MILWAUKEE — Dr. Lee Za Ong, associate professor of counselor education and counseling psychology in Marquette University’s College of Education, has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services worth $2.4 million to develop and expand experiential training opportunities to improve the distribution and supply of the behavioral health workforce.
The grant is focused on clinical mental health counselors with a child and adolescent specialization, and continues work from a nearly $1 million HRSA grant from 2021. This project will also recruit, develop and expand the capacity to train clinical supervisors to support the trainees.
“Our current behavioral health workforce is facing three problems, each of which we will be able to address with this award,” Ong said. “This funding will allow us to work toward meeting the high need and high demand for behavioral and mental health care among children, adolescents and transitional-aged youth who are at risk for behavioral health disorders. We are also supplying what is currently an insufficient workforce of master’s level counselors and counselors with diverse backgrounds who specialize in child and adolescent counseling and one that lacks capacity to train clinical supervisors to support behavioral health trainees.”
This work builds on the College of Education’s online and in-person clinical mental health counseling–child and adolescent specialization program — the only such training program in Wisconsin. The award will expand and create much-needed opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds, including those from rural areas, who are committed to working in underserved communities after graduation by providing stipend support to students in need and are in their final two semester-long internship sessions prior to graduation. The funds will also allow Ong and her colleagues to compensate supervisors for training on ethical guidelines, supervision skills, high quality tele-behavioral health practices and burnout prevention to improve client outcomes.
“This award is a great recognition of the success, and a key contributor to the continuation, of Dr. Ong and the College of Education’s mission to meet the need of an underpopulated mental health counseling workforce,” said Dr. Heidi Bostic, dean of the College of Education. “By continuing to fund this work, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognizes the needs our communities are facing, and Marquette University’s ability to address this skilled workforce shortage.”
Marquette’s counselor education and counseling psychology program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and provides evidence-based and emerging best practices in clinical mental health services to children, adolescents and their families.
The Health Resources and Services Administration is the primary federal agency for improving health care to people who are geographically isolated or economically or medically vulnerable. This award is funded through the HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce and Education Training program for professionals which is increasing the supply of behavioral health professionals while also improving distribution of a quality behavioral health workforce and thereby increasing access to behavioral health services in the underserved communities where behavioral health services are most urgently needed.
About Marquette University
Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university located near the heart of downtown Milwaukee that offers a comprehensive range of majors in 11 nationally and internationally recognized colleges and schools. Through the formation of hearts and minds, Marquette prepares our 11,100 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional students to lead, excel and serve as agents of positive change. And, we deliver results. Ranked in the top 20% of national universities, Marquette is recognized for its undergraduate teaching, innovation and career preparation as the sixth-best university in the country for job placement. Our focus on student success and immersive, personalized learning experiences encourages students to think critically and engage with the world around them. When students graduate with a Marquette degree, they are truly prepared and called to Be The Difference.
