Recruiting and retaining a workforce is a major challenge for many organizations that provide mental health services. Vacant positions are common. Organization-wide turnover rates have been reported as high as 50% per year. Finding and keeping specific types of workers, such as prescribers, can be particularly daunting. High vacancy and turnover rates are costly to organizations, place a burden on existing employees, and decrease access to care and quality of care for individuals in need. 

To assist mental health organizations in addressing their recruitment and retention challenges, the Central East MHTTC is offering technical assistance through a Learning Collaborative led by Michael Hoge, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, and Senior Science & Policy Advisor of the Annapolis Coalition and Manny Paris, Ph.D., an Associate Professor at Yale and a Senior Consultant to the Annapolis Coalition is also a faculty member.

The Central East MHTTC and the Great Lakes Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) launched the first two collaboratives in 2019. The Central East MHTTC selected Maryland and the Great Lakes ATTC selected Ohio. The Lessons Learned Summary Report integrates findings from the Maryland and Ohio Recruitment and Retention Learning Collaboratives.