03 Feb Funding Alert! Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Behavioral Health Grants
Health Resources and Services Administration
Does your organization provide behavioral health care services in rural areas? The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently opened its annual funding opportunity, the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Behavioral Health Care Support (RCORP-BHS). RCORP-BHS is a multi-year initiative that improves access to and quality of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and other behavioral health care services in high-risk rural areas. Ultimately, RCORP-BHS aims to reduce morbidity and mortality of SUD, including opioid use disorder (OUD), in these communities. Applications for this program are due April 19, 2022.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include all domestic public and private entities (nonprofit and for-profit), domestic faith- and community-based organizations, tribes, tribal organizations, state governments, and private institutions of higher education. The applicant organization may be in either an urban or rural area.
In addition, RCORP-BHS requires that recipients form a multi-sector/multi-disciplinary consortium by partnering with at least three other separately owned entities. Consortium members might include Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), educational organizations, criminal justice entities, health care providers, Primary Care Associations, tribes and tribal organizations, state offices of rural health, workforce development boards, and local housing authorities, among others. At least half of the consortium members must be located in HRSA-designated rural areas.
What are the program details?
Proposed RCORP-BHS projects must implement activities that support three overarching program goals:
- Address rural resident’s barriers to accessing quality, integrated SUD and other behavioral health care services. Examples of allowable activities could include promoting broadband access, implementing rural transportation models, using the Health Information Technology model, collaborating to support workforce pipeline efforts, and minor alterations or renovations to facilitate SUD, behavioral health, and primary care service co-location.
- Improve the quality and sustainability of services by supporting rural health care providers in offering coordinated, evidence-based, and trauma-informed services. Examples of allowable activities could include training providers on evidence-based methods, assessing organizational readiness, providing other training and professional development activities (including proper insurance coding and billing), and recruiting and retaining the behavioral health workforce.
- Improve the capacity of the behavioral health care system to address risk factors and social determinants of health faced by rural residents. Examples of allowable activities include improving capacity for screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), collaborating with school systems, providing community training in Mental Health First Aid, and increasing access to education and training in the target areas.
Activities will target rural residents who are at risk for, diagnosed with, or in treatment for SUD/OUD and/or co-occurring disorders; their families and caregivers; and impacted community members living in the target service area. For detailed descriptions of allowable activities and consortium eligibility requirements, see the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) available for download here.
The funder expects to award 26 grants of up to $500,000 per year over a four-year period of performance, from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2026.
What makes a project a good fit?
All grant-funded activities (i.e., all service delivery sites) must take place in HRSA-designated rural counties or rural census tracts in urban counties, as defined by the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer. Note that the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy recently expanded the list of areas eligible for rural health funding, with more outlying metro counties now considered to be fully rural.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) encourages applicants to align proposed project activities with the department’s Healthy People 2030 initiative, which establishes and monitors progress toward national health objectives. HRSA may also use RCORP-BHS performance data to demonstrate the program’s support of the HHS Rural Health Task Force’s “Healthy Rural Hometown Initiative (HRI),” which you can read about on page 29 of the HHS Rural Action Plan.
What if I am ready to apply? To move your project forward, take the following action steps as soon as possible:
- View the full NOFO, available here under the “Apply” heading, for a full list of program and consortium requirements and eligible activities.
- Determine whether your potential service delivery sites are eligible using the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer You can search by address or state/county, or you can view a list of eligible counties and census tracts in this document.
- HRSA hosted a technical assistance webinar on Thursday, February 3. Email ruralopioidresponse@hrsa.gov for a link to the webinar recording.
- 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 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. Rosie Brennan, community engagement specialist, will be happy to talk with you about this opportunity and provide you a quote for grant services.
What if I am not ready to apply this year?
Start planning ahead for next year’s round. The general RCORP website has ample FAQs, resources, webinars, and descriptions of other opportunities available. You can also view additional funding opportunities offered through HRSA programs, including its Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
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 nonprofit leaders and faculty and staff from institutions of higher education before and during the application process. AGS also offers several 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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