5042-5000 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

For child and adolescent services, including the costs of psychiatric and related services provided to children and adolescents determined to be medically--ready for discharge from acute hospital units or mental health facilities and who are experiencing unnecessary delays in being discharged due to the lack of more appropriate settings; provided, that to fund said services, the commissioner of mental health may allocate funds from the amount appropriated in this item to other departments within the executive office of health and human services; provided further, that the department of mental health shall not refer or discharge a child or adolescent to the custody or care of the department of children and families until the department of mental health forwards its assessment and recommendation as to whether the child or adolescent is appropriate for foster care or, due to severe emotional disturbance, is more appropriate for group care; provided further, that the department of children and families shall maintain the same number of intensive residential treatment programs and clinically intensive residential treatment programs as were maintained in fiscal year 2026; provided further, that the department shall expend not less than $4,375,000 for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program, or MCPAP; provided further, that not less than $675,000 of that amount shall be expended for MCPAP for Moms statewide to address mental health concerns in pregnant and postpartum people and to expand support for pregnant and postpartum people by adding substance use disorder--specific education, training, consultation and care coordination to the project's existing capacity; provided further, that not less than $500,000 of that amount shall be expended to MCPAP to develop and implement behavioral health consultation services that are accessible to school personnel and students in kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive; provided further, that amounts expended from this item for MCPAP that are related to services provided on behalf of commercially--insured clients shall be assessed by the commissioner on surcharge payors as defined in section 64 of chapter 118E of the General Laws and shall be collected in a manner consistent with the department's regulations; provided further, that not later than March 15, 2027, the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on: (i) an overview of MCPAP care coordination efforts; (ii) the number of psychiatric consultations, face--to--face consultations and referrals made to specialists on behalf of children with behavioral health needs in fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027; and (iii) recommendations to: (a) increase the number of specialists receiving referrals through MCPAP; (b) increase access to MCPAP in regions currently underutilizing the project; and (c) improve care coordination efforts to identify specialists available and accepting new child and adolescent patients, with priority to those children and adolescents who exhibit complex conditions and experience long wait lists for specialty psychiatry; provided further, that not later than April 1, 2027, the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on: (1) the distribution of funds, delineated by initiative; (2) the number of individuals served; (3) the outcomes measured; and (4) recommendations for expanding cost--effective and evidence--based early mental health identification and prevention programming for children and adolescents in fiscal year 2027 and fiscal year 2028; provided further, that not less than $4,700,000 shall be expended for a program to provide assertive community treatment for individuals under the age of 22 who exhibit symptoms of serious emotional disturbance, demonstrate an inability to consistently use less intensive levels of care in the community and have functional impairment and a history of difficulty in functioning safely and successfully in community, school, home or workplace settings; provided further, that the program shall: (I) include a team--based approach to service delivery that tailors services to the specific needs and acuity of each individual; (II) provide mental health services and social service assistance through a person--centered approach which may include, but shall not be limited to, clinical assessment and outreach, medication treatment and outreach, care coordination, including primary care, symptom management, harm reduction, family services, housing support and needs that arise in carrying out activities of daily living; (III) be consistent, to the maximum extent possible, with the evidence--based practice standards for assertive community treatment as found in the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's assertive community treatment evidence--based practices kit; and (IV) not limit program services to a specific physical location; provided further, that the department shall prioritize geographic equity in administering the program; provided further, that not later than April 1, 2027, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the: (A) funds distributed through the program, delineated by recipient; (B) number of new programs created with those funds, delineated by recipient, location, number of individuals served and ages of individuals served; and (C) projected need for the creation of new programs in the next fiscal year; provided further, that not less than $75,000 shall be expended to Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services, Inc. in the town of Shrewsbury to provide mental health services in the commonwealth; provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended to Boston Community Pediatrics, Inc. to support the Integrated Behavioral Health program; provided further, that not less than $20,000 shall be expended to the Children's Room Center for Grieving Children & Teenagers, Inc. in the town of Arlington for student mental health support; provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended to The NAN Project to increase mental health awareness and suicide prevention; provided further, that not less than $6,500,000 shall be expended for the department's emergency room diversion initiative to stabilize youth in crisis; provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended to Children's Services of Roxbury, Inc. to expand statewide youth mental health and family stabilization services and prevent out--of--home placements, mental health hospitalization and department of children and families' involvement; and provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended to Community Teamwork Inc. in the city of Lowell to operate programs promoting children's behavioral health and educational success