Competencies

Best Practices in Competency Development

Competencies are the foundation of workforce development. By identifying the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for a healthcare role or specific job, it is possible to improve recruitment, orientation, pre-service and continuing education, career ladders, professional development and performance evaluation. The Annapolis Coalition has played a major role in advancing competency development in behavioral health and in developing specific competencies.

Integrated Care

Individuals with mental health and substance use problems frequently seek help from their primary care provider or hospital emergency department. Healthcare providers, even though they may not be specialists in behavioral health, are a key part of the workforce that conducts screening and intervention for behavioral health conditions. A major goal of the Annapolis Coalition has been to contribute to efforts to improve the training and professional skills of these providers.

The Coalition assisted in completion of a strategic plan on workforce development for the federally funded Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS). Under the CIHS umbrella and with funding from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration, The Annapolis Coalition developed the Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care.  These were developed from a comprehensive review of the literature and the recommendations from a panel of 50 experts on behavioral health and integration.

Hoge, M.A., Morris, J.A., Laraia, M., Pomerantz, A., & Farley, T. Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care. Washington, DC: SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions, 2014.

Alaskan Core Competencies

Since 2007, the Annapolis Coalition, in collaboration with the WICHE Mental Health Program, has played a critical role in developing the Alaskan Core Competencies for Dircect Care Workers in Health and Social Services. This work has been sponsored by The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Direct care workers are a critical but often overlooked part of the workforce. Alaskans desired a single set of competencies that would be applicable to workers in the diverse healthcare sectors that serve persons with mental illness, addictions, developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury, as well as the aging and disabled served through home care and long-term care facilities. This initiative has yielded a set of competencies, competency assessment tools, a comprehensive curriculum centered on the competencies, and a train-the-trainer learning community that has facilitated the training of Alaskans from diverse sections of the state. For more information follow this link

Roadmap of Core Competencies for the Direct Service Workforce

The Annapolis Coalition served as the behavioral health arm of the National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center, which was funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and operated by The Lewin Group. The Coalition played a major role in developing the CMS-funded set of competencies known as the Roadmap of Core Competencies for the Direct Service Workforce. The Coalition participated in the validation of this competency set.