUAL Behavioral Health Workforce Symposium

January 7, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM

The VACBP’s all-virtual Behavioral Health Workforce Symposium will feature presentations and discussion opportunities from policymakers, researchers and industry experts on a range of behavioral health workforce issues.

Quick Links
Ticket Registration Details
Sponsorship Opportunities
Agenda/Schedule pdf format

 Symposium Agenda/Schedule

Session One
Introduction to the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority: Building a Skilled and Robust Healthcare Workforce

This session will feature Del. Rodney Willett, Chair of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (VHWDA), and Executive Director of the Authority, Harrison Hayes. The VHWDA plays a crucial role in ensuring that the Commonwealth of Virginia has a skilled and robust healthcare workforce. To accomplish this mission, the Authority conducts research to identify gaps and needs in the workforce, collaborates with educational institutions to create programs tailored to these needs, and partners with various stakeholders to implement solutions. By fostering strategic collaborations and implementing solution-focused initiatives, VHWDA aims to ensure Virginians receive quality healthcare through a stable healthcare workforce.

We look forward to hearing from Del. Willett and Mr. Hayes about the Authority’s specific initiatives, resources and research with a focus on efforts that directly support solutions to the behavioral health workforce challenges facing providers throughout the state.

Presenters:

The Honorable Rodney Willett – bio available here.

Harrison Hayes, Executive Director, Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority – bio available here.

Session Two

The Health Sciences Highway: Leading the Way in Addressing Healthcare Workforce Shortages across Virginia

This session will feature the former Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Dr. Bill Hazel, Chief Executive Officer of the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation (CMCF). CMCF believes that all Virginians should have access to outstanding healthcare provided by a highly qualified professional. Unfortunately, health workforce shortages across Virginia are leading to barriers to accessing care, health disparities between populations, and worse health outcomes. In addition, there is a lack of support for young people to purse diverse and sustainable health careers in their local communities.

To help address these critical shortages in all levels of the healthcare industry, the Claude Moore Foundation has taken a statewide leadership role by engaging key stakeholders from state and local government, educational institutions, and employers to build a Health Sciences Highway. This enables continuous learning, beginning with early engagement in middle school and continuing throughout with professional education. It also facilitates on and off ramps as students transition between school and work for upskilling and career change, while contributing to the economic development in local communities.

Participants in this session will learn more about the Claude Moore Foundation and the Health Sciences Highway, the status of CMCF’s efforts specifically in the behavioral health space, how providers can engage in their efforts and practical information and resources to help providers who are struggling to find and retain the BH workers they need that they can take back to their agencies and implement.

Presenter:

The Honorable William A. Hazel, Jr., MD, Chief Executive Officer, Claude Moore Charitable Foundation – bio available here.

Session Three

Redefining Workforce Roles in Virginia to Improve Access and Ensure Delivery of Safe, Effective Behavioral Health Services

Jamie Hoyle, Executive Director of the Boards of Counseling, Psychology and Social Work at the Virginia Department of Health Professions, will join us to provide updates on DHP’s efforts to implement the regulatory changes driven by passage of SB 403/HB 1499 earlier this year.

This legislation:

• Added behavioral health technicians and behavioral health technician assistants to the professions governed by the Board of Counseling
• Established qualification, scope of practice, and supervision requirements for QMHPs and QMHP trainees
• Directed DHP to adopt regulations to implement the changes outlined in the bill by November 1, 2024
• Directed DBHDS to promulgate regulations that align with the regulations adopted by DHP
• Added Psychological Practitioners to the professions governed by the Board of Psychology

As a result of the passage of this legislation, DHP and the Boards of Counseling and Psychology have been working over the past year to:

• Define the new Behavioral Health Technician and Behavioral Health Technician Assistant professions, including education prerequisites, scope of practice, supervision requirements and training prerequisites
• Restructure the regulations governing QMHPs and QMHP trainees, including education and specialized training requirements, QMHP designations, supervision requirements, scope of practice, and training prerequisites
• Define the new psychological practitioner profession, including education equivalency, scope of practice and supervision requirements

We look forward to hearing updates from Ms. Hoyle on these and related changes that will significantly impact all behavioral health providers across the Commonwealth.

Presenter:

Jamie Hoyle, Esq., Executive Director of the Boards of Counseling, Psychology and Social Work at the Virginia Department of Health Professions

Session Four

Mitigating Workforce Barriers to Improve Access to Mental Health and SUD Treatment Tentative

For this session, we’ll be joined by Maanasa Kona, Stacey Pogue and Kennah Watts from Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms. A two-year project was recently launched to examine barriers to accessing mental health and substance use disorder treatment, especially for underserved populations, as well as policy solutions. Virginia is one of three sample states, along with Michigan and New Mexico, that has been selected to serve as illustrative examples in this two-year study. The first report in the series was released earlier this year on Understanding and Mitigating Behavioral Health Workforce Strategies. This report, supported by the National Institute for Health Care Reform, explores strategies to enhance the supply and distribution of behavioral health (BH) providers.

Attendees of this session will learn more about the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms, this two-year study, initial findings including how Virginia compares to the other sample states, and recommendations specifically related to mitigating the behavioral health workforce shortage for state policymakers.

Presenters:

Maanasa Kona, Stacey Pogue and Kennah Watts from Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms

ADVANCE PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD REQUIRED TO CONFIRM REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION NOT REFUNDABLE

Sponsorship Opportunities
Sponsorship closes January 3, 2025