16 Apr Funding Alert! Grants for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics!

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Attention community-based behavioral health non-profit organizations, local government behavioral health authorities, and existing Certified Community Mental Health Clinics (CCMHC) and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC)! Under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) is accepting applications for 2023 CCBHC programs for organizations seeking to become CCBHCs under the planning, development, and implementation (PDI) and improvement and advancement (IA) for existing CCHBCs.

The CCBHC model is designed to ensure access to coordinated comprehensive behavioral health care. CCBHCs are required to serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay, place of residence, or age – including developmentally appropriate care for children and youth. CCBHCs must meet standards for the range of services they provide and they are required to get people into care quickly. An important feature of the CCBHC model is that it requires crisis services that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CCBHCs are required to provide a comprehensive array of behavioral health services so that people who need care don’t have to piece together the behavioral health support they need across multiple providers. In addition, CCBHCs must provide care coordination to help people navigate behavioral health care, physical health care, social services, and the other systems in which they are involved.

The purpose of these grant programs are to transform community behavioral health systems and provide comprehensive, coordinated behavioral health care by:

• (PDI) establishing new CCBHC programs that need planning and support to come into compliance with the CCBHC Certification Criteria within one year of participating in the CCBHC-PDI program; and
• (IA) enhancing and improving CCBHCs that meet the CCBHC Certification Criteria; providing a comprehensive range of outreach, screening, assessment, treatment, care coordination, and recovery supports based on a needs assessment with fidelity to the CCBHC Certification Criteria; and supporting recovery from mental illness and/or substance use disorders by providing access to high-quality mental health and substance use services, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

Both applications are due on May 22, 2023.

Who is eligible to apply?

PDI: This opportunity is for community-based mental health non-profit organizations or organizations that are either part of a local government mental/behavioral health authority; or operated under the authority of the Indian Health Services, an Indian tribe, tribal organization; or an Urban Indian Organization.

IA: This opportunity is for existing CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program sites; former and current CCBHC-Expansion grant recipients that meet CCBHC Certification Criteria requirements and did not receive funding in FY2022; organizations that have been certified by the state as a CCBHC. This may include government organizations, other tribal entities, education organizations, and non-profit organizations.

What are the program details?

SAMHSA expects that this program will improve behavioral health care for individuals across the lifespan by supporting providers to meet Federal CCBHC criteria, and:

• Increase access to and availability of high-quality services that are responsive to the needs of the community;
• Support recovery from mental health and substance use disorder challenges via comprehensive community-based mental and substance use disorder treatment and supports;
• Use evidence-based practices that address the needs of the individuals the CCBHC serves;
• Continually work to measure and improve the quality of services; and
• Meaningfully involve consumers and family members in their own care and the broader governance of the CCBHC.

Through direct service or formal partnerships with designated collaborating organizations, CCBHCs are responsible for providing nine core services: 1) crisis services; 2) treatment planning; 3) screening, assessment, diagnosis, and risk assessment; 4) outpatient mental health and substance use services; 5) targeted case management; 6) outpatient primary care screening and monitoring; 7) community-based mental health care for Veterans; 8) peer, family support and counselor services; and 9) psychiatric rehabilitation services.

CCBHC-IA and CCBHC-PDI projects can be up to 48 months with an annual award amount of $1,000,000. Projects need to include a project director and evaluator, each at 50% full-time equivalent (FTE). SAMHSA will review these staff credentials and job descriptions for awarded projects. For a full list of program documentation and required attachments, review the full notice of funding opportunities, CCBHC-PDI NOFO and CCBHC-IA NOFO, among these will be a letter from the state or territory Mental Health Authority, letters of commitment from direct service provider organizations.

What makes a project a good fit? SAMHSA expects recipients to use grant funds to implement high quality programs, practices, and policies that are recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and equity-based as a means of improving behavioral health.

The CCBHC-PDI program intends to assist organizations in the planning for and development and implementation of a CCBHC that meets the CCBHC Certification Criteria; provide a comprehensive range of outreach, screening, assessment, treatment, care coordination, and recovery supports based on a needs assessment aligning with CCBHC criteria; and support recovery from mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders (SUD) by providing access to high-quality mental health and SUD services, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. This includes any individual with a mental illness or substance use disorder including those with serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorder (SUD) including opioid use; children and youth with serious emotional disturbances (SED); individuals with co-occurring disorders (COD), and people experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis.

The intent of the CCBHC-IA program is to improve access to community-based mental health and substance use disorder treatment and support, including 24/7 crisis services, to anyone in their service area who needs it, regardless of their ability to pay or place of residence. This includes the special populations indicated above.

While SAMHSA does not indicate priority populations or competitive presences, any groundwork towards the required activities and program intentions will increase alignment with the agency’s goals.

What if I am ready to apply? To move your project forward, take the following action steps as soon as possible:

• Review the CCBHC-PDI and CCBHC-IA full program solicitations for additional details and allowable activities for each project type;
• Attend the pre-application webinars on (CCBHC-PDI) on April 12, 2023, and (CCBHC-IA) on April 19, 2023;
• Watch our Federal Agency webinar series for a detailed look at SAMHSA’s mission, principles, and strategic priorities; the different centers that administer opportunities; and core elements of SAMHSA grant applications and creating competitive responses.
• Make sure your System for Award Management (SAM) registration is active and be sure you have a Grants.gov profile. You can check your SAM status here: https://sam.gov/content/status-tracker.

What if I need help with this application?

Contact Assel Grant Services (AGS) today! Our team can help with all aspects of preparing the application and managing the grant if you are awarded. If you would like to discuss this possibility, please contact AGS as soon as possible. Julie Assel, GPC, President/CEO, will be happy to talk with you about this opportunity and provide you with a quote for grant services.

What if I am not ready to apply this year?

Start preparing for next year! USDA also has a variety of other programs and funding opportunities available that might be a good fit. The office’s website has ample resources, webinars, and descriptions of available or upcoming opportunities.

How do I learn more about federal grant proposal writing, so my application is more likely to be successful?

AGS is excited to offer a Federal Grants Training Series in 2022! The series is designed to support leaders at institutions of higher education before and during the application process. AGS also offers on-demand webinars on a variety of topics to support the full grant cycle. Check out our website to learn more and sign up for our training newsletter.

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