Brain Injury and Statewide Specialized Community Services
BISSCS has been successful in creating a network of community-based services and supports that assists individuals in maintaining or increasing their level of independence at home, work and in their communities. BISSCS recognizes the significant role that families have in supporting the person who has sustained the brain injury, and their needs have been included in our program development efforts.
BISSCS is a completely state funded program whose budget is determined annually by the state legislature. BISSCS has experienced professionals working with individuals with head injuries and their families to access programs and obtain services necessary for rehabilitation and community life.
Total Number of Eligible Consumers
2048 in 2005
2262 in 2006
Total Number of Individuals Receiving Services
867 in 2005
974 in 2006
Read about all services available through BISSCS.
Veterans
The Statewide Head Injury Program (SHIP) of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) has received a $1 million competitive federal grant to strengthen services for individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The four-year grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, builds on a 2006 grant to continue to improve systems of care to better serve veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who sustained a TBI and their families. This effort will include piloting an integrated case management model in partnership with the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve.
Under the new award, culturally specific outreach will be directed to the Latino and African American communities and women. A major finding from the last initiative is that individuals with TBI in these populations continue to be greatly underserved. Strategies will include building formal and informal partnerships and collaborations with cultural organizations, community resources, veterans’ centers, places of worship, shelters, libraries and schools.
Another segment of the grant will be the creation of a New England-wide collaborative to share information, best practices, services and supports for assisting veterans with TBI and their families throughout the northeast.
More information about Veterans. If you are a veteran with a traumatic brain injury or know somebody who needs assistance, please contact us at 617-204-3852.
This information is provided by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.