This May, the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) joins the nation in observing Mental Health Awareness Month. CCCS has spent several years developing a program designed to address the urgent need for behavioral health professionals.

At the cornerstone of this program are five industry-recognized certificates, each of which can be completed in less than a year, enabling students to acquire targeted skills and enter the behavioral health workforce more quickly. Each of the microcredentials stack into a continued pathway toward a degree if the learner chooses to pursue further coursework.

With one in five Coloradans living with a mental health or substance-use disorder and the state predicted to face a deficit of more than 4,400 mental health workers by 2026, the challenges our state faces are great. But Colorado has reason to be optimistic.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this program that not only addresses the immediate workforce needs but also creates lasting impact for communities across Colorado and beyond,” said Joe Garcia, Chancellor of the Colorado Community College System. “By leveraging microcredentials and focusing on rural care, we are paving the way for a healthier Colorado.”

The microcredential program offers curriculum accessible to middle and high school students through career and technical education (CTE) and concurrent enrollment programs, allowing them to explore career options through both classroom instruction and hands-on experience. With two associate degrees available and two new bachelor’s degrees launching this fall, CCCS now offers a fully stackable pathway from high school to an associate and a bachelor’s degree.

The program also features a dedicated focus on the unique challenges faced by Colorado’s rural communities. In recognition of the pressing behavioral health needs in underserved areas, five rural colleges have banded together to form the Rural Mental Health Development Project and offer increased services to students in need.

Through these related efforts, CCCS is seeking to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and substance use. Needing and asking for help is often perceived as a sign of weakness, particularly in some rural and minority communities. CCCS hopes that increased awareness and education will lead to normalizing behavioral health needs.

“We envision a Colorado in which behavioral health is understood, respected, and prioritized,” said Michael Macklin, Associate Vice Chancellor for Workforce Solutions at CCCS.

CCCS’s efforts at expanding behavioral health learning opportunities were made possible by the passage in 2022 of Senate Bill 22-181, which provided funding for the colleges to develop an educational program that provides pathways into, and opportunities to advance in behavioral health care careers.