Amador County builds community college pipeline for mental health workers

Amador is one of six California counties without a physical community college. It also struggles to recruit mental health providers. This CalMatters investigative feature, part of the California Dream statewide media collaboration, explores how a small online learning program at Amador College Connect could offer a solution to both problems. College pennants and framed certificates hang on the walls of the Amador Economic Prosperity Center. Computer stations fill the center of the room, and a shelf near the printer is stacked with used textbooks. Since June 2019, the building has offered a fresh start to Amador County residents who have historically struggled to access higher education. Through Amador College Connect, students can enroll in online courses through Coastline Community College to pursue a certificate or associate degree in human services. The county’s MHSA scholarship program, administered by the Amador Community College Foundation, covers tuition, fees and books. Since it launched in 2014, the county has given scholarships to 44 students seeking careers in public mental health. The article profiles students like Tammy Montgomery, 58, who started online courses after personal tragedy and now tutors other residents and serves on the Amador College Connect board; Bobbie Harrison, 27, who found purpose and a career path after her grandmother died; and Nadine Magana, one of the first students certified through the program who now works as a program manager at Nexus Youth and Family Services. The county gives preference to students who have a personal tie to mental illness, either as a patient or as a family member, aligning with broader state efforts to grow the mental health workforce using people with lived experience. Read the full article at calmatters.org.