A UMSSW study found that nearly 90 percent of Behavioral Health Fellowship graduates remain in the field, most in high-need areas or holding licensure, strengthening the behavioral health workforce.
Photo: The 2024-25 Cohort of the Behavioral Health Workforce Integration Service and Education Fellowship
A University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) analysis has shown that a federally funded fellowship to increase the number of social workers and counselors is successful at developing students into professionals who continue to work in the field.
More than a decade after its launch, the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) program demonstrated the power of federally funded fellowships to grow the behavioral health workforce. At UMSSW, the local version of the program was called the Behavioral Health Workforce Integration Service and Education (BHWISE) Fellowship.
To evaluate the program’s long-term impact, a team led by Paul Sacco, PhD, professor and principal investigator of the BHWET grant at UMSSW, conducted a follow-up study with graduates from Maryland and two partner programs in Missouri and Kansas. The results show that nearly 90 percent of graduates continue to work in social work, and 95 percent hold professional licensure.
“Ten years out, the one thing our students always said was that the fellowships make a huge difference,” Sacco said.
Sacco presented his findings Oct. 24 at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Conference in Denver.
BHWET is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) , with its roots in 2014 in response to President Barack Obama’s Now Is the Time initiative . The initiative was developed after the Sandy Hook tragedy to expand the nation’s mental health workforce. HRSA’s involvement led to the creation of training grants aimed at increasing the number of social workers, counselors, and psychologists working with youth and families in need.