Three Massachusetts human service organizations will cut a combined 200 jobs due to funding losses to care management providers.

Community Counseling of Bristol County will lay off 52 employees, Community Healthlink will cut 78, and Innovative Care Partners will eliminate 70 positions. 

The layoffs come after a reduction in federal funds for care management across the state and the removal of the state mandate requiring Accountable Care Organizations to contract with them. 

These changes, the Center for Human Development Vice President of Community Engagement Benjamin Craft said, will affect about 20 providers across Massachusetts.

The layoffs take effect June 30, when the existing contract with ACOs expires. An Accountable Care Organization is a group of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that come together to provide coordinated care to a group of patients. 

The three organizations provide care for mental health, addiction, rehabilitation, and homelessness.

Innovative Care Partners, a consortium that includes the Center for Human Development, which serves Northampton, Pittsfield, and West Springfield, said the cuts will disrupt care coordination for 3,500 clients. 

Community Counseling of Bristol County said about 4,700 clients in Attleboro, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, and Taunton rely on the program, and the organization is working to transition them to other services.

“We were hopeful to continue, but the realities of Medicaid spending being in the crosshairs of the state budget process made that impossible,” Andrew Dawley, president and CEO of Community Counseling of Bristol County, wrote in a statement.

What happened?

The Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2026 budget process involved severe proposed cuts to care management, particularly within the Department of Mental Health. 

The initial proposal by Gov. Maura Healey in January 2025, Mass Budget said, aimed to slash the Department of Mental Health case manager workforce by 50%, reducing staff from 340 to 170, to save about $12.4 million. 

The services made cuts to adult mental health and children and family case management teams, sparking warnings of worse care outcomes and increased crisis-level caseloads, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts. 

Following pressure from advocates, the final budget signed by the governor restored nearly all of the proposed $83 million in cuts to DMH programs. 

However, despite the restoration of funds, the sector continues to face challenges. As of early 2026, MassHealth’s budget cuts have continued to lead to a new wave of layoffs at these organizations.

MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, is funded by the state and federal government. The One Big Beautiful Bill reduced the federal government’s contribution to MassHealth spending. 

The result is approximately $3.5 billion for health care being stripped annually from Massachusetts. 

As a result of budget shortfalls and the end of the mandate to contract with Accountable Care Organizations, which the state touted as a cost-saving measure, layoffs occurred at these organizations. 

MassHealth did not return a request for comment.