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Oregon outlines $80 million ARPA-backed behavioral health workforce push; training, loans and bonuses credited with strong retention
Summary
OHA officials told the House committee that the 2021 ARPA-funded House Bill 2949 and subsequent state investments have funded scholarships, loan repayment, supervision grants and bonuses that show high retention rates so far, while expansion of high‑school and fellowship pipelines aims to grow and diversify the workforce.
Oregon Health Authority officials told the House Interim Committee on Behavioral Health that a mix of federal ARPA and state funds have driven programs to recruit and retain behavioral health providers across the state.
Tim Nesbitt, manager of OHA’s behavioral health workforce incentives team, said “House bill 29 49 was passed in, 2021 and appropriate $80,000,000 of ARPA funding, American Rescue Plan Act funding, in response to the pandemic.” The money was divided between workforce incentives and clinical‑supervision grants and flowed into a mix of scholarship, tuition‑assistance, credentialing‑fee waiver, bonus and loan‑repayment programs.
Why it matters: Committee members pressed for clearer pathways from training to steady jobs and for ways to keep providers in Oregon after education. Several programs cited by OHA are explicitly designed to expand the pipeline (high‑school CTE and bachelor‑level entry points), reduce cost barriers to credentialing, and create supervision capacity so more clinicians can complete…
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