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Thank you for your interest in the CSB version of the Workforce Survey. First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone for their assistance and cooperation in preparing and implementing this survey. We received responses from over 2,300 members of the workforce from all 40 CSB s and Behavioral Health Authorities (BHAs).

This workforce survey was designed to determine what training and educational needs exist among direct service staff across the spectrum of community-based services. The instrument was developed over an 18-month period with the assistance of staff from CSB s and BHAs, state hospitals, DMHMRSAS Central Office staff, the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the Workforce Development Committees of the Consortium of Substance Abuse Organizations and VASIP, and the Virginia Association of Community Services Board's Data Management Committee. The survey of the CSB and BHA workforce is now complete, and some preliminary analyses have been performed on the results. Here are some of the findings:

- Virginia’s CSB and BHA staff is mostly female (74.0%) and mostly white (74.3%).
- Nearly 10% of the workforce is multilingual, and speak languages including Spanish, French, German, and American Sign Language.
- The workforce is well-educated, as more than half (51%) hold Masters Degrees, and as a whole the workforce members surveyed hold over 2,300 certificates and licenses.
- Age is an important issue for the workforce, and the survey results reinforced that concern. More than 60% of the workforce is 40 or older.
- Over 2,000 people (88.0%) work in a CSB or BHA that has promoted Co-Occurring Disorder capability as an expectation or a goal, and a majority of those have taken part in one or more co-occurring disorder-specific training events.
- More than half have screened (57.1%) and treated (61.2%) consumers with co-occurring disorders as well. Nearly half of respondents (46.7%) indicated that they work primarily with consumers who have co-occurring disorders.
- Many respondents (42.9%) cited limited resources as an obstacle to implementing new training ideas, and even more (45.9%) indicated that logistical barriers such as distance and available funds make it difficult to attend training events.
- There was strong interest for further training in a number of areas, including treatment planning, screening, assessment, and intervention skills, professional and ethical responsibilities, the relationship between substance abuse and medical problems, identification of mental health disorders, and co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems.

You can find a full summary report (PDF) of the survey responses here.

Over the coming months, the VASIP team will continue to provide further analysis and detailed reports that will give a more in-depth view of Virginia’s behavioral healthcare workforce. Check the VASIP webpage at www.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov/VASIP to get more information about the workforce survey, and continue to check it over the coming months for more reports and analysis from the workforce survey. If you have further questions about the survey please contact Jason Lowe at the Office of Substance Abuse Services by e-mail at jason.lowe@co.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov.

Read the Commissioner’s memorandum concerning the CSB Workforce Survey here.