It is, by all accounts, a dire situation.
According to a San Diego Workforce Partnership report, Addressing San Diego’s Behavioral Health Worker Shortage, our region will need 18,500 more mental and behavioral health professionals by 2027 to meet growing demand. Which is why San Diego Foundation (SDF) is expanding its grantmaking efforts to support workforce development for mental and behavioral health professionals.
The Challenge
According to a California Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative report, California has seen the second largest increase in depression and anxiety among youth in the nation, and nearly two of every three of California youth with depression go without mental health treatment due to a lack of access to services.
And no wonder. The regional workforce shortage of mental and behavioral health professionals includes:
- 8,100 to meet today’s demand
- 7,800 to replace those leaving in the next five years
- 2,600 to meet growth demand by 2027
The San Diego Workforce Partnership report calls for investing $128 million in a regional training fund, including $98 million for scholarships, stipends, loan forgiveness, and expanding programs.
For many providers, the pressure is immense.
“I just want to help people,” wrote one counselor, “but being extremely short-staffed, feeling the pressure, it’s brutal. I’m really burned out and I’m white-knuckling it.”
A Growing Shortage
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco estimate California would have 41% fewer psychiatrists and 11% fewer psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed professional clinical counselors and licensed clinical social workers than needed by 2028.
A related report notes the issue is endemic within communities of color as a lack of diversity as well as cultural and linguistic competency within the workforce challenges our ability to effectively serve all individuals in need.
According to an analysis led by the California Alliance, the workforce shortage is driven by myriad factors, including burnout of behavioral health providers, high turnover, pay, an aging workforce, a growing need for services, and a lack of adequate and equitable education, training and practice opportunities.
Among the recommendations: creating more effective Regional Occupational Programs that provide mentorship and professional development opportunities to help first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students of color explore careers in behavioral health care and social services.
Taking Action
SDF efforts are in line with those articulated in the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency’s Mental Health Services Act Annual Update: Building a system in which mental health services are equitable, distributed evenly throughout the region, and accessible to all individuals and families.
SDF is tackling the challenge head-on through its Healthy Children and Families Initiative, a comprehensive program launched in 2021 committed to improving the quality of life for children and low- to moderate-income families through expanded access to supportive services. Since its launch, the SDF Healthy Children & Families Initiative has invested more than $1.25 million in mental and behavioral health resources.
In 2023, for example, SDF awarded $650,000 in grants to local nonprofits to expand access to culturally responsive and trauma-informed mental health resources for local youth and their families. Among the 18 nonprofits receiving grants were:
- Logan Heights Community Development Corporation to expand mental and behavioral health services
- Mending Matters to fund a therapist providing free services and expand access to high-quality, school-based mental health care among underserved youth and families in the Mountain Empire region of the county
- San Diego American Indian Health Center to provide parenting courses and mental health support, in addition to a child development screening effort targeting high-risk behaviors
- San Diego Youth Services to provide evidence-based mental health practices that identify the social and economic forces limiting the potential of our youth
Efforts also align with the Fifty & Forward Campaign, the most ambitious undertaking in SDF’s 50-year history, which will grant $500 million to realize our region’s greatest opportunities in three key areas – education, children and families, and the environment – and raise $1 billion to help shape our community’s future.
Learn more about Fifty & Forward at SDFoundation.org/50.