Kentucky launches pilot program for high school mental and behavioral health career pathways

October 28, 2025

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), in partnership with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) and its Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID), has launched an initiative to provide career pathways to high school students in select schools who are interested in behavioral health careers.

CLIMB 2.0, which stands for Career Ladders in Mental and Behavioral Health, builds on CLIMB 1.0, which provided adults in recovery with stackable credentials leading to further degree and career opportunities in behavioral health. Eight Kentucky high schools have been invited to participate in the program, allowing students to earn certifications that enable them to work in the behavioral health field upon graduation and/or pursue additional postsecondary credentials:

• Floyd County High School
• Prestonsburg High School
• Betsy Lane High School
• Harlan County High School
• Harlan High School
• Hazard High School
• Perry County Central High School
• Buckhorn High School

Hazard Community and Technical College, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and Big Sandy Community and Technical College will pilot the program, with plans to replicate it at other Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) campuses. Training components for CLIMB 2.0 will be administered by the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (UK CERH), which includes faculty support and the state-approved Kentucky Homeplace Foundational Community Health Worker Training curriculum.

“CLIMB 2.0 represents a strategic leap forward in workforce preparation,” said Dr. Aaron Thompson, CPE president. “Behavioral health is such an important industry for maintaining the wellness of our citizens, and we need thousands of well-qualified, credentialed Kentuckians to help meet the needs of our communities. CLIMB 2.0 will help us do that.”

Some of the innovative features of CLIMB 2.0 include:

• Dual credit and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs aligned with postsecondary credentials in human services and health sciences.
• Opportunities for students to graduate with stackable certifications such as registered behavior technician that prepare them for immediate employment and further education. UK CERH will oversee completion of the course curriculum and help prepare students for the examination.
• Summer bridge programs that allow students to accelerate credentialing and career readiness between school years.
• Mentorship placements in clinical and other healthcare and behavioral health facilities through UK CERH.
• Curricula based on core competencies for certified community health workers in Kentucky, developed by the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

To learn more about the program, visit futuriti.org/public/page/climb-promotion.