The massachusetts state police (MSP) will use FY24 lemhwa funding to improve mental health and the wellness of all employees by embedding a clinician in the MSP employee assistance unit

The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) was awarded a $200,000 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants (CFDA 16.710) program. The funding will be used to embed a clinician in the MSP Employee Assistance Unit (EAU) to improve access to mental health and wellness services for all MSP employees. This project aims to enhance the EAU's ability to facilitate critical incident stress debriefings and defusings within 24-72 hours after an incident, addressing the LEMHWA program's goal of supporting officer emotional and mental health, peer mentoring, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and police officer family services. The award period is from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2026.

The addition of a clinician to the EAU will improve access to services and increase the number of direct clinical hours available to MSP members. This project will also enhance the ability of EAU to facilitate critical incident stress debriefings/defusings within the critical 24-to-72-hour period after an incident. This program addresses the lemhwa implementation projects goal to support enhanced programs offering services for officer emotional and mental health, peer mentoring, suicide prevention, stress reduction, and police officer family services.