In a commentary for Health Affairs, Michael Hoge and coauthors summarize the substantial and growing body of evidence that the current mental health and substance abuse workforce is seriously inadequate with regard to number of practitioners, lack of diversity in its composition and overall preparation. The authors recognize that, with a growing number of older and ethnically diverse Americans who are at high risk for behavioral health disorders, combined with the sheer influx of newly insured, the system is at a point of crisis. They call on the Federal government to scale up and actually implement already identified “broad strategies and specific actions necessary” to grow and strengthen the mental health and substance abuse workforce to meet the challenges it faces now and in the future.
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