SAMHSA's Minority Fellowship Program

Background:

Minorities make up approximately one fourth of the population, but only about 10 percent of mental health providers are ethnic minorities. The goal of this program is to increase the pool of professionals qualified to provide leadership, consultation, training, and administration to government, public and private organizations that develop and implement programs for under-served ethnic minority persons with mental and/or substance abuse disorders. Through this program, CMHS provides grants to encourage and facilitate the doctoral and post-doctoral development of minority nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.

In the Supplement to the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health: Mental Health, Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, it was noted cultural competence underscores the recognition of the patients' cultures and then develops a set of skills, knowledge, and policies to deliver effective treatment...services tailored to culture would be more inviting would minorities to get treatment, and would improve their outcome once in treatment... [However,] no empirical data are yet available...[regarding] clinical outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities... (DHHS, p. 36, 2001).

Purpose:

The purpose of the MFP is to both facilitate the entry of ethnic minority students into mental health careers and increase the number of psychologists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, and social workers trained to teach, administer, and provide direct mental health and substance abuse services to ethnic minority groups. SAMHSA is committed to services that are professional, competent and effectively meet the critical mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment needs of the Nation's diverse population.

The goals of the MFP are:

To target training support to increase the pool of doctoral-level ethnic minority behavioral health professionals who are committed to improve services for ethnic minorities with mental and/or substance abuse disorders.
To create a nucleus of ethnic minority behavioral health professionals who will provide leadership, consultation, training and services administration expertise to State and community agencies, primary care provider organizations and educational institutions for services delivered to ethnic minorities with mental and/or substance abuse disorders.
To collaborate with national mental health/substance abuse prevention and treatment organizations to accomplish training support and to enhance interdisciplinary efforts to increase quality of care and access to mental health and substance abuse services for underserved ethnic minority communities.
To ensure that training is consistent with the latest developments in the evolving behavioral health delivery and financing mechanisms; specifically, programs should work toward the goal to have all MFP Fellows well trained in both mental health and substance abuse.
To expand evaluation of services in underserved ethnic minority persons with mental health and substance abuse issues.

Outcomes:

Since its start in 1973, the MFP has helped to support doctoral-level training of almost 1000 ethnic minority psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers. These individuals often serve in key leadership positions in mental health and substance abuse direct services, services supervision, services research, training, and administration.

Budget:

Increased from $1,090,000 in FY 2000 to $3,090,000 in FY 2001, continued at $3,090,000 in FY 2002.

More information:

Contact the Minority Fellowship Program grantees listed below:

James Jones, Ph.D., Director, Minority Fellowship Program
American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20002-4242
Phone:(202)336-6027 Fax:(202)336-6012
jjones@apa.org

Kim Knickerson, Ph.D., Deputy Director
kknickerson@apa.org

Daisey Clipper

Faye Gary, Ph.D., Director
Minority Fellowship Program
American Nurses Association
600 Maryland Ave, SW.
Suite 100W
Washington, D.C. 20024
Phone: (202)651-7247
Fax:(202)651-7001

Cincinati:
Phone:(216) 368-5240
Fax:(216) 368-3542
drfgary@aol.com

Janet Jackson
Phone: (202)651-7247
jjackson@ana.org

Annelle B. Primm, M.D.
Director, Minority Fellowship Program
American Psychiatric
Association
1000 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 1825, MS #1-2038
Arlington, VA 22209-3901
Phone: (703) 907-8653
Fax:(703) 907-7849
aprimm@psych.org

Marilyn King
Phone: (703) 907-8653
mking@psych.org

Aracelis Francis, Ph.D., Director, Minority Fellowship Program
Council on Social Work Education
1725 Duke Street, #500
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: (703)519-2049 Fax:(703)683-8099
eafrancis@cswe.org

Related Program:

Minority Medical Students Program:
Virginia Anthony, Director
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
3615 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: (202) 966-7300 Fax: (202) 966-2891
vqanthony@aacap.org

Trish Davidson, x 113

11/18/2004