DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH Commissioner Brooke Doyle is leaving her post, following a contentious budgeting cycle at the agency after the Healey administration attempted to slash half of the case manager workforce.
Doyle has helmed DMH since October 2020, after serving as deputy commissioner for nearly five years. The agency has a roughly $1.3 billion budget for fiscal 2026, and more than 4,000 full-time employees.
“After 5 incredibly rewarding years as Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, I am reaching out to inform you of my decision to step down as Commissioner, effective October 6,” Doyle wrote in a message to DMH staff that was obtained by the News Service Friday. “I feel truly honored to have had this opportunity and have loved getting to serve DMH and the residents of the Commonwealth as Commissioner. While it may never feel like a ‘good’ time to make a transition, for me it’s the right time.”
DMH Deputy Commissioner Beth Lucas will serve as acting commissioner while a search takes place to find Doyle’s replacement.
“I will stay on board in an advisory capacity for a short period to support the transition,” Doyle wrote.
Members of SEIU Local 509, the union that represents DMH case managers, took a vote of “no confidence” in Doyle in April and called on Gov. Maura Healey to remove her “immediately.” Union members said their vote stemmed from issues surrounding “the mismanagement of services, lack of transparency, and failure to effectively address the needs of both employees and clients.”
Healey in January proposed slashing 170 out of 340 case manager jobs, as DMH sought to cut costs while prioritizing inpatient psychiatric care. DMH was also eyeing a more flexible “open access” model for case management, an approach that Sen. Cindy Friedman, the Senate’s health care point person, had called “absurd.”
Case managers had argued the layoffs would cause thousands of Bay Staters to lose services. The union in July struck a deal with the Healey administration to avert layoffs.
“We welcome the change and look forward to working with the new commissioner to restore adequate working conditions for our members and services for clients,” SEIU Local 509 President David Foley said in a statement to the News Service.
In her message, Doyle listed accomplishments during her tenure, including launching the Behavioral Health Help Line and community behavioral health centers, expanding community-based services, modernizing DMH’s data and analytics infrastructure, and establishing the Office of Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention. She also mentioned streamlining and reducing wait times for admission into intensive residential treatment programs and clinically intensive residential treatment programs, which Healey’s budget had also attempted to shutter.
“I’ve spent 23 total years working toward DMH’s mission of supporting mental health needs across our state,” Doyle said. “This work has always been a calling for me, and I’m planning to find new ways to continue toward the same mission from outside DMH.”
Doyle’s departure marks the latest shakeup for the Healey administration. Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh stepped down in July, and Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy retired this week.
New HHS Secretary Kiame Mahaniah said in a message to staff Friday that officials were “exceptionally grateful” to Doyle.