While there are few training programs that focus on geropsychology, there are even fewer that provide in depth training in culturally competent geropsychology. This shortage has been exacerbated by the termination of programs such as the National Institute on Aging (NIA) funded Minority Aging Network in Psychology (MANIP) program. It was designed to increase the pool of ethnic minority researchers in the field of gerontology and administered by the APA Minority Fellowship Program. Successful programs like MANIP and the National Institute on Aging Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) have increased the number of minority scholars engaged in health research among ethnic minority populations, and in the case of RCMAR, minority elder participation in research, also. In addition, for the past 15 years, NIMH has funded developing and advanced centers for services and interventions research (DCSIR and ACSIR), as well as the Intervention and Practice Research Infrastructure and Service Program (IP-RISP) that directly target issues of adapting treatments and reducing disparities in mental health. A number of the awarded centers have a specific focus on aging and minority mental health. The new Centers for Translational Research Awards (CTSA) also supports funding to type II translation, moving clinical science into the community and engaging in community based participatory research methods.
Programs such as these are essential to expanding the number of culturally competent geropsychologist researchers.