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Mental Health Service Program Review

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health HIV/AIDS Bureau has commissioned an analysis of the mental health programs and agencies they are currently funding. The primary goals of this assessment are to assist the Bureau to better understand these programs’ structure and service model, to learn what services they are providing with their public health dollars, and examine the frequently occurring mental health issues that HIV infected substance abuse users being served by these agencies experience.

The HDWG administered a telephone survey to each agency. The survey contained questions pertaining to service descriptions, staff qualifications, financing, and client demographics. It also focused on the organization and how services provided through Bureau funding related to other services provided, referral practices, and client sharing between case management and mental health clinical staff.

The results will provide the HIV/AIDS bureau with a comprehensive description of innovative mental health services, which will hopefully facilitate sharing of effective interventions among other mental health programs. By gaining a more in-depth understanding of the allocation of funds with respect to the population served, adjustments for future planning and allocation will become possible.

Carol Tobias, M.M.H.S., Chinwe Johnson, M.D., M.P.H., and Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan, M.S.W. were key HDWG staff involved in this project.