Workforce Solutions Jam: Addressing the Workforce Shortage Through Policy Change

Translating Innovative Policy Solutions Into Action

This session will focus on innovative federal and state policy solutions aimed at addressing the workforce crisis. 

In September, The Kennedy Forum released a report titled Building the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Workforce We Need, which examines the extent of the shortage and provides guidance for policymakers on payment and reimbursement, licensure and standardization, education and training, and data and technology. On Nov. 19, representatives from The Kennedy Forum’s workforce committee will discuss report highlights and promising responses to the crisis.

Key highlights of the November Jam include:

• A review of the policy recommendations set forth in The Kennedy Forum report and how and why they were developed.
• An exploration of innovative, promising strategies implemented by state leaders that align with these policy recommendations.

Speaker Information

Andrea Carlstrom, MBA

Andrea Carlstrom has spent her entire career dedicated to health and wellness in a variety of environments and has served the community as the director of Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) in Colorado for almost a decade. CCPH provides over 30 programs and services, including chronic disease prevention and early intervention, communicable disease surveillance and investigation, emergency preparedness and response, maternal and family health, environmental health, aging well and immunizations. 

In 2019, she and her colleagues ignited a storytelling and advocacy movement to empower and unite the people of Chaffee County and drive systems and policy change from the tales of lived experience from their own backyard, which has become We Are Chaffee. We Are Chaffee is a catalyst for community conversations, and it is not uncommon for Carlstrom to be meeting with community partners and members of the public to hear about their experiences and strategize on solutions to make Chaffee County a better place for all. 

Erin Parks, PhD

Erin Parks is a clinical psychologist, researcher and cofounder of Equip, a virtual eating disorder program that delivers evidence-based treatment for lasting recovery. She has over 15 years of experience with adolescents and adults in inpatient, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient settings, where she has seen firsthand the disparity in who gets diagnosed and who has access to quality treatment. Parks is passionate about quality mental health treatment and helping families differentiate between treatment that feels good and treatment that works. 

Helen Egger, MD

Helen Egger is a child psychiatrist, mental health epidemiologist and digital health innovator. She is a highly sought world expert in the field of child psychiatry, working with countries and global organizations on early interventions and measurement-based care. With over 19,000 citations to her name, 100+ peer-reviewed research articles and dozens of NIH research grants, she deeply understands what works in mental health and what is just conjecture. She was recognized by Forbes 50 over 50 for cofounding Little Otter with her daughter, Rebecca Egger. Little Otter is a virtual child and whole family mental health company providing measurement-based and evidence-based care to children from birth to age 14 and their families. 

Prior to Little Otter, Dr. Egger was chair of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health (NYULH), director of the NYU Child Study Center and vice chair and chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Duke Medicine. She founded the WonderLab and Digital Design Lab at NYULH and the Early Childhood Mental Health Lab and Information, Child Mental Health and Society Project at Duke. 

As the creator of the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA), the gold standard and first diagnostic assessment for preschool children, Dr. Egger has shaped the science and practice of early childhood mental health. The PAPA is translated into more than 15 languages. Her work has proved that the rate of mental health disorders in children under the age of 6 is the same as the rates in older children and that early treatment is highly effective.  

Lauren Moyer, LSCSW, LCSW

Lauren Moyer, LSCSW, LCSW, is the executive vice president of clinical innovation for Compass Health Network (CHN). She is a visionary servant leader with over 20+ years’ experience in the behavioral health field, especially around shaping patient-centered approaches and filling gaps within systems of care. She is the current chair of Missouri’s 988 Taskforce and former chair of Missouri’s Suicide Prevention Network. Moyer’s multifaceted experience has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the intricate complexities surrounding behavioral health and the transformative potential for change.  

CHN has been a Community Mental Health Center for 50 years and now serves as one of the largest Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in the nation. As a comprehensive health care provider in 47 counties throughout Missouri, spanning the I-70 corridor from St. Louis to Kansas City, CHN’s clinics serve a multitude of Missourians with diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic status, specifically targeting the marginalized and medically indigent who have historically lacked proper access to affordable and clinically effective treatment services. CHN is also a Federally Qualified Health Center, a free-standing psychiatric inpatient hospital and a 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provider, offering 24/7 access to crisis services and support and assisting with hospital and detention center diversion. CHN has invested in mobile crisis services, emergency room enhancement projects (placing staff members at local emergency departments to support referral to aftercare) and, most recently, the addition of a youth behavioral health urgent care. 

Peter Delia, JD Peter Delia is a federal policy manager for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. He manages a number of federal policy portfolios for the National Council, including issues related to workforce, telehealth, equity, 988 Lifeline/crisis and social determinants of health. Prior to coming to the National Council, Delia worked as a senior attorney for the Florida Senate, where he drafted and analyzed legislation related to behavioral health, Medicaid, child welfare and elder care issues. He has also worked as a senior attorney for the Florida Department of Health, where he practiced administrative litigation and prosecuted disciplinary matters concerning physicians, optometrists, chiropractors, psychologists and dentists.

The Workforce Solutions Jam is a monthly webinar to build national momentum and encourage collaboration through the Center for Workforce Solutions, a partnership between the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, The College for Behavioral Health Leadership and Health Management Associates.