1EB11FBF2EDFDB9687258A1B005AE68C Hearing Summary

A panel of Dr. Lesley Brooks, Chief Medical Officer of SummitStone Health Partners, Dr. Jo Daugherty Bailey, Professor and Associate Dean at the College of Health and Human Sciences at Metropolitan State University (MSU) of Denver, Dr. Dawn Matera Bassett, Professor at MSU Denver, Dr. Tricia Hudson-Matthew, Professor and Chair of Addiction Studies and Mental Health at MSU Denver, and Dr. Allison Kramer, Associate Professor at the Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley and Glenwood Springs, presented to the committee.

The panel went over legislative opportunities in the state including, robust liability coverage, payment models, coverage for stay, and overall administrative burdens.

The panel went over solutions for those through lower income backgrounds to get higher education degrees and join the workforce. Funding from these initiatives often come through grants. They also went over how to collaborate across systems to make sure the best regional care is available.

The panel spoke on the burnout of the field. The goal would be for the system as a whole to have less of a strain so that there are better services and less burnout with the workers. There are also efforts to lower the requirements to begin working in the field for certain students.

The panel went over the success of micro-credentialing and being able to quickly go from education to getting paid for the job as a way to keep people interested in the field. They also spoke on the success of collaborative efforts and how that needs to be part of all funding efforts to create stronger systems.

The committee asked about regulatory barriers to the workforce. The panel stated that funding can be prioritized using a tiered system to see what level of collaboration should receive funding. Outsourcing the licensing process to out of state actors also slows the process.

The committee asked about current solutions in a fee for service model. The panel stated there are mechanisms in current structures that could allow great integration of care.

The committee asked about barriers of lived experience in licenses. The panel stated that there are pathways for lived experience, but the process needs to defined out so there is not additional burnout in the field.

The panel asked about school counselors and high school pathways currently in Colorado. A lot of these programs are not well advertised due to stigma, but they are across the state. There also need to be collaborative approaches and partnerships to better define the programs.