Mass. provides $1.5M for behavioral health workforce development in Worcester County
Photo I Edd Cote
Open Sky Community Services and Seven Hill Foundation collaborate on a workforce development program called Human Services Career Support Program. Graduates of the program (from left) Joseph Casseus and Hans Hadji Casseus stand with Omo Fagboore, Open Sky career pipeline manager.
As Central Massachusetts grapples with an ongoing mental health crisis, nine Worcester County organizations have split nearly $1.5 million in state funding to make the road to becoming a behavioral health clinician more accessible for the area’s student population.
A total of 71 organizations statewide received a combined $17.9 million through Massachusetts’ Behavioral Health Supervising Clinicians Incentive Program, designed to support 793 clinical supervisors and at least 1,491 supervisees over the next two years, according to a Thursday press release from the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The program is funded through American Rescue Plan Act recovery funds.
YOU, Inc., an affiliate of the Worcester-based human services nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation, secured the largest award of the Worcester County recipients, collecting $528,000 in funding. YOU, Inc. provides behavioral health and family resource centers throughout the region, along with educational services for children, teens, and families.
Funding through the program provides YOU, Inc. and all its recipients with stipends for behavioral health clinicians work in community-based settings. The providers will in turn supervise students and clinicians-in-training to prepare them for their future careers as fellow licensed clinicians.
"Seven Hills Behavioral Health is using these essential dollars to help offset the cost of providing high quality clinical supervision to more than 30 behavioral health clinicians who are working with children, adolescents, and adults who are experiencing intense symptoms of trauma, depression, anxiety, and other behavioral health challenges," YOU, Inc. wrote in an email to WBJ.
Providing awards between $48,000 and $1.25 million, the state targeted organizations serving diverse populations from underserved areas throughout the commonwealth, with participating programs providing services in the state’s priority languages. A total of 79% of recipients offer substance use disorder treatment and 43% do so for children.
“We need more qualified behavioral health providers to deliver needed care in our communities,” Gov. Maura Healey said in the release. “The Behavioral Health Trust Fund improves recruitment and retention of providers by providing them with an experienced, trusted supervisor while in training. At the same time, it provides additional financial support to our hardworking licensed clinicians. We’re proud to deliver this funding which will improve behavioral health care across the state.”
The eight other Worcester County organizations receiving funding are:
- LUK, Inc. in Fitchburg received $240,000.
- Community Health Connections in Fitchburg received $144,000.
- Behavioral Health Perspectives in Fitchburg received $120,000.
- Center Tree Counseling in Spencer received $120,000.
- Multicultural Wellness Center in Worcester received $96,000.
- GAAMHA in Gardner received $72,000.
- Counseling and Assessment Clinic of Worcester received $72,000.
- Revidas in Worcester received $72,000.
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include a statement from YOU, Inc.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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