Program provides social workers financial assistance to become licensed providers
EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 21, 2025) – The University of Texas at El Paso is responding to mental health care shortages in the border region with a new initiative that strengthens the local mental health workforce while removing barriers that prevent aspiring clinicians from completing their licensure.
Lisa Peisen (center) and her family are pictured, following a generous contribution in an effort to increase the number of mental health professionals in the El Paso region. The $136,124 gift will sponsor the first cohort of social work students through their certifications in the post-graduate program.
With generous support from the LaMantia family, UTEP’s Department of Social Work launched a program in 2024 that directly addresses the challenges faced by Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates pursuing licensure as Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs).
Current Texas LCSW requirements include a minimum of 100 hours of supervised clinical practice by a licensed Texas LCSW supervisor (LCSW-S), which is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker that has met the requirements needed to become a supervisor to aspiring social workers. The average cost for LCSW-S supervision in the region is approximately $100 per hour, which is an out-of-pocket expense for social work students that could sum up to $10,000 solely for their supervision and practice hours.
The cost and logistics make licensure out of reach for many social workers.
“There is the need for increasing the mental health workforce, particularly in El Paso,” said Jason Mallonee, D.S.W., clinical assistant professor and one of the program’s supervisors. “We recognized quickly that a big reason for the shortage was the cost associated with paying for clinical supervision; it’s a particularly salient barrier for recent graduates.”
Through UTEP’s new program, participants now pay only $20 per hour, with the remaining cost covered by a $130,000 gift from the LaMantia family. Supervision is provided by UTEP faculty members Mallonee, Viridiana Ortiz, Ph.D., and Yahell Zúñiga, MSW, who ensure the guidance meets state licensure standards.
Among the supervisees serving the community is Daniel Munoz, LMSW, a former law enforcement officer who now focuses his clinical practice on veterans, law enforcement officers and first responders.
Munoz says the UTEP supervision he received was not just affordable but transformative.
“The sessions have been crucial for expanding my clinical toolkit,” he said. “Being able to connect and learn with a group of like-minded individuals has been invaluable for my growth.”
Other participants in the program have echoed the impact. Marissa Cena, LMSW, who has known since high school that she wanted to become a therapist, relies on her supervisor, Ortiz, and fellow supervisees for important feedback.
“It is reassurance that I am progressing in my skills and that I am making the right calls when it comes to the services and treatment I am providing,” Cena said. Cena’s placement is with at-risk youth who have experienced significant challenges that interfere with their academic, social or emotional success in traditional school settings.
Since launching, the UTEP clinical supervision program has served 14 MSW graduates, who collectively provide hundreds of hours of pro-bono clinical care in El Paso each month. Many are already making a difference, often outside their full-time jobs and without compensation, serving clients who otherwise would not have access to mental healthcare.
“Over time, I have been able to witness my supervisees develop an increasing sense of confidence in their ability to help people manage or resolve their life and mental health challenges,” said Mallonee. “They show up for the community and for their own personal and professional growth.”
Another of the program’s faculty supervisors, Ortiz, said. “There’s something special about witnessing that moment when their self-doubt turns into trust — trust in their skills, in their judgment, and in their ability to truly help others.”
“Expanding access to mental health services is very personal for our family,” said Lisa Peisen, a member of the LaMantia family. “LCSWs are key to ensuring El Pasoans have qualified mental health professionals, and through this program we hope to dramatically increase the number of LCSWs in our community. We thank UTEP for seeing our vision and creating this unique program for their students.”
UTEP social work alumni who are interested in participating in the program can learn more at: https://www.utep.edu/chs/sw/resources/lcsw-supervision-program.html
For information on social work degrees and more, contact the UTEP Department of Social Work at socialwork@utep.edu or (915) 747-5095.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 26,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on October 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM | Originally published October 22, 2025
By MC Staff
UTEP Marketing and Communications