Central Mass. universities split $1M to bolster behavioral health workforce
Photo | Grant Welker
Worcester State University
Five Worcester County universities have received a slice of $12.4 million in funding to financially support students entering the mental health or substance use disorders treatment fields.
The region’s schools have been granted $925,000 in total financing through the state’s Behavioral Health Trust Fund, a program established with funds provided through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and managed by the Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh, according to a joint Thursday press release from the Executive Office of Gov. Maura Healey, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the Executive Office of Education.
The grants will fund qualifying graduate and undergraduate students completing unpaid internships and field placement in the field of behavioral health over a two-year period, with recipient institutions chosen based on geographic areas prioritized by the state for advancing health equity.
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“We want Massachusetts residents to be able to access qualified behavioral health professionals when and where they and their families need them, and that will only happen if we lift barriers for entering this field,” Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said in the release. “One crucial step to creating a strong behavioral health workforce is making earning a degree financially feasible for students driven to fill the roles.”
The Worcester County institutions receiving Behavioral Health Trust Fund grants are below:
- Worcester State University received $485,000
- Assumption University in Worcester received $170,000
- Anna Maria College in Paxton received $130,000
- Fitchburg State University received $70,000
- Framingham State University received $70,000
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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