Our history
CBHI began as an interagency initiative to carry out the remedy from the Rosie D class action lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of MassHealth-enrolled children and youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED). CBHI is now part of the MassHealth Office of Behavioral Health, and continues to be involved in monitoring and reporting our activities to the court.
Through the remedy, MassHealth
- Pays for an enhanced continuum of home- and community-based behavioral health services;
- Requires that primary care providers screen for behavioral health conditions at well-child and other office visits; and
- Standardizes behavioral health assessment by requiring clinicians to use the Child and Adolescent Strengths and Needs (CANS) assessment tool to document comprehensive initial assessments, and to update the CANS every 90 days to ensure that treatment plans address strengths and needs as they evolve.
This integrated system is a work in progress. We hope you continue to visit the CBHI website. Please come back again and again for more information and updates on our work. Use our friendly URL: www.mass.gov/masshealth/cbhi.
Our values
The Systems of Care (SOC) philosophy guides the work of CBHI. The SOC framework fosters collaboration across agencies, families, and youths.
These core SOC values guide the development, delivery, and practice of CBHI services:
- Youth Guided and Family Driven: Services are driven by the needs and preferences of the child and family, developed in partnership with families, and accountable to families.
- Strengths-Based: Services are built on the strengths of the family and their community.
- Collaborative and Integrated: Services are coordinated and integrated across child-serving agencies and program.
- Culturally Responsive: Services are responsive to the family’s values, beliefs, norms, and to the socio-economic and cultural context.
- Continuously Improving: Service improvements reflect a culture of continuous learning, informed by data, family feedback, evidence, and best practice.
Our priorities
- Increase Timely Access to Appropriate Services
- Expand Array of Community-based Services
- Reduce Health Disparities
- Promote Clinical Best Practice and Innovation
- Establish an Integrated Behavioral Health System Across State Agencies
- Strengthen, Expand, and Diversify Workforce
- Ensure Mutual Accountability, Transparency and Continuous Quality Improvement
For more information on the System of Care philosophy, visit the Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health.
This integrated system is a work in progress. We hope you continue to visit the CBHI website. Please come back again and again for more information and updates on our work.