Gov. Mike DeWine Friday announced his administration plans to use $85 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to boost Ohio’s behavioral health care workforce.

DeWine made the announcement in Columbus Friday with Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) Director Lori Criss and Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Chancellor Randy Gardner and various leaders of Ohio’s behavioral health care and higher education communities.

“The health and success of Ohio’s families and communities depends on our ability to recruit, train, and retain the best talent to ensure Ohio has the most robust behavioral health workforce possible,” said DeWine. “Behavioral health care workers are a valued and vital part of our healthcare system, and our efforts today are focused on helping to quickly infuse more qualified professionals into behavioral health care workplaces throughout the state. I look forward to working with the General Assembly, Ohio’s providers, and our colleges and universities on this innovative plan.”

The governor’s office said the funds will give the state an opportunity to make education more attainable and affordable for students committed to behavioral health care careers. The funding will be dedicated to enhancing paid internship and scholarship opportunities for students working to achieve behavioral health certifications and degrees at Ohio’s two- and four-year colleges and universities and other educational career development settings. It will also help remove financial barriers to obtaining licenses, certifications, and exams necessary for employment in these careers; support providers in their ability to supervise and offer internships and work experiences; and establish a technical assistance center to help students navigate the federal and state funding opportunities available to them.

Over 20 percent of Ohioans live with a mental health condition or substance use disorder, and nearly 2.4 million Ohioans live in communities that do not have enough behavioral health professionals, according to the administration. A study completed in 2021 by OhioMHAS, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, InnovateOhio, and Deloitte found that the demand for behavioral health care services in Ohio increased 353 percent from 2013-2019, while the workforce increased only 174 percent over the same time period.

“The lack of trained, qualified professionals is the number one concern we hear from mental health and addiction providers around Ohio,” said Criss. “This problem is not unique to our state, but we have a unique opportunity to create pathways to recruit new talent into our rapidly growing field of health care. This investment will put additional doctors, nurses, counselors, therapists, social workers, and other critical personnel into our communities in the next one to two years and expand, enhance, and strengthen our ability to care for Ohioans living with mental health and substance use disorders.”

The administration said it is working collaboratively across state agencies to achieve full approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the expenditure of these home- and community-based care ARPA funds, as well as with the General Assembly on the most effective way to make the federal funding quickly available.

Additional details of the plan will be shared in the coming weeks, DeWine’s office said. The initial $85 million investment is part of the $212 million available in the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Workforce Development Strategic Fund through the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) as part of the ARPA. Earlier this year, the administration shared plans to invest these dollars in provider relief, workforce, and technology and systems enhancements.

“Work experience and internships are often required for degree completion, but that experience is often unpaid, placing a heavy financial burden on students who are working hard to obtain a degree and possibly delaying their entrance into the workforce,” said Gardner. “By expanding available funding for paid internships, scholarships, and the costs of obtaining licensure or certification, we are helping them obtain their degrees more quickly and affordably. I greatly appreciate the willingness and commitment of Ohio’s colleges and universities to help more students enter the behavioral health care workforce successfully.”

This money will also fund recruitment and retention bonuses for students who commit to employment with Ohio’s community mental health and addiction centers, which provide care, treatment and services to Ohio’s Medicaid-eligible population.

Once the proposal is finalized and approved and funding is appropriated, the program will be administered through ODM in partnership with ODHE and OhioMHAS.

The Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers praised the funding, saying the behavioral health workforce has been stretched by historic demand and unprecedented workforce shortages, leading to longer wait times for care across the state.

“This important, one-time investment is exciting and will lay the foundation to fulfill decades of promises to build an accessible, high-quality community mental health and substance use disorder system of care. More options for entering careers in behavioral health will mean more new clinicians to help patients in need,” said Teresa Lampl, CEO of the group. “We are grateful that Gov. DeWine is acting on the behavioral health system’s workforce crisis, and we look forward to collaborating with him and the General Assembly on a long-term plan to realize the vision of a robust and valued behavioral health workforce.”