Governor Invests $25 M to Support the Behavioral Health Workforce

11:47AM / Saturday, December 06, 2025Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that they are investing $25 million to support the behavioral health workforce in Massachusetts.

The investments include $12.5 million in scholarships for students completing graduate degrees and certificates in behavioral health fields and $12.5 million in grants to colleges and universities with eligible behavioral health programs, to be distributed as stipends to undergraduate and graduate students completing unpaid internships and field placements in behavioral health.

Students completing behavioral health graduate programs should apply for the scholarships here by Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

Undergraduate and graduate behavioral health students looking to learn more about the field placement and internship stipends should speak with their program advisor as soon as possible.

"We need to strengthen our behavioral health workforce in Massachusetts so our residents can get the care they need, and these investments support students dedicating their time and talent into entering this field," said Governor Maura Healey. "These scholarships and internship stipends benefit students and the members of our communities that they'll serve."

A list of eligible graduate study areas for scholarship availability is available here, and it includes graduate degrees and certificates in areas such as social work, mental health counseling, substance use counseling, and mental health nursing programs.

Undergraduate and graduate programs in behavioral health require internships or field experiences, which are often unpaid and can cause students to take time off from their regular employment. The stipends for unpaid internships and field placements help lift a cost barrier to meeting this degree requirement and gaining valuable work experiences that help make graduates career ready.

"The behavioral health field needs the contributions of all residents who are passionate about this work," said Secretary of the Executive Office of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. "By lifting cost barriers to behavioral health degree programs, we're strengthening a workforce that is crucial to our state's well-being."

This academic year is the second in a two-year program designed to boost the behavioral health talent pipeline. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the state awarded $20 million to students across more than 30 colleges and universities in Massachusetts, including $10 million in behavioral health scholarships for 977 students and an additional $10 million in behavioral health internship stipends to more than 1,800 students. Under this scholarship program, students may be awarded up to $12,500 for tuition, fees, and stipends for each academic year in which they are enrolled, with a maximum of $25,000 per recipient across two academic years. Scholarship recipients must commit to working in the Commonwealth for up to two years. Students who received the behavioral health scholarship last year must re-apply to be considered for this year's scholarship.

"UMass is grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for making these scholarships and stipends available for the second consecutive year to students who are pursuing careers in behavioral health, helping to address a critical shortage of professionals in the field. This scholarship funding enables students to meet requirements for internships and field experience, which are often unpaid, and eliminates a cost barrier for many students to allow them to obtain a degree in behavioral health," said UMass President Marty Meehan.

The two-year scholarship and internship stipend investment is funded by Massachusetts' Behavioral Health Trust Fund, which was established with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and is managed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Behavioral Health Trust Fund was a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Advisory Commission, which was comprised of 22 members from government and the behavioral health sector. Funds are being used to address barriers to the delivery of an equitable, culturally competent, affordable, and clinically appropriate continuum of behavioral health care and services.

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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