Session: Workforce Development In Substance Use Care: From Preservice to In-Service (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

The behavioral health workforce is insufficient both in numbers and training to meet the needs of youth and families with substance use concerns. In addition, efforts to retain this workforce are essential to providing quality care to underserved populations. Social workers, in roles from child welfare to specialty alcohol and other drug treatment settings, are critical frontline workers who serve clients affected by substance use. Yet, social work students tend to receive limited education and training in substance use disorder treatment, let alone education and training in addressing at-risk substance use. Furthermore, once in practice, social workers who provide substance use care need effective professional development to prevent burnout and enhance quality of care.

Thus, aligned with the conference theme of Social Work Research at the Service of Democracy, this symposium will present workforce development research on social workers, who are often in the public sector. The four presentations span the workforce development continuum from social worker preservice needs for education and training in substance use care, to an innovative, federally funded program that trains child welfare workers in-service in substance use disorders. The presentations will discuss the positive workforce changes that can be made when well-equipped social workers serve client systems affected by substance use.

Paper 1 is a survey of community members and behavioral health providers and professionals serving adolescents in Arizona. Participants responded to questions on adolescent substance use and its treatment. Key workforce development findings included the training priorities of substance use needs among justice-involved youth, youth with co-occurring mental health conditions, trauma-informed care, and child welfare-involved youth.

Paper 2 picks up on the need for the above-mentioned training priorities. In the Youth-Oriented Substance Abuse and Trauma Counseling II or YOSAT II program, one MSW program has effectively trained over 100 students in the dual competencies of trauma-informed care and substance use counseling. An additional unique feature of the program is its emphasis on developing social work students to work in integrated behavioral health and physical health care settings.

Paper 3, likewise, also trains social workers in integrating behavioral health care but this time in child welfare. In an innovative, two-year fellowship, child welfare workers were trained in addressing substance use disorders. Fellowship findings included increases in perceived role adequacy and shifts in professional identity in handling substance use disorder needs among child welfare-involved youth and families.

Paper 4, in the pursuit of retention and client quality of care, addresses the resiliency needs of social workers and others who serve clients impacted by opioid use disorder. Professional development in the form of relationally focused reflective supervision may hold promise in mitigating burnout from the emotional toll of opioid use treatment with clients who often have complex trauma histories.

Finally, an expert discussant with behavioral health workforce development experience both within the federal government and higher education will analyze the findings of each paper. The discussant will also invite audience members to discuss study implications through the lens of defending democracy and protecting health.