Funding Diversity: A Case Study of A State-initiated, Funding-driven Program to Diversify Mental Health Service Provision in Minnesota

Abstract

ABSTRACT Human service organizations are reconfiguring to address diversifying populations and widening inequality. However, institutional change is challenging to implement and fund; resource scarcity and stakeholder buy-in are barriers. In this case study, we analyze a funding-driven, state-initiated program that supports mental health professionals who are people of color in order to decrease health disparities. Analyses of interviews and documents depict how the program struggled with high turnover and uninspired, halfhearted messaging, but was nevertheless well loved. Findings illustrate how the ‘pitch’ and leadership matter in programming for institutional change and its contested nature, a contestation that funding alone cannot temper.