Beyond Parity: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder under Payment and Delivery System Reform in Massachusetts

This report by Colleen Barry of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health explores opportunities and issues around integrating behavioral health care and primary care under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and payment and delivery system reforms in Massachusetts. The report provides preliminary recommendations on how these major policy changes might be implemented with the goal of improving the coordination, quality and outcomes of mental health and addiction care in the Commonwealth.

Accessing Children's Mental Health Services in Massachusetts: Workforce Capacity Assessment

This report is based on a survey of 1,982 mental health providers in Massachusetts including psychiatrists, psychiatric clinical nurse specialists, psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists. It estimates the need for childrens mental health services; assesses child and family mental health service delivery capacity; identifies variation in capacity, including variation by geography, linguistic ability, and cultural competence; and documents challenges to meeting current demand for services.

Implementing the Rosie D. Remedy: The Opportunities and Challenges of Restructuring a System of Care for Children's Mental Health in Massachusetts

The district court ruling in Rosie D. v. Romney, and the subsequent remedy now being implemented by state health and human service agencies, have the potential to transform the delivery of mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances in Massachusetts. This issue brief explores the implications and potential effects of the case and the resulting remedy on the MassHealth program, other state programs, the behavioral health and social service delivery systems, and affected children and their families.