Massachusetts: Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $4.1 Million in Grants to Support Mental Health Among Young Children

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Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced today that they are awarding $4.1 million in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grants to organizations that support the social-emotional development and behavioral health of children in early education and care programs across Massachusetts. This funding will go to six organizations that serve early education programs by training providers and improving program processes to promote the developmental, social-emotional, and behavioral well-being of infants and young children in their care. The Healey-Driscoll Administration's investment will support the healthy development of our youngest students, reduce the suspension and expulsion rate in early education and care settings, and promote school success and community health

"We have a mental health crisis that has only been made worse by the pandemic, particularly for our youngest kids," said Governor Maura Healey. "Our administration is continuing to help break down the stigma behind seeking treatment while ensuring that Massachusetts residents know how they can access the health care and support they deserve—no matter how small. These grants will provide early education and care programs with the tools and resources needed to help educators identify kids struggling and support families in accessing help."

"Early education and care programs play a vital role in supporting the foundation for infant and child mental health that will serve our students throughout their lives. With the state's Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grants, our early educators can access the resources they need to help young children learn about and manage their feelings, fostering environments to support healthy social and emotional development in their classroom and beyond," said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.

Examples of the services and supports these grantees provide early education and care programs include  improving policies, procedures and practices to be trauma-informed and center the social-emotional and behavioral well-being of children; developing strategies for staff self-care; strengthening skills to identify children with or at-risk for behavioral, developmental, or mental health difficulties and supporting the implementation of positive behavior interventions and supports using evidence-based practices. These mental health grantees will also help early education and care programs build stronger relationships with families to support children both in the classroom and their homes, including with individualized behavior support plans for children and referrals to other community-based services.

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"The Healey-Driscoll Administration is focused on healing, stabilizing, and transforming our education system that is still recovering from the lasting impacts of the pandemic. With these early education mental health grants, we can support the critical infrastructure of mental health service providers that uplift our youngest children, their families, and their educators.," said Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler. "The path to well-being and stability is a slow one, but with this funding we will make inroads in our pursuit to improve mental health for all of our students."

"I hear often from educators and parents as I travel around the state about the growing social-emotional needs of young children in our early education and care programs and the impact this is having on the wellbeing, as well as recruitment and retention, of staff. These grants will help provide early education and care programs, and their staff, with the tools they need to meet the individual needs of children and families while also creating environments that enable children to learn and thrive," said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw.

The 2023 Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grant Awardees:

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Organization



Cities/Towns Served



Award Amount



Behavioral Health Network, Inc.



Adams, Agawam, Alford, Amherst, Ashfield, Athol, Becket, Belchertown, Bernardston, Blandford, Buckland, Charlemont, Cheshire, Chester, Chesterfield, Chicopee, Clarksburg, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Dalton, Deerfield, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Egremont, Erving, Florida, Gill, Goshen, Granby, Granville, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Hadley, Hampden, Hancock, Hatfield, Hawley, Heath, Hinsdale, Holyoke, Huntington, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Leverett, Leyden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Middlefield, Monroe, Monson, Montague, Monterey, Montgomery, Mount Washington, New Ashford, New Marlborough, New Salem, North Adams, Northampton, Northfield, Orange, Otis, Palmer, Pelham, Peru, Petersham, Phillipston, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Richmond, Rowe, Royalston, Russell, Sandisfield, Savoy, Sheffield, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Southampton, Southwick, Springfield, Stockbridge, Sunderland, Tolland, Tyringham, Ware, Warwick, Washington, Wendell, West Springfield, West Stockbridge, Westfield, Westhampton, Whately, Wilbraham, Williamsburg, Williamstown, Windsor, Worthington

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$772,706



Community Health Link, Inc.



Ashburnham, Ashby, Auburn, Ayer, Barre, Bellingham, Berlin, Blackstone, Bolton, Boylston, Brimfield, Brookfield, Charlton, Clinton, Douglas, Dudley, East Brookfield, Fitchburg, Franklin, Gardner, Grafton, Groton, Hardwick, Harvard, Holden, Holland, Hopedale, Hubbardston, Lancaster, Leicester, Leominster, Lunenburg, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Northbridge, Oakham, Oxford, Paxton, Pepperell, Princeton, Rutland, Shirley, Shrewsbury, Southbridge, Spencer, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sutton, Templeton, Townsend, Upton, Uxbridge, Wales, Warren, Webster, West Boylston, West Brookfield, Westminster, Winchendon, Worcester



$602,242



Enable, Inc.



Acton, Arlington, Ashland, Belmont, Boxboro, Canton, Dover, Foxborough, Framingham, Hingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Concord, Marlborough, Maynard, Medfield, Millis, Littleton, Natick, Newton, Norfolk, Northborough, Norwell, Norwood, Plainville, Scituate, Sharon, Sherborn, Southborough, Stow, Sudbury, Walpole, Watertown, Wayland, Westborough, Westwood, Wrentham



$457,994



Justice Resource Institute, Inc.



Abington, Acushnet, Aquinnah, Attleboro, Avon, Barnstable, Berkley, Bourne, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Chatham, Chilmark, Dartmouth, Dennis, Dighton, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Eastham, Easton, Edgartown, Fairhaven, Fall River, Falmouth, Freetown, Gosnold, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Harwich, Holbrook, Kingston, Lakeville, Mansfield, Marion, Marshfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Nantucket, New Bedford, North Attleborough, Norton, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Provincetown, Raynham, Rehoboth, Rochester, Rockland, Sandwich, Seekonk, Somerset, Stoughton, Swansea, Taunton, Tisbury, Truro, Wareham, Wellfleet, West Bridgewater, West Tisbury, Westport, Whitman, Yarmouth



$744,340



Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children



Amesbury, Andover, Bedford, Beverly, Billerica, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Boxford, Danvers, Dracut, Dunstable, Essex, Everett, Georgetown, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lawrence, Lexington, Lincoln, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Manchester, Marblehead, Medford, Melrose, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Nahant, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, North Reading, Peabody, Reading, Rockport, Rowley, Salem, Salisbury, Saugus, Stoneham, Swampscott, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Wenham, West Newbury, Westford, Wilmington, Winchester, Woburn



$953,221



Walker, Inc.



Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Cohasset, Dedham, Hull, Milton, Needham, Quincy, Randolph, Revere, Somerville, Weston, Weymouth, Winthrop, and Wellesley



$594,497


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