OUR IMPACT

Since 2021, the Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative (WDI) has supported master’s level clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers who are committed to serving communities providing mental health and substance use support. The WDI has awarded conditional scholarships to 414 individuals in the past five years, with a new cohort of students recruited for the 2025 academic year.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

The WDI provides up to $51,500 (based on need) to these master’s students at participating programs across Washington. The funds come with a condition–if the graduate works for three years at a community behavioral health agency serving high-needs populations, they do not need to repay the funds.

Any higher education institution in Washington state with an accredited master’s program in clinical mental health counseling (CMHC), marriage and family therapy (MFT), or social
work (SW), is eligible to participate. To date, the WDI has supported graduate students at
13 institutions of higher education across Washington state representing 19 separate programs.

KICKSTART YOUR CAREER

The Washington State Behavioral Health Workforce Development Initiative (WDI) provides expert support through 15 hours of foundational skills training and 40 hours of advanced skills training in evidence-based approaches to clinical training, enhancing the alignment between graduate training and workplace demands.

STATEWIDE OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to the WDI’s partnership with community behavioral health agencies, our sister program, the Workforce for Student Well-being (WSW), funded by the US Department of Education, has placed 37 graduate students from six schools of social work across Washington state into high-need school districts to meet the behavioral health challenges of K-12 students.

TOWARD A MORE JUST FUTURE

Quality care provided by a diverse and highly trained behavioral health workforce will help ensure greater health equity and access for the most vulnerable among us.