In 2024, MTF expanded on its analysis of workforce programs in Massachusetts with a closer look at the state’s behavioral health workforce. The report examined the rising need for behavioral health services, workforce trends, and the factors that limit the state’s ability to grow the workforce. The report provided an overview of notable state and federal workforce investments and highlighted examples of programs launched by organizations in the field and how other states address the sector’s labor needs. The report concluded with recommendations for policymakers that focused on improving the state’s ability to grow and retain the workforce by removing employment barriers, expanding the talent pipeline, and scaling successful existing programs.

Last year, MTF began a series of reports entitled “A Changing Landscape: The Impacts of Federal Action on Massachusetts”, which assess how changing federal actions affect critical policy areas in Massachusetts. This Chartbook, “The Changing Landscape: The Behavioral Health Workforce” examines how federal policies are affecting the behavioral health workforce issues MTF identified two years ago.