Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
February 9, 2004, Vol. 04-14

Grant Availability: Women's Behavioral Health Systems Building: Innovative Ideas for Local and State Collaboration

The Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Division of Perinatal Systems and Women's Health (DPSWH), has recently issued a grant announcement on Women's Behavioral Health Systems Building: Innovative Ideas for Local and State Collaboration.

Letter of Intent Due Date: February 16, 2004

Application Due Date: April 16, 2004

Funding Amount: $200,000 to fund up to two (2) projects, for three (3) years, with awards up to $100,000 per project for each budget year

More information can be found at: http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/preview/guidancemchb/hrsa04063.htm#review

The purpose of this DPSWH project is to fund innovative strategies focusing on the collaboration between mental health, addiction and primary care agencies to foster coordination of services and supportive policies for women of reproductive age. According to the Surgeon General's 1999 Report on Mental Health, it is estimated that about 20% of the US population is affected by mental health disorders. In any given year, about 28 - 30 % of the population has either a mental health or addictive disorder and individuals with a co-occurring disorder represent about 3% of the population. Nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year. This estimate translates to over 12.4 million women who require behavioral health services annually. (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm). Depressive disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.

Successful applicants must document the development of horizontal linkages between primary care services for women of reproductive age with mental health and addiction services. The intent is to initiate and/or support local level, community-driven approaches that include all levels of government, national, state and local service and policy groups and, particularly, grass roots organizations. Innovative approaches are expected to incorporate technology as well as direct staff services. For example, an innovative approach could be to implement a completed referral process among primary care and mental health service providers through the use of technology. In rural areas which may lack mental health providers, for example, the innovative approach might use telehealth for staff mentoring, training of local providers or client consultation. An innovative approach using direct staff services could be the use of specified personnel to assure linkages and services for clients across horizontal networks.

A unique characteristic of MCHB funded programs is the development and mobilization of strong community coalitions of consumers, local and state governments, the private sector, schools, providers and neighborhood organizations to improve systems of care for women and children. To that end, the applicant must demonstrate mental health and addiction consumer and advocacy group's input at each stage of the planning process and program implementation as the development of linkages continue. Through the development of an innovative horizontal network of care, current local and state policies may be restructured to become more inclusive of consumers and advocacy groups. Plans for sustainability beyond the grant cycle must be described so linkages will continue, improve and sustain themselves after the federal grant period is completed.

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.