SALEM, Ore.-Bipartisan legislation passed in the State Senate on February 11 aims to increase the behavioral health workforce in Oregon.
Oregon is facing a severe shortage of mental health care providers, with 32 of 36 counties in the state having less than one provider per thousand residents.
According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), there was one counselor/therapist for every 5,582 people in Umatilla County as of 2022, and one counselor/therapist per 5,818 people in Morrow County.
Senate Bill 1547 would expand the behavioral health workforce by creating a new license for bachelor’s degree holders trained in behavioral health promotion, prevention and brief intervention.
According to an Oregon Senate press release on the bill, the goal of the new license is to make mental health care more accessible and potentially lower long-term costs by providing help early.
“As I pediatrician, I know that we do not have enough behavioral health providers for youth who are struggling,” said Senator Lisa Reynolds (D – Portland), chair of the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee. “I also know that upstream and early supports go a long way toward preventing more serious behavioral health problems later in life.”
Prevention-focused providers with bachelor’s degrees and at least 700 hours of supervised applied training would be eligible for the license created under SB 1547.
According to the Oregon Senate, the University of Oregon’s Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health in Portland has educated the state’s first graduating classes of students pursuing undergraduate degrees in child behavioral health, and the new license would authorize their practice in early identification, skills training and support, brief interventions, and culturally responsive services.
Behavioral health and wellness practitioners will work under the oversight of licensed behavioral or mental health providers in settings like schools, pediatric primary care, community-based organizations, and mental health agencies.
SB 1547 passed by a 27-2 margin, with ten Republicans voting with Democrats in favor of the legislation. The bill also had a first reading in the Oregon House on February 11.
