4 - (SYM 71) Addressing Critical Workforce Shortages as a Barrier to Youth Mental Health Access: Implementation of a Multi-component Career Development Program

Objective:  With rising prevalence of mental disorders, especially among underserved and under-resourced youth, mental health workforce shortages are evident and further exacerbate barriers to treatment, one of which is a lack of diverse mental health providers. This study is a pilot assessment of a novel intervention to address this barrier. We analyzed the feasibility, acceptability, and implementation of an 18-month long career development program, the Youth Mental Health Academy (YMHA), for structurally marginalized youth—including underrepresentation based on race/ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation/gender identities, socioeconomic challenges, and more.

Methods:  Structurally marginalized high school students interested in mental health careers were encouraged to apply to the multi-component program that includes a summer educational academy, year-round workshops and mentoring, and an internship summer. Students completed baseline and post-program assessments and weekly acceptability ratings. Program feasibility was assessed via attendance, recruitment, and retention rates. 

Results:  135 students enrolled in the YMHA pilot. Participants were ethnoracially diverse; 51.9% Hispanic/Latine, 30.4% Asian/Asian American, 14.1% Black/African American, 3.7% Middle Eastern, and 8.9% White; 68.9% identified as female. Approximately 40% met criteria for socioeconomic challenges (e.g., Federal Free & Reduced Lunch eligibility), 15% had histories of foster care or juvenile legal involvement, and around 20% reported a disability. Ninety-two percent (n=125) completed the first summer program with high attendance ( >75% days attended), and 87.4% (n=118) completed a second summer internship. High acceptability was maintained throughout. After the 14-month program, 82.9% of students indicated interest in pursuing mental health careers. 

Conclusion:  High acceptability, retention, and engagement indicate that the YMHA program is a promising approach to bolster and diversify the mental health workforce. A large-scale study is underway with ongoing data collection across a total of roughly 2,500 students, to examine the scalability of this model. Long-term we are hopeful this intervention may be a sustainable avenue to target the structural barrier of lack of diverse mental health service provider supply contributing to decreased adolescent mental health service use.