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Board of Behavioral Sciences forms outreach committee; members prioritize consumer education, workforce diversity
Summary
At a Feb. 7 meeting, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences’ new Outreach and Education Committee reviewed current communications tools, identified target audiences, and directed staff to develop concrete proposals on consumer education, measurement of impact, and workforce-diversity outreach for a future meeting.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Board of Behavioral Sciences’ Outreach and Education Committee met Feb. 7 to begin turning a multi-year strategic goal into concrete outreach work aimed at licensees, consumers and schools.
“The Board is a consumer protection agency charged with administering and enforcing the Board's laws … the protection of the public shall be paramount,” Committee Chair Dr. Annette Walker said as she opened the meeting, framing the committee’s charge to improve public-facing education and outreach.
Staff Executive Officer Steve Sodegren summarized current efforts and limitations. He said the board’s website is the primary information source, social media outreach has about 32,000 followers, the board publishes a newsletter and has two consumer-facing pamphlets (one translated to Spanish and another available in 13 languages), and the agency has produced a series of application/licensing videos. He said staff and outreach duties are split across several employees, and that the board lacks a single, centralized outreach coordinator.
Committee members said the next steps should define audiences, prioritize activities, measure impact and identify funding or staffing needs. Committee member Susan Friedman offered to speak to university classes and religious groups about becoming therapists; Friedman said such direct contact could recruit more practitioners. “I would be willing to go to talk to a class,” Friedman said, describing campus and community outreach as a low‑barrier start.
Member John Sobek urged the group to specify target audiences and favor scalable formats. “Who is it we're trying to outreach and educate?” Sobek asked, pressing staff to tailor messaging for different groups and to build repeatable materials.
Member Dr. Nicholas Boyd stressed measurement and funding. “It doesn't make sense to set goals if we don't actually follow through with measuring the impact of these goals,” Boyd said, and asked the committee to consider whether the board should pursue funding or partnerships to expand training and workforce pipelines.
Several committee members flagged a strategic-plan objective to diversify the mental‑health workforce (Goal 6.5 of the board’s 2022–2026 strategic plan) as underdeveloped. “I have some concerns that somehow 6.5 has just fallen by the wayside,” Sobek said, noting the strategic plan is nearing its end and urging that workforce-diversity efforts be prioritized or carried into the next plan.
Staff and members identified possible next steps and pilots to bring back to the committee, including: (1) expanding targeted email lists or changing default opt‑in settings for licensee communications; (2) testing brief mass‑text alerts for critical notices; (3) repurposing recorded presentations and producing more short videos (staff said 7–13 licensing videos already exist); (4) reviving live social-media Q&A events; (5) pursuing in‑person outreach or centralized regional events when budget allows; (6) convening stakeholder listening sessions with professional associations; and (7) exploring grant partnerships (committee members mentioned state grant programs such as HCAI health‑workforce grants) to fund outreach aimed at students and underserved communities.
Professional associations and members of the public urged cooperation. Shanti Ezra of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists told the committee CAMFT could help with messaging and outreach. Other commenters recommended that the board advertise work-group meetings more broadly so consumers and clinicians can take part.
Staff said they will compile the ideas raised and present more concrete proposals and examples — including audience definitions, suggested outreach modalities, measurement approaches and possible budget implications — at a future committee meeting. No motions or formal votes were taken.
The committee did not set a formal deadline in the meeting transcript, but staff and the chair agreed to return with more detailed plans at an upcoming meeting; the board’s next full meeting was announced as occurring in February in Sacramento.
