The Right Help, Right Now Behavioral Health Plan for the Commonwealth in Virginia is based on six foundational pillars aimed at transforming behavioral health care. These pillars comprehensively address all aspects of the care continuum, providing crucial support and enabling factors for stakeholders across the system. They serve as the framework for initiatives designed to tackle various challenges. In its first year, the initiative has made significant strides in enhancing crisis care, reducing law enforcement responsibilities, expanding community-based services, preventing substance use disorders, prioritizing the behavioral health workforce, and innovating service delivery.
Key Accomplishments:
- Increased the number of Licensed Clinical Social Workers by 51.4% and Licensed Professional Counselors by 12.5% in one year (data from the Virginia Healthcare Workforce Data Center).
- Expanded capabilities of non-behavioral health providers through Crisis Intervention Training.
- Created a public campaign to attract individuals to behavioral health roles, particularly through educational pathways starting in high school.
- Virginia is leading the nation by requiring commercial insurance coverage of mobile crisis response teams and crisis stabilization units through HB2216 (2023).
Virginia is prioritizing youth mental health. Virginia plans to expand school-based mental health services to all schools, supporting localities in utilizing these resources. Currently, over 500,000 students are eligible for new mental health services, compared to just 50,000 receiving them today. The plan also includes requiring school divisions to disclose and obtain parental consent for student Internet monitoring, expanding the behavioral health workforce in schools and communities, increasing access to tele-behavioral health for students in grades 6-12 and public colleges, and implementing best practices to protect children from harmful online content.
