Professional and Workforce Development

The Workforce Development Advisory Committee is co-led by the Bureau Director for Workforce Development and Talent Management and a Provider representative who’s primary responsibilities are to address Workforce Development, Recruitment and Retention in at least one of OASAS service settings (Prevention, Treatment, Recovery, Harm Reduction). Executive Sponsors are Associate Commissioners from Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement, Addiction Treatment and Recovery and Prevention and Problem Gambling Services. 

The committee consists of members with:

• Addiction/Mental Health/Health Workforce Development Expertise
• Diverse perspective regarding populations served, geographical representation, services provided and breadth of workforce development expertise.
• OASAS direct service prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction Providers
• OASAS approved Education and Training Providers (both community and college/university based)
• Research/Public Policy entities related to Workforce Development

Responding to the Opioid Crisis

• Overdose Prevention and Response in Behavioral Health Settings: This guide is intended to support providers and the individuals they serve through a multi-pronged approach to addressing overdose, from prevention strategies and services to postvention response. The guide outlines various procedures in overdose prevention.

Exceptional talent strategies for employees, leaders, board members and volunteers are essential to promoting long-term prevention, treatment and recovery. The benefit to providers is a skilled, motivated and engaged staff that is dedicated to positive outcomes for the people and communities they serve. The benefit to consumers is that they will receive quality care as well as experience changes which lead to healthy, safe and productive lifestyles.

Key Components that Characterize Talent Management:

• Employee Engagement - An employee-centered focus involving employees at all levels in an open communication process designed to foster important business relationships, personal and professional growth, job satisfaction and improved service outcomes.
• Leadership Development - The capacity to listen and observe, to use expertise to encourage dialogue between all levels of decision-making, to establish processes and transparency in decision-making, and to articulate one's values and vision clearly but not impose them.
• Board Development - Empowering nonprofit board members with the information, tools and strategies needed to effectively carry out their governance responsibilities.
• Employee/Clinical Supervision - The process by which a supervisor of a profession assists supervisees in developing the knowledge and skills necessary to perform effectively. This relationship is evaluative, extends over time and enhances the professional functioning of the subordinate, while monitoring the quality of services offered.
• Healthy Organizational Culture - The ability to consistently maintain a productive and healthy work environment conducive to the well-being of employees and the communities/individuals they serve. A healthy organization includes a culture of respect, fairness and open communication which utilizes a shared set of values, norms and behaviors to effectively accomplish the organizational goals.
• Cultural Competence - The ongoing practice of integrating knowledge, information and data from and about individuals, families and communities and transforming that information into clinical standards and practices, skills, approaches, policies and strategies that match the service population and enhance the quality of service.
• Professional Ethics - The manner and extent to which specialized knowledge and professional integrity is governed in an organization and in the provision of services by its staff.
• Career Development - A goal-oriented strategy through which an organization structures and manages learning opportunities, professional development, growth and the career advancement of its members

The workplace is the perfect location to address health and wellness - employees spend more waking hours at work than at any other activity. Employers benefit from a supportive environment promoting healthy lifestyle choices where there is reduced absenteeism, lower turnover, and better moral. Employees will develop improved attitudes, increased energy levels, vitality, enhanced relationships with co-workers and supervisors, empowerment, and overall improved well-being.

Work-site wellness and health promotion is an investment in human capital. Promoting nutrition, exercise, emotional wellness/stress management, organizational wellness, and tobacco independence can contribute to a healthier and happier workforce.