The Great Minds Fellowship (GMF) was developed to improve access to community mental health and substance use services to Ohioans. My colleague Kyle Thompson wrote an article examining this new program to support college students and recent graduates in the field financially. Currently, the behavioral health workforce ratio is 380 people in need of services to one provider. The Great Minds Fellowship program aims to recruit and keep behavioral and substance use professionals in the state.
The initiative is a collaboration among the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS).
Three phases the Great minds Fellowship program to support students and graduates
The fellowship program offers academic funding while still in school, student loan help upon graduation, and job retention bonuses. The deadlines are on a rolling basis, first come first served.
- The program provides academic support funding, which means the funds are supporting students during the last two years of their academic career. Managed by the ODHE and participating educational institutions, the funds given to students increased from $10,000 to $15,000 during the 2024-2025 academic year.
- A new initiative called the Great Minds Fellowship Workforce Commitment Incentive Program offers up to $20,000 in student loan help for people who have or will graduate between May 2023 and December 2024. They must be committed to work in a Community Behavioral Health Center for one year after graduation.
Applications are accepted by November 15, 2024. If you are interested in applying, please refer to the program’s page in the ODHE website to review eligibility and the application.
- Last, there is funding for recruitment and retention. As of November 4, 2024, OhioMHAS announced that fellowship program graduates are eligible to receive funds up to $10,000. Fellowship graduates will obtain $5000 as a sign-on bonus if they accept a position at a CBHC licensed under OhioMHAS. The remaining award of $5000 will be received after fulfilling one year of employment at their accepted role.
Funds will be distributed until 2027 or until funds are exhausted.
Funds will be distributed until 2027 or until funds are exhausted. Application information can be found on Health Impact Ohio’s website, the third party administering the funds on behalf of OhioMHAS.
Who should apply for the Great Minds Fellowship Workforce Commitment Initiative?
To apply for these phases of the program, students or recent graduates must specialize in the following fields of study:
- Mental health counseling
- Psychiatric mental health nursing
- Social work
- Substance abuse and addiction counseling
- Marriage and family therapy
- Related academic programming (determined by ODHE)
OhioMHAS gathered data on who participated in their program so far. As of November 5, 2024, 1,115 students from the 2023-2024 academic school year have received support through the fellowship by academic institutions. Most students studied social work—673 students—followed by 260 mental health counseling/counselor students. Students have specialized in other fields:
- 142 students in substance abuse/addiction counseling
- 25 students in psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing
- 15 students in marriage and family therapy
Community Behavioral Health Centers are receiving funds to host fellows
According to OhioMHAS, $11 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will be distributed to CBHCs so supervisors can receive support—staff time to supervise the students/interns—training, information technology, onboarding costs, equipment, and more for the eligible GMF interns that they are hosting.
There are two types of pay structures for CBCHs to secure site support if they are in an elevated grant area:
- $4500 per intern—increased from $2500
- $5000 per intern—increased from $3000
CBHCs must be either categorized as Medicaid Types 95 (substance use agency) or 84 (mental health agency) and are licensed under OhioMHAS to host fellows.
For any questions about the GMF program, please email workforce@mha.ohio.gov.
