Francine Arienti has over 25 years of experience working to address the housing, services and support needs of people with behavioral health conditions and people who experience homelessness through direct service; technical assistance (TA) and training; evaluation; and policy support. As TAC’s Human Services Director, she works with TAC’s Executive Director and Senior Consultants to coordinate project development and management for all of TAC’s human services work.

Ms. Arienti manages and provides direct TA and consulting support for several large federal and state-funded projects. Currently, she co-directs TAC’s Systems Alignment Innovation Hub, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help practice-based organizations in low-income and BIPOC communities to expand and utilize the evidence base for solutions that improve health outcomes and reduce racial and social disparities. She also manages TAC’s role in delivering TA to Washington State on implementing Medicaid-funded supportive housing and supported employment services. Ms. Arienti recently managed and provided TA and subject matter expertise on state Medicaid and housing agency partnership development and the implementation of best practice housing-related supports under TA initiatives sponsored by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She has directed TAC’s work with the state of Massachusetts to evaluate and improve the quality of care in its Medicaid-funded children’s behavioral health services, and as part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) national evaluation of its homeless grant portfolio, which included assessing fidelity to evidence-based practices for people with mental and substance use disorders who were also experiencing homelessness. She has managed several large homeless TA grants and contracts for SAMHSA and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and has coauthored several publications on evidence-based and best practices for people who experience homelessness and people who have behavioral health needs.

Recent Publications

Boosting the Power of Harm Reduction: Strategies to Build a Coordinated & Culturally Responsive System of Care for People with SUDs Experiencing Homelessness (fact sheets)

Mobile Crisis Teams: A State Planning Guide for Medicaid-Funded Crisis Response

Implementation of the 988 Hotline: A Framework for State & Local Systems Planning

Effective Behavioral Health Crisis Care for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Olmstead at 20: Using the Vision of Olmstead to Decriminalize Mental Illness