Time: 9:00am-12:00pm

This pre-conference session is hosted by the Pacific Southwest MHTTC at the 46th Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference.

During this workshop, presenters will explore strategies to build workforce diversity from recruitment to training to retention, with special attention to the unique needs of diverse, rural communities and the professionals that serve them.

During this capacity-building workshop, participants will (1) explore the importance and benefits of a diverse workforce in effectively addressing mental health disparities for community populations; (2) learn the critical components needed to assess the opportunities and challenges for mental health organizations in building a diverse workforce; and (3) assess how their organization is performing in each area and overall to identify areas of focus for improvement.

Participants will be offered the opportunity to identify action steps to address areas where their organization is more limited and ways to incorporate action steps into existing organizational plans and structures.