FY22 Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grant Awardees Announced

Malden and surrounding communities will receive over $630,000 to expand childhood behavioral health services.

The Department of Early Education & Care has awarded a total of $2.5 million to communities throughout Massachusetts from the FY22 Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) Grant. The ECMHC Grant will fund a network of services to support the social-emotional development and behavioral health of children in early education and out-of-school time settings.

The services funded through this grant have been specifically designed to provide support and guidance to programs, educators, and families and to help them better address the developmental, social and emotional, and behavioral challenges of young children. The grantees will provide services including direct consultation, referrals, coordination with community-based services and interventions to address child behavioral challenges; promote children’s well-being; and reduce suspension and expulsion in schools.

This year, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC) will be receiving over $630,000 in funding from this grant to expand the capacity of their early childhood behavioral health services in Malden. The increased program capacity will give us the ability to foster healthy development for young children and help reduce the suspension and expulsion rate in early education and care settings. By expanding the network of early care and education programs and services in the community while supporting early childhood mental health clinicians, the grant will promote school success of children.

Congratulations to MSPCC and I am very pleased and excited to know that we can continue to provide important services for Malden families.

For more details about the ECMHC Grant, please follow this link.

To learn more about the work of MSPCC, you may reach their website here.

MASSDOT WANTS YOUR INPUT ON PROPOSED PROJECTS; ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETINGS

The Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation wants your input on how they prioritize and fund local and statewide transportation projects, including funding for new buses and trains, rail expansion, transit, paratransit, accessibility upgrades, roadway improvements, municipal projects, the MBTA and regional airports and transit authorities. Your comments can inform project design and helps the MassDOT understand the level of community support for proposed projects, ensuring these investments align with the needs and priorities of all MA residents.

There are several ways to participate, all of which can be accessed online at mass.gov/CIP. Comments must be received by June 7th, 2021:

1. Attend a virtual public meeting on one of the following dates:

· May 25th, 6:00 p.m. – Pioneer Valley/Berkshire/Franklin

· May 26th, 6:00 p.m. - Northern Middlesex/Merrimack Valley

· May 27th, 6:00 p.m. - Central Mass/Montachusett

· June 1st, 6:00 p.m. - Boston meeting

· June 2nd, 6:00 p.m. – SE Mass/Old Colony

· June 3rd, 6:00 p.m. – Cape/Nantucket/Martha’s Vineyard

2. Send an email with your comments—in any language—to: MASSCIP@STATE.MA.US

3. Explore local and statewide projects included in the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) and provide comments online using our CIP comment tool

Language Services:

Virtual meetings will be accessible to those with limited English proficiency. Language services will be provided free of charge upon request, and as available. Requests should be submitted within ten days of the meeting at which services will be required, if possible. Presentation materials will be made available in multiple languages upon request. For more information or to request language services, please contact Patrick Nestor 10 days before the meeting if possible at (617) 680-6092 or patrick.nestor@state.ma.us

Holyoke Soldiers’ Home set for reconstruction as House approves H.3770

Holyoke Soldiers’ Home set for reconstruction as House approves H.3770, An Act Financing the Reconstruction of the Soldier’s Home in Holyoke

BOSTON – On Monday, Representative Steven Ultrino (D-Malden), Representative Paul Donato (D – Medford), and Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian presented a united front in support of H.3770, An Act Financing the Reconstruction of the Soldier’s Home in Holyoke, the final version of the bill which will fund for the construction of a new facility at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.

The House unanimously approved the bill , which would allocate $400 million to the design and construction of a brand-new facility for the Soldiers’ Home. The newly approved version of the legislation ensures that the construction project would feature a small home concept where veterans will have more living space and independence. The development will also include state-of-the-art technology to meet the needs of current and future veterans.

The bill also allocates an additional $200 million to improving long-term care services for veterans throughout the region, including expanding support for home- and community-based care services and the creation of regional or satellite veterans’ homes for those not served by the Chelsea or Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The final language of the approved bill also expands significantly on provisions related to minority, veteran, and women contractors hired for this project.

By requiring the submission of annual reports until the completion of the facility, the legislation ensures that the project will remain on track in terms of budgeting, costs, design, construction progress, as well as labor participation goals for minority, veteran and women contractors.

“The approval and support we received for this bill represent a major step towards healing after last year’s tragedy,” said Representative Ultrino. “From the very beginning, this has been a project about honoring our veterans and proving to their families and friends that we are ready to give them the support they need. I truly believe that this reconstruction project will be able to breathe new life into the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and give our veterans the care and attention they deserve.”

"Ensuring that our veterans have the resources they need should always be a top priority. This bill makes that clear by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in ensuring veterans across Massachusetts will have those much-needed resources for years to come,” said Representative Paul Donato. “I’m grateful to Speaker Mariano for his leadership in ensuring we took swift action to fund this project, and to my colleagues for uniting behind this impressive proposal.”

“As we pause to remember those who sacrificed their lives this Memorial Day, we think also of the more than 77 veterans who lost their lives in the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home last year during a terrible COVID-19 outbreak,” said Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose). “Our veterans deserve safe, comfortable places to live. As such, I am honored to have voted in favor of this legislation to support the design and construction of a new soldiers’ residence.”

With this vote, H.3770 has been approved by the House for final passage. It will be sent to the Senate for final consideration before reaching the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.