The following links and resources were identified by state agency partners to support behavioral health clinicians working in Community Behavioral Health Centers.
Click on the agency’s name to visit their website. Click on the down arrow to expand each section.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) works in partnership with families and communities to keep children safe from abuse and neglect. In most cases, DCF can provide support and services to keep children safe with parents or family members. When necessary, DCF provides foster care or finds new permanent families for children through kinship, guardianship, or adoption.
Connecting with DCF
Community Programs
- FRC Website – The Family Resource Centers support families when they have a crisis or need help.
Mandated Reporting
- DCF Mandated Reporter Guide
- Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Training Portal – This training will provide an overview of the definitions, requirements, and protections associated with being a mandated reporter in Massachusetts. The General Training course is all-inclusive, non-profession specific, and should be taken by every mandated reporter.
- 51A Online Mandated Reporter Training
- Report Child Abuse or Neglect as a Mandated Reporter
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) provides support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorder to enhance opportunities to become fully engaged members of their community.
Connecting with DDS
- DDS Area Offices: To connect with DDS reach out to the area office in your area.
- Guide to the DDS Eligibility Process: Review eligibility criteria and the process for application for DDS services.
The Department of Mental Health, as the State Mental Health Authority, assures and provides access to services and support to meet the mental health needs of individuals of all ages; enabling them to live, work and participate in their communities.
Connecting with DMH
- DMH Adult Services Overview | Mass.gov: The Department of Mental Health Provides adult services to eligible individuals who meet the clinical criteria for service authorization. DMH provides services for the most severe and persistent cases of mental illness.
- Child, Youth, and Family Services Overview: The Department of Mental Health (DMH) provides additional services for children, youth and adults with the most serious mental health needs.
- Department of Mental Health Adult Services (Ages 19+): Information about services for Adults (19+) offered by DMH and instructions on how to apply for them.
- DMH Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- DMH Offices, Facilities, and Staff Directory: The Department of Mental Health oversees 27 site offices in 5 different geographic areas across the Commonwealth.
Community Programs
- Resources for Transition Age Youth And Young Adults (Ages 16-22): Services for Transition Age Youth and Young Adults (TAYA) bridge the Child, Youth and Family & Adult Mental Health Services Divisions.
- DMH Adult Community Clinical Services (ACCS): Adult Community Clinical Services (ACCS) is DMH’s primary community service for adults. ACCS is a comprehensive, clinically focused service that provides clinical interventions and peer and family support to facilitate engagement, support functioning and maximize symptom stabilization and self-management of individuals residing in all housing settings.
- DMH Resources & Guides: This collection of resources and guides is intended to provide consumers, families and the general public with information about mental health services and other statewide programs that provide support to the mental health community.
- DMH Multicultural Mental Health Resource Directory: This directory contains information about organizations in Massachusetts that offer linguistically and culturally appropriate mental health and related services for communities of color, LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and refugees.
- NAMI Massachusetts | National Alliance On Mental Illness of Massachusetts: NAMI Mass envisions a society that humanizes the experience of mental health challenges, promotes the values of respect, agency, self-determination, non-coercion, and non-violence, and supports individuals and families wherever they are in their journey of healing and recovery.
- Recovery Learning Communities: Recovery Learning Communities (RLCs) are peer-run networks of self help/peer support, information and referral, advocacy and training activities.
- Recovery Learning Communities and Young Adult Access Centers: A directory of activities and event calendars.
- MA Clubhouses — Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition (massclubs.org): The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) promotes access to services that meet the mental health needs of individuals of all ages, enabling them to live, work, and participate in their communities. As the state mental health authority, they provide funding for Clubhouses throughout the Commonwealth and establish standards that ensure effective and culturally competent care.
- Massachusetts Psychosis Network for Early Treatment (MAPNET): MAPNET is dedicated to the early detection & treatment of mental illness.
Resources for Families
- DMH Healthy Changes: The mission of the DMH Healthy Changes Initiative is to improve the quality of life, health and wellness of individuals at risk for illness and premature death and eliminate the significant health disparity among individuals with serious mental illness.
- DMH Events: This page provides information on upcoming Department of Mental Health (DMH) events, as well as links to many of our partner and providers’ calendars of events.
DPH oversees a wide range of professions and services related to health care. Information is available for residents, providers, researchers, and stakeholders. DPH keeps people healthy and communities strong. DPH promotes the health and well-being of all residents by ensuring access to high-quality public health and healthcare services, focusing on prevention and wellness, and health equity for all.
Connecting with DPH
- DPH at a Glance
- Department of Public Health Resources: Learn more about the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC) protects adults with disabilities from the abusive acts or omissions of their caregivers through investigation oversight, public awareness, and prevention.
Mandated Reporting
- DPPC Website: Explore DPPC’s website for additional information on indicators or “red flags” as well as more information on how and when to report.
The Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) strives to ensure that older people across the Commonwealth have opportunities to age and thrive in the communities of their choice.
Connecting with EOEA
- Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) in Massachusetts: Connect with home care services at Aging Service Access Points.
Community Programs
- Massachusetts Councils of Aging (COA): COAs serve as conduits for accessing a range of municipal services that may seem out-of-reach to older residents. They are the focal point where older adults and their families can access the local and state network of elder services, while providing an integrated array of social, health, recreation, and education programs for older men and women. COAs offer programs, services, and activities that benefit older people, and their families and caregivers
- Mass Associate for Mental Health (MAMH) Older Adult Behavioral Health Network (OABH): Membership in OABHN is open to all individuals and organizations serving the needs of older adults, including senior centers, Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs), mental health and substance use providers, faith-based organizations, advocates, and organizations providing housing, health care, and education – and, of course, older adults and their loved ones.
MassOptions connects older adults, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers with state and community agencies and organizations that can best meet their needs. Learn more about MassOptions, the network of partners and State agencies, and how to contact them here.
MCDHH provides accessible communication, education, and advocacy to consumers and private and public entities so that programs, services, and opportunities throughout Massachusetts are fully accessible to persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.
- Emergency Services Card: The Emergency Service Card is designed to assist EMT’s, firefighters and Deaf and hard of hearing individuals communicate better in the first moments of an emergency.
- How to Request an ASL Interpreter or CART provider: Requests for Interpreters are made either directly by Deaf, Deaf-Blind, late deafened, hard of hearing and hearing individuals and/or agencies, etc.
- Request Free Inservice or Educational Training: MCDHH provides a range of free (online or in-person) professional and educational in-services/presentations to other organizations, agencies, and businesses seeking to improve their effectiveness in interacting with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Deaf, Late-Deafened, and Hard of Hearing Programs and Services: Learn about what the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing can do for you.
The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) provides services that break down barriers and empower people with disabilities to live life in their own terms. Our programs focus on training and employment, community living, and disability determination for federal benefit programs. We are change agents and community builders. And we put the people we serve at the heart of everything we do.
Connecting with MRC
- Vocational Rehabilitation: The Vocational Rehabilitation Program helps job seekers with disabilities obtain and maintain a job. Vocational rehabilitation helps people with physical, cognitive, intellectual or mental health conditions manage the modern workplace.
- Community Living: The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) provides services that break down barriers and empower people with disabilities to live life in their own terms. Our programs focus on training and employment, community living, and disability determination for federal benefit programs. We are change agents and community builders. And we put the people we serve at the heart of everything we do. MRC Community Living services help people with disabilities live in the community.
- Disability Benefits: MRC can help you understand how working may affect your benefits.
- MRC Connect: If you have a disability, MRC Connect includes an online referral application that collects needed information across several MRC programs. This application helps you and MRC match needs to the available programs you may be eligible for. The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) has gone digital! Now, in addition to in-person and over the phone, you have the opportunity to apply for services online through MRC Connect.