PEMBROKE — The Department of Social Work at UNC Pembroke has secured a four-year, $2.3 million federal grant renewal to continue and expand the OPTIMISE program. The program trains graduate students to serve in integrated behavioral healthcare settings across rural North Carolina. The award comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program.

The OPTIMISE program is now in its second grant cycle. It prepares students from the social work, counseling and now occupational therapy disciplines for field placements in medically underserved areas, building a behavioral health workforce ready to serve the region’s most vulnerable populations.

“As chair of the Department of Social Work, I am incredibly proud of the conti

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