Public Mental Health Workers’ Policy Recommendations to Address the Behavioral Health Workforce Shortage

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to elicit public mental health workers' recommendations for increasing the behavioral health workforce. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 mental health workers in Philadelphia from September to October 2024. Thematic analysis was used to determine the most effective strategies for recruiting and retaining the behavioral health workforce. RESULTS: The workers supported various policy strategies to increase the workforce, such as employment and financial incentives, including sign-on bonuses and health care benefits. Workers noted that regarding current policies, updated information on federal loan forgiveness programs was challenging to find. They also emphasized that combining several policy strategies would effectively sustain the workforce. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive efforts are needed to adequately address the shortage of behavioral health workers in community settings. Workers championed a combination of several changes to increase the behavioral health workforce, with implications for mental health research, systems, and policies.