Policy & Research

This brief provides an updated snapshot of the need for behavioral health care and experiences accessing it in the Commonwealth as of 2020/2021, based on a new survey commissioned by the Foundation.  This survey was fielded by NORC at the University of Chicago between December 2020 and March 2021 and gathered information on the need for and access to behavioral health care among Massachusetts adults ages 19 and older and their close relatives. The survey gathered information on the experiences of Massachusetts adults during the 12 months prior to the survey, which covered the period January 2020 through March 2021. Given the timing of the survey and its 12-month look-back period, the survey collected information over roughly the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey also included a series of questions focused explicitly on the link between the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for behavioral health care.