Beth Buxton, LCSW, is the Director of Maternal Health Initiatives at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She has over twenty years of professional experience in the field of community and public health with her current focus on policy and programming for maternal and child health services. Ms. Buxton is responsible for overseeing the Early Intervention Partnerships Program which provides home-based maternal and infant health assessment and monitoring, health education and guidance, and screening and appropriate referrals to high risk pregnant and postpartum families.

 

Additionally, Ms. Buxton coordinates the Massachusetts Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, supporting experts in reviewing all pregnancy-associated deaths in Massachusetts in a systematic manner, and facilitating the committee's reporting of major findings. She also is responsible for implementing postpartum depression legislation, working with health care providers and health plans to implement standards for effective screening, and promulgating regulations requiring annual data reporting. Ms. Buxton's other responsibilities include working with the Department of Corrections on developing standards of care for pregnant and postpartum inmates, and collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families (DCF) to develop and implement training on postpartum depression for DCF Social Workers.

 

In 2017, Ms. Buxton received the Boston University School of Social Work Alumni Association award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Social Work and she was awarded a citation of recognition from the Massachusetts House of Representatives for her Tireless Commitment to Advancing Policy for Postpartum Depression and Family Programs. Ms. Buxton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in psychology from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell Massachusetts and a Master’s in Social Work degree with a focus on Macro work from Boston University in Boston Massachusetts. She retains her Massachusetts License in Clinical Social Work.