Curriculum resources for training direct care providers in public sector mental health

Direct care personnel who do not have graduate-level professional degrees provide a substantial amount of client care in mental health organizations across the nation. Training for them is minimal in many settings. This shortcoming may negatively affect client care, staff recruitment and retention, and the effective use of scarce resources. In this paper, we identify and review curriculum resources available to mental health organizations interested in implementing or enhancing training programs for direct care personnel. These include two relevant competency sets and six portable training curricula, as well as information on how to access these resources.