Family Services Of The Merrimack Valley

Family Services Of The Merrimack Valley, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit, acts as a prime recipient of federal grants for behavioral health and substance use disorder services, with supplementary work as a sub-recipient under state pass-through grants. The organization delivers direct crisis intervention follow-up services, victim services, and substance use treatment coordination across New England, operating from Lawrence, Massachusetts, and serving a regional population of approximately 5.4 million residents spanning eight Massachusetts counties.

Family Services Of The Merrimack Valley's federal footprint concentrates heavily in behavioral health and crisis services. As prime grant recipient, the organization received a $250 thousand award from the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on September 30, 2026, under CFDA 93.00R (988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Services Programs) for the Massachusetts Follow-Up Improvement Project, running through September 29, 2029. That grant funds hiring of 3.45 FTE dedicated follow-up staff to strengthen post-crisis continuity of care across three 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline centers, with services including safety planning, risk reassessment, care coordination, and linkage to treatment and community resources for up to twelve months. The project targets the gap between the 74,000 annual calls, texts, and chats the participating centers receive and the 933 individuals who currently receive follow-up services.

Across 31 total awards (prime and sub combined, spanning 2002 to 2026), Family Services Of The Merrimack Valley's customer base concentrates on SAMHSA, the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime program, and the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, representing 71% of awards. However, the organization conducts the majority of its federal work — 55% of recent awards — as a sub-recipient under Commonwealth of Massachusetts pass-through grants, particularly the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, delivering substance use disorder services, VOCA-funded victim services, and behavioral health evaluation activities. The prime-to-sub split reflects a regional nonprofit positioning: Family Services operates as both a direct federal grantee and as a service-delivery sub-recipient within the state's federally funded behavioral health infrastructure. Recent activity shows growth from one award in 2023 to seven in 2025, with three awards in 2026, and combined obligated dollars across all awards total $13.9 million.