Payer Financially Supports Diversity in Mental Healthcare Workforce

Blue Shield of California (Blue Shield) is donating $500,000 to a nonprofit internship program in an effort to help diversify the behavioral and mental healthcare workforce.

Health Career Connection (HCC) provides internship opportunities for diverse and underrepresented young adults who plan to pursue careers in mental healthcare. The program provides interns with real-world experience and networking opportunities that will help them navigate the professional field.

The majority of HCC graduates credit their internship with improving their confidence and furthering their knowledge of the healthcare workforce. Additionally, HCC has produced alumni who found careers with leading healthcare companies, according to the press release.

The partnership complements Blue Shield’s Blue Sky initiative, which works to improve mental health support for youths and increase diversity in the mental healthcare workforce.

Most psychologists and health service psychology workers in the country are white (86 and 88 percent, respectively), the press release noted citing the American Psychological Association. This imbalance prevents people of color from receiving culturally affirming mental healthcare services. HCC and Blue Shield hope to offset this balance with their combined support.

“Through BlueSky’s on-campus and virtual counseling of California teens, we’ve seen the positive impact of connecting BIPOC youth with mental health professionals who look like them,” Jennifer Christian-Herman, executive director of Mind Body Medicine – Behavioral Health at Blue Shield, said in the press release.

“However, we understand that there is not a level playing field for diverse individuals when pursuing a career in mental health care. We look forward to working with HCC to provide this year’s interns with a pathway to further their careers and ultimately increase the quality of mental health care for communities of color.”

In addition to the lack of diversity in the mental health workforce, there is an overall shortage of mental healthcare professionals, with nearly 90 percent of counties in California experiencing a shortage, the press release added.

“The need to build a more robust, diverse behavioral health workforce for California is more urgent and important than ever,” stated Jeff Oxendine, chief executive officer and founder of Health Career Connection.

“With Blue Shield’s generous support, our partnership is addressing this critical need statewide and in the counties with the greatest shortages. It is also providing valuable education, career and economic opportunity for college students from communities with significant mental health inequities and disproportionately adverse impacts of COVID-19.”

Over 20 organizations across the state are partnering with HCC to host their 36 interns. These organizations help prioritize their communities’ mental health and wellbeing, such as National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI’s California, Merced, and San Diego divisions are participating in the internship program.

“We are honored to partner with the BlueSky initiative by hosting interns this summer through the Health Career Connection project,” Jessica Cruz, chief executive of NAMI California, said in the press release. “Building a strong behavioral health workforce is key to providing accessible treatment for those individuals and families impacted by mental illness and substance abuse.”

As a part of its Blue Sky initiative, Blue Shield donated $20 million to the California Access to Housing and Services fund to help address the homelessness crisis. The fund supported improving behavioral healthcare services as well.

The payer also worked to reduce racial care disparities in local communities of color by funding a number of nonprofit organizations that provide mental health support for youths. The nonprofits offered support through art programs, social justice activism, mentorship, and more.

Other payers have taken steps to address the lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce as well. Cigna launched a grant program for post-secondary and adult education programs that supported underrepresented students on healthcare career paths.