$1.16 million awarded to MSU faculty to support state鈥檚 behavior health workforce
Contact: Bethany Shipp
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敽＝巧缜 is addressing the shortage of behavioral health service providers in the Magnolia State鈥檚 rural communities with a $1.16 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Awarded to faculty in MSU鈥檚 Applied Behavior Analysis program in the College of Education, the four-year funding expands community-based experiential training for undergraduate ABA students with the goal of building the paraprofessional-level behavioral health workforce in rural Mississippi communities. The ABA degree is offered by the Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations.
ABA practitioners work to improve quality of life for a variety of individuals across the lifespan and commonly provide services to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and/or other developmental disabilities. Stephanie Mattson, assistant professor and principal investigator, said the field of ABA is heavily reliant on paraprofessional-level service providers, such as Registered Behavior Technicians, who are responsible for most of the direct implementation of services for clients under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
鈥Mississippi falls well short of having the number of certified paraprofessional-level behavioral health providers needed to provide services, especially in rural areas,鈥 said Mattson. 鈥淭his results in limited opportunities for children, adolescents and transition-age youth in rural areas to access the behavioral health services they need. We are excited about this grant, as it provides us with the unique opportunity to build the paraprofessional-level behavioral health workforce in rural Mississippi.鈥澛
Beca Spencer, assistant professor and ABA undergraduate coordinator, joins Mattson as the grant鈥檚 co-principal investigator. The team will use the funds to expand and improve access to quality behavioral health services in high need and high demand areas in Mississippi. During the four-year grant, they will work to establish at least four training sites in rural communities where 60 undergraduate trainees will gain hands-on, supervised experience providing behavioral services to children, adolescents and transitional age youth.
Grant funds also will be used to conduct at least eight professional development sessions for trainees and professionals working at partnership sites, as well as four career networking events designed to connect employers in rural areas with program graduates.
鈥淚t is exciting to see how the ABA program has grown over the years and how it is actively working to meet the workforce and service needs of our state,鈥 said Daniel Gadke, associate dean of research and department head. 鈥淭his grant represents the next step in continuing that important work. I am so proud of Stephanie Mattson and Beca Spencer for their hard work and dedication, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact their efforts will have on Mississippi.鈥
Available in Starkville and online, MSU鈥檚 undergraduate ABA program expanded this fall to offer a bachelor's degree that builds upon the success of the ABA minor and prepares students to serve as paraprofessionals with the BCaBA and RBT credentials. Since MSU launched the RBT certification course in 2021, more than 1,000 students have passed, making them eligible to pursue RBT certification. Additionally, MSU offers an ABA graduate program, which leads to credentialing as a BCBA and is supported by the Hearin Foundation and the Hosemann Family Autism Foundation.
MSU鈥檚 College of Education, home of the Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations, also includes four additional academic departments, a division of education, one research unit and numerous service units. Learn more at聽.
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