Jewish Family Services of Delaware’s efforts to address mental health in the First State gets a boost.
The organization's mental health fellowship program is receiving $3.5 in federal funding earmarked to address the state’s mental health crisis.
Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester says there’s a good reason JFS was chosen for this funding.
“It's money that can meet the local needs. Not just a national program, but something that is tailored to the needs of that particular community, or that particular state,” said Blunt Rochester. “So these programs are from organizations that have good track records, community support, and will have a real impact.”
JFS Delaware offers a variety of free mental health services to all Delawareans, including maternal mental health support and youth anxiety programming. But the need for these services outweighs the available workforce.
To address that need, JFS is working to increase the number of licensed mental health professionals on their team- and in the state as a whole.
JFS is using their newly-launched fellowship program to help remove the financial and experiential barriers preventing Masters-educated mental health workers from receiving their licenses.
Fellows gain experience working in community-based settings delivering care, while also preparing to take their licensing exams.
The program’s Clinical Director Wendell Covell says this new funding allows JFS to expand its work in several community centers in the state, including the YWCA, West End Neighborhood House, and Friendship House.
“As the needs grow in those locations, we’re able to allocate more resources in the sense of fellows,” said Covell. “And so anywhere that we have a need, we’re able to creatively think of a solution to that and provide therapists on site without worrying about how we’re going to reimburse or go after the funding for their salaries.”
There are currently 16 fellows in the program, but JFS hopes to graduate a total of 20 in the next 2 years.
The hope of the program is that the fellows, who come from all over the country, remain in Delaware and continue to be a part of the state’s mental health workforce following the end of the program.
