Children’s Behavioral Health in Massachusetts

The Charles F. and Beatrice D. Adams Charitable Trust’s focus on children’s behavioral health in Massachusetts began in 2002. The Trust initially partnered with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in the Building Bridges in Children’s Mental Health initiative for five years. This opportunity to learn about the issues and challenges facing families, providers and public agencies demonstrated the need for the Trust to support systemic reforms. The Trust does not fund direct service delivery. Instead, it supports broad-based efforts to reform and improve the behavioral health delivery system for children. To be effective, the Trust draws upon the expertise of advocates, providers, policy makers and other funders. The Trust is currently focused on these areas of activity:

• Advocacy efforts to advance access to clinical services, promote family engagement, reduce stigma and strengthen legal protections
• Research and demonstration projects addressing emerging behavioral health issues, such as psychiatric boarding in emergency rooms and foster care
• Community-based arts therapy programs for children as alternative and complementary treatment approaches
• New strategies that enable school-based personnel to address the impact of behavioral health issues on learning