Bill > H4667

This bill establishes a mental health capacity grant program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health to support nonprofit organizations at high risk of hate crimes or serving populations vulnerable to hate crimes. The program will provide grants to help these organizations enhance their mental health support capabilities through activities such as mental health first aid training, culturally responsive referral programs, community education, and destigmatization efforts. Grants will be distributed equitably across the state, with consideration given to bias types identified in the previous year's hate crime report. The department will be responsible for creating regulations and guidelines for the grant program. Recipients will be selected based on their specific mental health needs, and the commissioner of mental health must submit an annual report to legislative committees detailing the program's activities, including the number of applications received, grants awarded, grant amounts, organizational missions of grantees, supported programming, and regional fund distribution. The program is subject to appropriation, meaning funding will depend on legislative budget allocations.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery (Joint)

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4667