Workforce shortages are a national issue affecting American businesses of every size and industry, and Washinton’s behavioral health care industry is no exception. According to a survey by the Washington Council for Behavioral Health, turnover rates for community behavioral health organizations range from 28 to 32 percent, and timelines for hiring master’s level positions average 5 months.
While behavioral health providers are facing a historic workforce shortage, including the persistent difficulty of recruiting master’s-level providers, there is a pipeline solution: recruiting entry-level professionals and others pursuing behavioral health credentials.
To make this a reality, providers will need funding to adequately support this training and mentorship through a teaching clinic enhancement rate. An enhanced reimbursement rate will enable agencies to more readily attract experienced providers who serve as trainers as well as the next generation of clinicians as they earn their credentials.
Community behavioral health clinics are already playing this vital role in the larger behavioral health industry – and hemorrhaging resources in the process. They provide training, coaching and mentoring for new and prospective behavioral health clinicians who are required to complete a significant number of supervised experience hours – typically between 1,500 and 4,000 hours – over the course of multiple years.
In the medical field, teaching hospitals and clinics receive higher reimbursement rates from Medicare and Medicaid to help offset the costs of supervising trainees and interns. Considering the unique position of community behavioral health agencies – both essential for the workforce and struggling to stay afloat financially – it’s essential to adopt a similar funding model and support these clinics in their work of training the next generation.
Adopting a teaching enhancement rate
The Washington State Council for Behavioral Health is leading the charge in advocating for a teaching clinic designation and enhanced reimbursement rate, as outlined in this 2023 report. The Washington Council has received a groundswell of support for the initiative in recent years, including from the Ballmer Group, and has already completed some initial data collection and planning steps. It introduced HB 1502 during the 2025 legislative session to secure the necessary legislative support and further advance the initiative.
It’s an unavoidable fact that the current funding system for community behavioral health is unsustainable. Community behavioral health organizations invest time and resources training new providers – only to have those providers move on to more lucrative opportunities when their training is complete.
While it’s important to make wages competitive across behavioral health care (the CCBHC model is a step toward this goal), enhanced reimbursement for the facilities training these entry-level professionals will help bridge the gap and sustain the pipeline of much-needed new clinicians.