Increasing Access to Rural Behavioral Health Care Through a Community-Based Workforce
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Description
Provides examples for improving access to behavioral healthcare via a community-based workforce in rural areas. Discusses behavioral health workforce needs in rural communities, prioritizing relationship building alongside formal training, promoting conditions for peer support specialists to thrive, integrating community-based roles into clinical teams and community settings, and leveraging the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) and other time-limited funds to build long-term sustainability.
Author(s)
Hadley Fitzgerald, Ashley Jasko
Date
09/2026
Organization
Center for Health Care Strategies
Tagged as
Access
· Behavioral health workforce
· Community engagement and volunteerism
· Community health workers
· Community paramedicine
· Funding
· Rural Health Transformation Program
· Sustainability of programs