Press Release: 9/3/2025

Healey-Driscoll Administration Expands Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Children and Youth

 

Statewide Network of Community Service Agencies Selected to Provide Critical Services for MassHealth Children 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

9/03/2025

MEDIA CONTACT

Karissa Hand, Press Secretary

 Phone

Call Karissa Hand, Press Secretary at 617-725-4025

BOSTON — Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that 36 community service agencies have been selected across the state to provide home- and community-based services for children who are MassHealth members – nearly half of all children in Massachusetts – with behavioral, emotional and mental health needs. The new network will be the first expansion of the provider network in over a decade.  

The new network will offer more options for families, increase access to high-quality behavioral health services, and ensure geographic coverage across the entire state, including for families seeking specialized cultural and linguistic care. 

MassHealth provides health care coverage for nearly half of all Massachusetts children. As part of the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative, the selected agencies will provide intensive care coordination, family engagement services, and new intensive team-based treatment services for families of children and youth with particularly complex needs.  

Childhood mental health conditions affect many children and families across the country. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in five children ages three to seventeen have, at some point, been diagnosed with a mental, emotional, or behavioral health condition. 

"This expansion will strengthen the behavioral health system of support for hundreds of thousands of children and their families here in Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Through this important work, we are making sure that our young people get the care that they need.” 

“These agencies will help us provide coordinated, innovative services that are essential to the behavioral and mental health of children here in Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We are thrilled to work with our partners to increase access to these services.” 

“Meeting the behavioral health needs of our young people and supporting their families is foundational to our commitment to a healthy society and is crucial to our work,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kiame Mahaniah. “This expanded network offers families of children enrolled in MassHealth the assurance that their child will get the care they need to thrive.”   

“MassHealth is dedicated to offering integrated behavioral health services and a comprehensive, community-based system of care for our members,” said Undersecretary for MassHealth Mike Levine. “This expanded network will help us strengthen those efforts to reach more kids who need help.” 

Community service agencies were selected through a rigorous review process led by the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP), with review teams comprised of community members and caregivers with relevant lived experience and representatives from state agencies and managed care entities. MBHP will conduct a rigorous readiness process with the selected agencies prior to contracting. 

“We are excited to announce the selection of new community service agencies, key partners in providing every child and family with access to coordinated care,” said Sharon Hanson, Vice President of Client Partnerships and CEO, MBHP. “With innovations like Family-based Intensive Treatment, we aim to transform behavioral health services and create lasting positive change in our communities."  

As part of Carelon Behavioral Health, MBHP manages comprehensive, high-quality behavioral health care for over 400,000 MassHealth members statewide, ensuring accessible and culturally sensitive services through strategic collaborations with state agencies, providers, and community stakeholders to promote rehabilitation, recovery, and whole health. 

Statements of Support: 

Senator John Velis, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery: 

"There is nothing more important than supporting our children during key development years so that can grow into happy and healthy adults, and a critical part of that work involves includes supporting the behavioral, emotional, and mental health needs of all kids regardless of socioeconomic background. I am grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their dedicated work to establish new partnerships with skilled providers across the state, which will open new doors and possibilities for children and families who utilize MassHealth." 

Representative Mindy Domb (D-Amherst), House Chair, Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery: 

“The Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI) has been serving Massachusetts children for decades and is a vital part of the continuum of care for young people. Today, children - and particularly those with complex needs who are covered by MassHealth - face enormous barriers to care, including long wait times to see providers who accept their insurance. I so appreciate the decision to expand the CBHI network in order to reduce these barriers and improve access to care for youth and their families across the whole commonwealth, regardless of their zip code. I am especially looking forward to how this expansion benefits youth and families in western Massachusetts who have struggled with significant barriers to care.”  

Danna Mauch, President and CEO, Massachusetts Association for Mental Health: 

”For children who have complex needs associated with serious emotional and mental health conditions, the expanded and enriched network of community support agencies announced today promises to deliver capable, comprehensive, intensive, and timely care. The partnership between these skilled providers and MassHealth responds to pleas from families across the Commonwealth for access to expert home and community-based care that enables their children’s healthy development.”  

Pamela Hooks Sager, Executive Director, Parent Professional Advocacy League: 

"Children and families need more mental health support than ever. We are thankful that MassHealth and the Commonwealth recognize this and are taking steps to provide them what they need." 

Kelly English, PhD, LICSW, Chief Innovation Officer, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC): 

“CBHI services play an enormously important role in the system of care for youth living with behavioral health conditions in our state. These services have helped thousands of youth thrive in their homes, schools, and communities and have kept them out of emergency departments, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and residential treatment settings since services first launched in 2009. This newly expanded and enhanced community service agency network marks an exciting new chapter in the evolution of CBHI and holds great promise for its ability to better support youth with complex behavioral health needs and their families in Massachusetts.”  

  

Selected Organizations  

Region	City/Town	Selected Organization	Selected Organization (if multiple)	Selected Organization (if multiple)
Boston	Cambridge, Somerville	The Home for Little Wanderers
Boston	Everett, Malden, Medford	North Suffolk Community Service
Boston	Chelsea, Revere, East Boston, Winthrop, Charlestown	The Home for Little Wanderers
Boston	Boston, Dorchester, South Boston, Roxbury, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, Hyde Park, Lower Mills, Brighton, Brookline	The Home for Little Wanderers	Justice Resource Institute	Children's Services of Roxbury
Boston	Braintree, Cohasset, Hingham, Hull, Milton, Norwell, Quincy, Randolph, Scituate, Weymouth	Bay State Community Services
Central	Acton, Ashland, Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Boxborough, Burlington, Carlisle, Concord, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Maynard, Marlborough, Natick, Northborough, Sherborn, Southborough, Stow, Sudbury, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Westborough, Wilmington, Winchester, Woburn	Wayside Youth & Family Support Network
Central	Ashby, Ayer, Barre, Berlin, Bolton, Clinton, Fitchburg, Groton, Hardwick, Harvard, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, New Braintree, Oakham, Pepperell, Princeton, Rutland, Shirley, Sterling, Townsend	Behavioral Health Network	LUK, inc.
Central	Auburn, Boylston, Grafton, Holden, Leicester, Millbury, Paxton, Shrewsbury, Spencer, West Boylston, Worcester	Behavioral Health Network	LUK, inc.
Central	Bellingham, Blackstone, Brimfield, Brookfield, Charlton, Douglas, Dudley, East Brookfield, Franklin, Holland, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millville, Northbridge, North Brookfield, Oxford, Southbridge, Sturbridge, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Wales, Warren, Webster, West Brookfield	Wayside Youth & Family Support Network
Central	Canton, Dedham, Dover, Foxboro, Medfield, Millis, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Sharon, Walpole, Wellesley, Weston, Westwood, Wrentham	Riverside Community Care
North	Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, North Andover	Justice Resource Institute
North	Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford	Wayside Youth & Family Support Network
North	Lynn, Lynnfield, Melrose, Nahant, North Reading, Reading, Salem, Saugus, Stoneham, Swampscott, Wakefield	Eliot Community Human Services
North	Amesbury, Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Manchester by the Sea, Marblehead, Merrimac, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, Peabody, Rockport, Rowley, Salisbury, Topsfield, Wenham, West Newbury	Eliot Community Human Services	Justice Resource Institute
Southeast	Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Holbrook, Rockland, Stoughton, West Bridgewater, Whitman	Brockton Area Multi-Services, Inc. (BAMSI)
Southeast	Acushnet, Carver, Dartmouth, Duxbury, Fairhaven, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Kingston, Marion, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, Wareham	Bay State Community Services	Child & Family Services
Southeast	Fall River, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea, Westport	Child & Family Services
Southeast	Attleboro, Berkley, Dighton, Lakeville, Mansfield, Middleborough, North Attleboro, Norton, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Taunton	Justice Resource Institute
Southeast	Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Chilmark, Cotuit, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Hyannis, Mashpee, Orleans, Osterville, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, Woods Hole, Yarmouth	Justice Resource Institute
Southeast	Nantucket	Justice Resource Institute
Southeast	Martha’s Vineyard	Justice Resource Institute
West	Ashburnham, Gardner, Hubbardston, Templeton, Westminster, Winchendon	Clinical and Support Options
West	Amherst, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Florence, Goshen, Hadley, Hatfield, Middlefield, Northampton, Pelham, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg, Worthington	Clinical and Support Options
West	Ashfield, Athol, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Leverett, Leyden, Millers Falls, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Petersham, Phillipston, Rowe, Royalston, Shelburne, Shutesbury, Sunderland, Turners Falls, Warwick, Wendell, Whately	Clinical and Support Options
West	Agawam, Blandford, Chester, East Longmeadow, Granville, Hampden, Huntington, Indian Orchard, Longmeadow, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Springfield, Tolland, Westfield, West Springfield, Wilbraham	Behavioral Health Network
West	Belchertown, Bondsville, Chicopee, Granby, Holyoke, Ludlow, Monson, Palmer, South Hadley, Southampton, Thorndike, Three Rivers, Ware	Behavioral Health Network
West	Adams, Alford, Becket, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Dalton, Egrement, Florida, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, Monroe, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Ashford, New Marlboro, North Adams, Otis, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sandisfield, Savoy, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, West Stockbridge, Williamstown, Windsor	The Brien Center	Clinical and Support Options
Statewide Specialty	Statewide	Gandara	The Learning Center for the Deaf, Walden Community Services

Region	City/Town	Selected Organization	Selected Organization (if multiple)	Selected Organization (if multiple)