Career Catalyst

Belle Glades faces significant challenges, including high crime rates, limited access to behavioral and mental health services, and economic instability. With no local behavioral health providers, children with diagnoses like autism and trauma-related disorders often go untreated, further straining families. The unemployment rate in Belle Glades is over 15%, and more than 30% of families live below the poverty line, exacerbating access barriers to care.

The absence of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) and other professionals trained to address behavioral health needs leaves children and families without essential services. Nationally, over 20% of children have a mental health or behavioral condition, and in underserved areas like Belle Glades, this number is higher due to systemic inequities.

Our solution tackles these intertwined issues by reskilling mid- and late-career adults in Belle Glades to become RBTs and behavioral health professionals. By creating a local workforce, we aim to provide services to over 200 families annually, addressing the critical shortage of care while reducing unemployment. Our wraparound services, including childcare, transportation, and mentorship, ensure participants can complete the program and begin careers that uplift their families and the community. This initiative directly addresses Belle Glades’ most pressing needs with scalable, impactful solutions.

Our solution, Career Catalyst: Behavioral Health Workforce Initiative, is a reskilling program that trains mid- and late-career adults in Belle Glades to become Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) and behavioral health professionals. This program addresses the critical shortage of local providers while creating meaningful career opportunities in a community with high unemployment rates.

The program offers participants accessible, high-quality training. Only a high school diploma or GED is required. Training includes coursework in behavioral health, trauma-informed care, and hands-on practice supported by AI-driven tools. These tools simulate real-world scenarios, allowing participants to develop skills through interactive, feedback-based learning.

Participants also receive wraparound support, including childcare, transportation stipends, and mentorship, to eliminate barriers to completion. Upon certification, they are matched with local employment opportunities in schools, clinics, and community programs to immediately impact the area’s underserved families.

By leveraging partnerships with Look Up Therapy, FAU CARD, and Bridges, our solution integrates innovative technology and coalition-building to create a sustainable workforce pipeline. This initiative not only provides immediate access to behavioral health services for over 200 families annually but also fosters economic mobility for participants, transforming Belle Glades into a hub for care and opportunity.

Our solution directly serves two underserved populations in Belle Glades: mid- and late-career adults seeking meaningful employment and families with children who have behavioral and mental health needs.

Adults Seeking Reskilling Opportunities: Belle Glades has a high unemployment rate, and many residents lack access to programs that provide career paths in high-demand fields. Adults with only a high school diploma or GED face significant barriers to economic mobility. By offering accessible training and wraparound support, our program empowers these individuals to transition into stable careers as Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) and behavioral health professionals, fostering financial independence and community leadership.

Families with Behavioral Health Needs: With no local behavioral health providers, families in Belle Glades are often left without essential services for children with autism, trauma, or other behavioral challenges. These unmet needs strain families, reduce educational outcomes, and perpetuate cycles of poverty. Our program creates a skilled workforce to fill this critical gap, providing direct services to over 200 families annually.

Our solution transforms the lives of participants and the families they serve by addressing workforce shortages and improving access to care. It not only delivers economic mobility but also builds a healthier, more resilient community in Belle Glades.

Our team is uniquely positioned to deliver Career Catalyst due to our deep connections to Belle Glades and our alignment with the community’s needs and aspirations. Beyond The Valley Foundation has a long history of serving underserved populations in Belle Glades through workforce development, behavioral health advocacy, and community support initiatives.

Our Team Lead, a Haitian-American with lived experience in overcoming systemic barriers, has strong cultural ties to the community and a personal understanding of the challenges faced by underserved families. Many team members come from similar backgrounds, ensuring that the program is culturally competent and empathetic to the population it serves.

The design and implementation of Career Catalyst are directly informed by the community. We’ve engaged over 100 Belle Glades residents through focus groups, surveys, and one-on-one conversations, listening to their challenges and goals. This feedback shaped key aspects of the program, including offering training to those with only a high school diploma or GED, providing childcare and transportation, and focusing on behavioral health—a critical unmet need identified by families.

We also collaborate with trusted local organizations, including FAU CARD, Bridges, and Look Up Therapy, to co-design and deliver the program. These partnerships ensure the solution is tailored to Belle Glades and sustainable in the long term. By building on existing trust and relationships, we empower the community to lead its transformation.

We selected this stage because Career Catalyst is in its early implementation phase, with foundational elements built and tested to demonstrate feasibility and impact.

So far, we have successfully piloted key components of the program in collaboration with local organizations. Through our partnership with Look Up Therapy, we have trained over 30 individuals as Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) in underserved areas, including Belle Glades. This pilot provided valuable insights into effective training methods, barriers to participation, and the resources required for success.

We’ve tested wraparound services, such as providing transportation stipends and mentorship support, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Surveys indicated that 85% of participants cited these supports as critical to completing the program.

Additionally, we engaged over 100 community members through focus groups and surveys to refine the program’s structure. Their feedback led us to include flexible scheduling, childcare support, and trauma-informed care training in our curriculum.

Our coalition-building efforts have resulted in partnerships with FAU CARD, Bridges, and local schools, laying the groundwork for a sustainable workforce pipeline. These accomplishments validate our approach and position us to scale Career Catalyst to serve more individuals and families in Belle Glades effectively.

www.beyondthevalleyfoundation.org

Our solution, Career Catalyst, is revolutionary in its approach to addressing economic mobility and the behavioral health provider shortage. By reskilling adults in mid- to late-career stages, we create a unique support ecosystem for children with behavioral diagnoses and trauma while providing stable, impactful careers for participants.

Unlike many programs requiring advanced education, our solution is accessible to individuals with only a high school diploma or GED, removing a common barrier to entry. Participants will receive free, high-quality training, including AI-driven tools and trauma-informed care techniques, to prepare them for roles as Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) or other behavioral health professionals.

Our AI-Powered Training Modules simulate real-life scenarios, allowing participants to practice interventions in a safe, feedback-rich environment. Behavior Analytics Tools enable real-time monitoring and adjustment of care plans, enhancing outcomes for children and families. Virtual Parent Coaching ensures families receive ongoing support to reinforce progress at home.

Collaboration is central to our innovation. We partner with local community organizations, high schools, and other groups to identify and recruit participants, building a diverse and motivated cohort. By emphasizing coalition-building with nonprofits, schools, and businesses, we establish a scalable, replicable model for workforce development.

This solution is not just about training—it’s about transforming the market by creating accessible pathways to meaningful careers and elevating the quality of behavioral health care. As participants succeed, they inspire others, catalyzing broader adoption of this model and reshaping the workforce landscape to better serve underserved communities.

Impact Goals

1. Reskilling and Upskilling: Empower 50+ adults annually with career-ready skills in behavioral health, targeting those with only a high school diploma or GED to create equitable access to meaningful, well-paying careers.
2. Workforce Expansion: Reduce the shortage of behavioral health professionals in underserved areas, particularly those supporting children with behavioral diagnoses and trauma, by increasing the availability of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs).
3. Child and Family Support: Build a sustainable ecosystem of care that improves outcomes for 200+ families annually by providing consistent, high-quality behavioral health services and parent coaching resources.
4. Economic Mobility: Help participants transition into stable employment, improving their financial security and long-term career opportunities.

We measure progress toward these goals through the following specific indicators:

1. Participant Success

   • Enrollment and Completion Rates: Track the number of individuals enrolled in and completing the program.
   • Certification Rates: Measure the percentage of participants who pass the RBT certification exam.

2. Workforce Outcomes

   • Job Placement Rates: Record the number of participants employed in behavioral health roles within six months of program completion.
   • Retention Rates: Measure the percentage of graduates remaining in the field after one year.

3. Impact on Families

   • Services Delivered: Track the number of families receiving care from program graduates annually.
   • Family Satisfaction Surveys: Collect feedback on care quality and progress in addressing children’s behavioral challenges.

4. Economic Impact

   • Income Growth: Assess the increase in participants’ income pre- and post-program through follow-up surveys.
   • Economic Mobility Indicators: Monitor improvements in financial stability, such as reduced reliance on public assistance.

5. Program Reach and Scalability

   • Community Partnerships: Evaluate the number and effectiveness of collaborations with local schools, nonprofits, and businesses to sustain and expand the program.
   • Participant Demographics: Ensure equitable participation by monitoring data on age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background.

Currently - we partner with Look Up Therapy to offload the workers as they volunteer for Beyond The Valley. We have 3 - part-time staff members. 

It has been roughly 4 years. 

At Beyond The Valley Foundation, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are central to our mission and daily operations. Our leadership team reflects the communities we serve, with members from diverse cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, including individuals with lived experiences in overcoming systemic barriers. This diversity informs our approach, ensuring that our programs are relevant, empathetic, and impactful.

To minimize barriers to opportunity for staff, we prioritize equitable hiring practices, seeking candidates from underrepresented groups and providing professional development opportunities. For example, our programs require only a high school diploma or GED, opening doors for individuals who might otherwise face educational or financial obstacles to entry.

We actively work to create a welcoming and inclusive environment by:

• Ongoing Training: Conducting regular DEI workshops to build cultural competency and understanding among staff.
• Open Communication: Establishing feedback loops, such as anonymous surveys, to ensure all team members feel heard and valued.
• Accessibility: Providing flexible work arrangements, childcare resources, and transportation stipends to support staff from diverse circumstances.

Our goals for enhancing DEI include increasing the representation of women and individuals from marginalized groups in leadership roles and building a mentorship pipeline to advance staff into higher positions.

We also ensure our programs incorporate inclusive principles, partnering with local organizations like FAU CARD and Bridges to extend opportunities to diverse community members. By fostering a culture of belonging and collaboration, we not only empower our team but also model the inclusive environment we strive to create for those we serve.

Our solution, Career Catalyst, operates as a mission-driven program designed to provide value to both participants (mid- to late-career adults seeking reskilling) and the broader community (families in need of behavioral health services).

Value to Participants: We provide free or low-cost training to adults with only a high school diploma or GED, equipping them with skills for meaningful careers in behavioral health. This includes Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification, trauma-informed care training, and access to AI-driven tools for real-world practice. By offering wraparound services such as childcare, transportation stipends, and mentorship, we eliminate barriers to participation and ensure career success. Participants gain financial stability and long-term career opportunities in a high-demand field.

Value to Communities: Our program directly addresses the critical shortage of behavioral health providers, especially in underserved areas. By reskilling participants, we create a workforce capable of supporting over 200 families annually, providing consistent care for children with behavioral diagnoses and trauma. Additionally, we involve parents through virtual coaching and support, fostering a sustainable ecosystem of care.

Revenue Model: Our funding comes from a mix of grants, community partnerships, and in-kind donations. Local organizations like Look Up Therapy, FAU CARD, and Bridges collaborate to share resources and reduce costs. Once trained, program participants often secure roles in partner organizations, creating a pipeline that sustains the program’s impact while increasing community engagement.

By combining accessible training, robust partnerships, and measurable community impact, Career Catalyst provides a replicable model that meets the needs of both participants and the families they serve. This dual focus ensures long-term success for individuals and communities alike.

Our financial sustainability plan for Career Catalyst relies on a diversified funding model that combines grants, service contracts, and partnerships. This approach ensures long-term viability while aligning with our mission to provide accessible, high-quality reskilling opportunities and support services.

Primary Revenue Streams:

1. Grants and Philanthropic Support: We actively pursue funding from organizations aligned with workforce development and behavioral health goals. For example, we have successfully secured grants from local foundations such as the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties to support similar initiatives.
2. Service Contracts: We aim to establish contracts with government agencies and local organizations to provide trained professionals in behavioral health roles. For instance, Look Up Therapy has expressed interest in hiring program graduates, and creating a sustainable pipeline for employment and revenue generation.
3. Partnership Contributions: Collaborations with organizations like FAU CARD, Bridges, and Lynn University provide in-kind support, reducing program costs.
4. Training Revenue: As the program scales, we plan to offer fee-based advanced training courses for organizations seeking to upskill their existing staff, creating an additional revenue stream.

Success to Date: Our model has already demonstrated viability. Grants from the Community Foundation and partnerships with local nonprofits have supported the Empower Glades initiative, which reskilled 30+ individuals in its first phase. In addition, Look Up Therapy’s commitment to employing graduates has ensured job placement for program participants, demonstrating the demand for trained professionals.

Long-Term Sustainability: Our combination of diversified revenue streams and strong community partnerships ensures financial stability while scaling the program’s impact. By continually demonstrating measurable outcomes and economic benefits, we will attract sustained investment and build lasting capacity in underserved communities.

We are applying to the Truist Foundation Inspire Awards to amplify the impact of Career Catalyst and address critical barriers to scaling and sustainability. While our program has demonstrated success in reskilling mid- and late-career adults for meaningful roles in behavioral health, we face challenges in expanding our reach, building a sustainable funding model, and integrating advanced technology into training and services.

How the Truist Foundation and MIT Solve Can Help

1. Expert Support and Mentorship: The wraparound support program, including mentorship and access to industry coaches, would help us refine our business model and scale our solution effectively. These insights are vital for creating a replicable framework that can serve more communities.
2. Leadership Development: Participation in the Truist Leadership Institute retreat would enhance our team’s capacity to manage growth and foster collaboration across sectors.
3. Technology Integration: The network of resource partners and peer innovators would provide access to cutting-edge tools and strategies, allowing us to further integrate AI-driven solutions into training and family support services.
4. Funding and Visibility: Winning the Inspire Awards would not only provide critical funding but also elevate our visibility, attracting additional partnerships and investment.
5. Overcoming Barriers: With guidance from Truist and MIT Solve, we can address key challenges such as expanding our coalition-building efforts, integrating transportation and childcare resources more effectively, and scaling our model to reach more underserved families.

This opportunity would catalyze our efforts to transform the behavioral health workforce and create lasting economic mobility for participants and their families.