Janet  Cummings

Dr. Janet Cummings is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health.  She is a nationally recognized expert on issues pertaining to access and quality of behavioral health care and the role of the safety-net in meeting the needs of underserved populations with mental health and substance use disorders.  Her research examines: the role of safety-net clinics and schools in facilitating access to behavioral health care for low-income populations; accessibility and geographic distribution of the behavioral health workforce and system; impact of state policies on mental health and substance use treatment; racial/ethnic disparities in mental health treatment; and mental health care quality among Medicaid-enrolled children.  Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

From 2018 to 2024, Dr. Cummings served as the Director of the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) School Mental Health Initiative for the Southeast U.S, which was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  This Initiative provided training and technical assistance activities to school mental health leaders in the Southeast region to help them advance comprehensive school mental health systems in their states and school districts.