Healey-Driscoll
Administration Awards Middlesex Community College and UMass Boston $170,000 to
Strengthen and Diversify the Behavioral Health Workforce
BOSTON – The
Healey-Driscoll Administration announced today that the Department of Higher
Education is awarding grants to two public campuses in Massachusetts for
efforts to strengthen and diversify the behavioral health workforce. Through
grants of $70,000 to Middlesex Community College and $100,000 and the
University of Massachusetts – Boston, the institutions will partner with
behavioral health providers to promote workforce training, assess the
behavioral health education landscape, and plan for growth and diversification
in the workforce.
“As we
recognize Mental Health Awareness Month, we owe many thanks to our behavioral
health professionals,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Our administration
is working in partnership with the Legislature to grow and diversify the
behavioral health workforce to support our hardworking providers and make sure
Massachusetts residents get the high-quality care they deserve.”
“We’re
proud to support the pipeline of behavioral health professionals in
Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We need more
qualified professionals in the behavioral health field who represent the
diversity of the communities they serve, and these programs will help us
advance in those goals.”
The
behavioral health grant program will help to ensure a culturally, ethnically
and linguistically diverse mental and behavioral health workforce, serving
patients who need support in areas such as mental health diagnoses, physical
and emotional trauma and addiction. This funding is intended to promote
immediate workforce training responses in critical and actionable areas of
need, while also launching a broader assessment of the landscape and which
capabilities and gaps exist.
“We must
do the crucial work of understanding who our current behavioral health
workforce is serving and where there are barriers to accessing effective care,”
said Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler. “I am pleased to see two
of our public institutions receiving funding to help us learn where the gaps in
behavioral health care are, allowing us to be intentional about growing the
workforce in a way that truly meets the needs of Massachusetts.”
“Across
our state, behavioral health providers are facing unprecedented challenges
recruiting and retaining the staff they need,” said Health and Human
Services Secretary Kate Walsh. “Massachusetts residents deserve a
quality, competent behavioral health workforce, and I’m so grateful our
administration is making investments at the ground level to grow and sustain
this talent.”
“The
COVID-19 pandemic made clear that our communities need stronger mental health
workforces that serve all who need care,” said Commissioner of Higher
Education Noe Ortega. “Our public campuses are uniquely positioned to
partner with local providers on addressing our behavioral health workforce
needs, and I’m grateful that funds are available to advance this important
work.”
“Grants
like these are essential to DMH and other mental health service providers in
establishing different educational paths for a broad group of workforce to
address long-term staffing and treatment needs,” said Department of Mental
Health Commissioner Brooke Doyle. “We appreciate this effort to address
staffing shortages and create a more diverse workforce, furthering our agency
mission to provide, ‘Hope, Equity and Service’ for our staff and the people
they serve.”
UMass
Boston will use the grant funds to launch Charting Paths: The MB-Health WEAVE
Framework, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health,
healthcare provider organizations, and other academic institutions. The project
aims to develop a comprehensive framework for behavioral health workforce
planning.
"As
Boston's premier public research university, we are pleased to partner with the
Healey-Driscoll Administration on creating a pipeline for a culturally
competent behavioral health workforce. To adequately address the increased
demand for behavioral health - especially with our young people - we need more
providers, and I am proud UMass Boston is taking a leadership role with joining
the Healey-Driscoll Administration,” said Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco.
Middlesex
Community College (MCC) plans to use the grant funds to expand its 16-credit
Mental Health Peer Support Specialist (MHPSS) certificate program by adding a
practicum experience in which 10 students will function as peer support
professionals in human services environments.
“Thank
you to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Department of Education for
the generous funding toward MCC’s Mental Health Peer Support Specialist
program,” said Arlene Rodríguez, MCC’s Provost & Vice President of
Academic & Student Affairs. “Middlesex understands the value that
hands-on learning adds to a student’s education. This support will ensure
students pursuing this path will gain the relevant experiences they need to be
well-equipped to enter and transform the workforce.”
“At
Middlesex, we serve a diverse population of students who bring with them a rich
variety of lived experiences and perspectives,” said Matthew Olson, MCC’s
Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. “With
MCC’s comprehensive and interactive learning opportunities, these students not
only strengthen the workforce, but make mental health resources more accessible
to people who have historically been underserved.”
“For
years, the Senate has been working to increase access to quality mental and
behavioral health care, and one of the biggest challenges in doing so has been
a shortage of behavioral health care workers,” said Senate President Karen
E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “I am thrilled to see the Healey-Driscoll
Administration direct these investments to support the development of a robust,
diverse and culturally competent behavioral health care workforce. Not only
will this help to meet our health care goals, we will be creating pathways for
high-demand jobs for graduates.”
“The
importance of supporting behavioral health care is revealed to us more and more
each day,” said House Chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education Dave
Rogers. “The grants provided today to Middlesex Community College and the
University of Massachusetts – Boston offer such support and also were created
with the importance of equity and diversity in mind. I applaud the
Healey-Driscoll Administration for making these grants and look forward to our
continued collaboration to invest in the behavioral health workforce.”
"One
of our Commonwealth’s greatest challenges is that we simply do not have enough
providers working in the behavioral health space to meet the needs of our most
vulnerable residents,” said Senator John Velis, Senate Chair of the Joint
Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. “Building up a
diverse workforce has been a priority of the Senate since the introduction of
the Mental Health ABC Act, and I am beyond thrilled and grateful to the
Healey-Driscoll Administration’s for their leadership on this critical issue
today. These grants awarded by the Administration will not only help diversify
our workforce pipeline but will also help identify any other gaps in our
workforce so that we can address them together."
“In FY24, the House of Representatives appropriated
funding to support a mental health workforce pipeline program to encourage a
culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse behavioral health workforce
through collaboration between colleges and behavioral health providers,” said State
Representative Adrian Madaro, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental
Health, Substance Use and Recovery. “Today, I’m thrilled to see the
Healey-Driscoll administration implement these investments to help train and
prepare the next generation of mental and behavioral health providers.”
