WET Program

To address California’s public mental health workforce challenges, the Mental Health Services Act provides a component for Workforce Education and Training (WET) programs. CalMHSA assists counties with workforce recruitment and retention by acting as the passthrough agency for WET funds.

The 2020-25 WET Five-Year Plan emphasizes supporting public mental health services that provide care at the lowest level of intensity and promote the use of non-licensed personnel throughout the delivery system. CalMHSA provides application support, assists with program implementation and manages contracts for the following WET programs:

• Educational loan repayment assistance to public mental health system professionals identified at the local level as serving in high-need positions
• Undergraduate scholarships to students in exchange for service learning received in a public mental health system agency. The funding level may depend on the student’s academic aspirations (including certificate, associate degree, and bachelor’s degree), pre-placement training and education received, lived experience, and/or other possible factors. This component is especially valuable to expanding the knowledge and skills of non-licensed personnel through training and education opportunities.
• Post graduate stipends for post-graduate clinical masters and doctoral education service performed in a local public mental health system agency. Students are selected in advance of their final year of education and receive funds in exchange for a 12-month service commitment.

Program Details

Lead Staff:

Senior Program Manager

Participating Counties:

Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, City of Berkeley, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter/Yuba, Tehama, Tri-Cities, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo