Proclamation Brings Awareness To State’s Behavioral Health Workforce Needs 

Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a proclamation Friday for Autism Awareness Month. He was joined by representatives of the Mountaineer Autism Project — a non-profit that helps West Virginians access evidence-based assessments and treatments for autism — to draw attention to the need for behavioral health workers in the state.  

Kathy Shapell, founding board member of the project, expressed her gratitude to the governor for bringing more attention to the limited access to autism treatment in the state. 

“The more people that not just recognize autism — but really see the need for expanding the workforce and expanding services to more children — is a really critical thing to happen in the state,” she said. 

Shapell said only 4% of the more than 10,000 children with autism in the state can currently access evidence-based treatment. But that number is increasing.  

“There has been a 136% increase in the number of frontline therapists called registered behavior technicians in the last couple years that we’ve been working on this,” she said. 

Shapell said building a homegrown behavioral health workforce — through the Workforce Education and Development of Applied Behavior Analysis (We Develop ABA) initiative — means more children can receive care close to home while creating meaningful career opportunities across the state.  

“That initiative is designed to keep young people in the state, because our state has lost population for many years now, and so it’s designed to keep young people in the state, give them good jobs, entry level jobs that then can turn into a full career, with opportunities for more education and advancement, all while providing services to more children in need,” she said.