parent adjusting childs coat while they stand outside in the snow on the UM campus

Center for Children, Families and Workforce Development

Montana’s young people are already showing up for their communities. This program helps them turn that care into a real pathway into behavioral health careers. 

The Youth Behavioral Health Pathways Program helps high school students step into real careers in behavioral health through hands-on learning, mentorship, and community experience — building skills, confidence, and identity as future helpers. 

If you’re a student ready to explore helping careers, or a partner ready to support the next generation of Montana’s behavioral health workforce, we’d love to connect.

  • Montana’s young people are already showing up for their communities —supporting friends, navigating stress, and caring deeply about others. What they often lack is not capacity, but connection: access to tools, pathways, and opportunities to turn that care into purpose and profession. 
     
    This program helps youth build both direction and confidence by connecting lived experience to real career possibilities in behavioral health. 
     
    Youth will: 
    • Build purpose, confidence, and a sense of direction 
    • Strengthen readiness for high school completion and postsecondary success 
    • Develop an early professional identity in a field that values care, empathy, and leadership 
    • Learn what it means to be a helper in real-world settings—not just in theory 
    At its core, this program helps young people see themselves clearly: not just as future workers, but as emerging leaders in their communities today.
  • The future workforce is already here — it just needs a pathway. 
    • Montana faces a severe shortage of behavioral health professionals 
    • Rural and Tribal communities are most impacted 
    • Growing talent locally strengthens trust, continuity, and care 
    The strongest predictor of who stays and serves in rural communities is simple: they grew up there.

What This Program Is

1. Classroom Learning + Credit
Dual enrollment coursework through Highlands College + UM certification pathway


2. Real-World Experience
Job shadowing, supervised tasks, and community-based placements


3. Mentorship and Guidance
Connection with professionals working in Montana’s behavioral health system 

  • Youth will earn real credentials that open doors not participation badges, but meaningful stepping stones: 
    • University of Montana certificate in foundational behavioral health training. 
    • Community Health Worker (CHW) certificate. 
    • Dual-enrollment high school credit through Highlands College*. 
    • Stackable credit pathways toward CNA, AA degrees, and behavioral health certificates (including 1+3 and 2+2 pathways). 
     
    *For some students, this can mean graduating high school already partway into a college credential — or completing a CNA alongside graduation.
  • Youth gain skills that matter in every helping profession and in life: 
    • Communication and active listening. 
    • Problem-solving and critical thinking. 
    • Empathy, trauma-informed awareness, and ethical care. 
    • Professional identity, confidence, and responsibility. 
    Students leave with more than knowledge. They leave with a way of seeing themselves as capable contributors in difficult, meaningful work.
  • They will gain hands-on experiences where care actually happens — in communities, clinics, schools, and service settings. 
     
    Youth will engage in: 
    • Structured observations 
    • Supervised tasks 
    • Community-based placements 
    They don’t just learn about behavioral health — they see it, practice it, and begin to understand their place in it.
  • This program is designed for Montana youth who: 
    • Live in or near Kalispell, Helena, or Livingston. 
    • Are curious about helping careers or working with people. 
    • Want real-world experience in their community. 
    • Care about making a meaningful difference. 
    No prior experience is needed — just curiosity, commitment, and a willingness to show up.
    1. Apply to join: Sign up for the Foundations for Community and Behavioral Health course at your local school and join a cohort (August or January start) 
    2. Learn the foundation: 20 flexible on-demand lessons + live sessions 
    3. Go into the field: Community-based placements and supervised learning 
    4. Earn a credential: Dual enrollment credit, certifications, and clear pathways forward 
    5. Enter the workforce: Graduate with documented hours, credential and relationships 

  • UM Awarded $1.2M Grant to Launch Rural Youth Behavioral Health Career Pathways
    NBC News UM Awarded $1.2M grant to help with youth behavioral health
    Hi-Line Today's Article UM Awarded Grant to Support Youth Behavioral Programs
    NonStop Local - University of Montana gets $1.2M grant to boost rural mental health workforce

If you’re a student ready to explore helping careers — or a partner ready to support the next generation of Montana’s behavioral health workforce —we’d love to connect.