Initiatives & Programs
Workforce Development
Strengthening the Texas mental health workforce for better access to care.
The Mental Health Workforce Challenge in Texas
More than 95% of Texas counties face a shortage of mental health professionals. This means that youth and families across the state must travel for mental health care or face long waiting lists — when they need support immediately.
How the Consortium is Strengthening the Workforce
The Consortium is directly addressing this shortage by targeting and strengthening workforce pipelines for mental health care in communities across the state. Our initiatives train the future workforce, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and other clinicians who provide mental and behavioral health care.
Through our interconnected programs and initiatives, and our partnerships with Texas health-related institutions (HRIs) and community mental health organizations, the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium is expanding system capacity to serve children, youth, and families in our state through three complementary training initiatives.
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Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Fellowships
Who it supports: What it does: Child and adolescent psychiatry fellows
CAP funds two-year fellowship positions in child and adolescent psychiatry at the health-related institutions (HRIs) across the state that anchor the Consortium. Learn more about CAP.
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Community Psychiatry Workforce Expansion (CPWE)
Who it supports: What it does: Psychiatry residents and child & adolescent psychiatry fellows
CPWE increases training opportunities with partnerships between the Consortium’s HRIs and community mental health agencies, including local mental health authorities (LMHAs), to train residents and fellows in community psychiatric settings. Learn more about CPWE.
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Behavioral Health Workforce Development (BHWD)
Who it supports: What it does: Mental health clinicians and advanced practice clinicians in training
BHWD expands training opportunities for the broader mental and behavioral health workforce, including psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Learn more about BHWD.
The Impact Across Texas
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fellowships since MM/YYYY
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Texas local mental health authorities (LMHAs) and community mental health agencies participating in CPWE
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trainees (across CAP, CPWE, and BHWD)
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patient encounters with trainees
Innovation Highlight
The Consortium’s workforce development initiatives use strategic collaboration and innovation to expand education, training, and experience in the mental health care system.
Our CAP Shared Didactics Initiative reimagines how graduate medical education is delivered across institutions. This model creates a unified learning experience by bringing CAP fellows together from our HRIs across the state for strategic shared learning each quarter. These structured educational sessions, such as lectures and case discussions, focus on topics identified by program directors and residents as educational gaps and areas of significant interest. With this effort, CAP replaces siloed instruction with a collaborative model that expands access to expert faculty and enriches training in child and adolescent mental health.
