Funding Opportunity

Standard Grant Announcement: SVC

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I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

1. INTRODUCTION

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announces its intent to solicit applications for Services Grants. This program announcement must be considered in conjunction with a full Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), which specifies the grant program's purpose, target population, and other requirements of the program. These grants will expand and strengthen effective, culturally appropriate substance abuse and mental health services at the State and local levels. The services implemented through SAMHSA's Services Grants must incorporate the best objective information available regarding effectiveness and acceptability. In general, the services implemented through SAMHSA's Services Grants will have strong evidence of effectiveness. However, because the evidence base is limited in some areas, SAMHSA may fund some services for which the evidence base, while limited, is sound. SAMHSA expects that the services funded through these grants will be sustained by the grantee beyond the term of the grant.

SAMHSA also funds grants under three other standard grant announcements:

• Infrastructure Grants support identification and implementation of systems changes but are not designed to fund services.

• Best Practices Planning and Implementation Grants help communities and providers identify practices to effectively meet local needs, develop strategic plans for implementing/adapting those practices and pilot-test practices prior to full-scale implementation.

• Service to Science Grants document and evaluate innovative practices that address critical substance abuse and mental health service gaps but that have not yet been formally evaluated.

This announcement describes the general program design and provides application instructions for all SAMHSA Services Grants. The availability of funds for specific Services Grants will be announced in supplementary Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) in the Federal Register and at www.grants.gov - the Federal grant announcement web page.

SAMHSA's Services Grants are authorized under Section 509, 516 and/or 520A of the Public Health Service Act, unless otherwise specified in a NOFA in the Federal Register and on www.grants.gov .

Typically, funding for Services Grants will be targeted to specific populations and/or issue areas, which will be specified in the NOFAs. The NOFAs will also:

• Specify total funding available for the first year of the grants and the expected size and number of awards;
• Provide the application deadline;
• Note any specific program requirements for each funding opportunity; and
• Include any limitations or exceptions to the general provisions in this announcement (e.g., eligibility, allowable activities).

It is, therefore, critical that you consult the NOFA as well as this announcement in developing your grant application.

The Services Grant program is designed to address gaps in substance abuse and mental health services and/or to increase the ability of States, units of local government, Indian tribes, tribal organizations and governments, and community- and faith-based organizations to help specific populations or geographic areas with serious, emerging mental health and substance abuse problems. SAMHSA intends that its Services Grants result in the delivery of services as soon as possible and no later than 4 months after award. SAMHSA's Services Grants may include substance abuse prevention, substance abuse treatment and/or mental health services. Throughout this announcement, SAMHSA will use the term "services" to refer to all three types of services. The NOFA will provide guidance on the particular type of service to be provided through each funding opportunity. Applicants must refer to the NOFA for required activities and exceptions to allowable activities.

2.1 Documenting the Evidence-Base for Services to be Implemented

The services implemented through SAMHSA's Services Grants must incorporate the best objective information available regarding the effectiveness and acceptability of the services to be implemented. In general, the services implemented through SAMHSA's Services Grants will have strong evidence of effectiveness. However, because the evidence base is limited in some areas, SAMHSA may fund some services for which the evidence of effectiveness is based on formal consensus among recognized experts in the field and/or evaluation studies that have not been published in the peer reviewed literature.

Applicants must document in their applications that the services/practices they propose to implement are evidence-based services/practices. In addition, applicants must justify use of the proposed services/practices for the target population along with any adaptations or modifications necessary to meet the unique needs of the target population or otherwise increase the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes. Further guidance on each of these requirements is provided below.

Documenting the Evidence-Based Practice/Service

SAMHSA has already determined that certain services/practices are solidly evidence-based services/practices and encourages applicants to select services/practices from following sources (though this is not required):

• SAMHSA's National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP) (see Appendix C)

• Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Evidence Based Practice Tool Kits (see Appendix D)

• List of Effective Substance Abuse Treatment Practices (see Appendix E)

• Additional practices identified in the NOFA for a specific funding opportunity, if applicable

Applicants proposing services/practices that are not included in the above-referenced sources must provide a narrative justification that summarizes the evidence for effectiveness and acceptability of the proposed service/practice. The preferred evidence of effectiveness and acceptability will include the findings from clinical trials, efficacy and/or effectiveness studies published in the peer-reviewed literature.

In areas where little or no research has been published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, the applicant may present evidence involving studies that have not been published in the peer-reviewed research literature and/or documents describing formal consensus among recognized experts. If consensus documents are presented, they must describe consensus among multiple experts whose work is recognized and respected by others in the field. Local recognition of an individual as a respected or influential person at the community level is not considered a "recognized expert" for this purpose.

In presenting evidence in support of the proposed service/practice, applicants must show that the evidence presented is the best objective information available.

Justifying Selection of the Service/Practice for the Target Population

Regardless of the strength of the evidence-base for the service/practice, all applicants must show that the proposed service/practice is appropriate for the proposed target population. Ideally, this evidence will include research findings on effectiveness and acceptability specific to the proposed target population. However, if such evidence is not available, the applicant should provide a justification for using the proposed service/practice with the target population. This justification might involve, for example, a description of adaptations to the proposed service/practice based on other research involving the target population.

Justifying Adaptations/Modifications of the Proposed Service/Practice

SAMHSA has found that a high degree of faithfulness or "fidelity" (see Glossary) to the original model for an evidence-based service/practice increases the likelihood that positive outcomes will be achieved when the model is used by others. Therefore, SAMHSA encourages fidelity to the original evidence-based service/practice to be implemented. However, SAMHSA recognizes that adaptations or modifications to the original model may be necessary for a variety of reasons:

• To allow implementers to use resources efficiently

• To adjust for specific needs of the client population

• To address unique characteristics of the local community where the service/practice will be implemented

All applicants must describe and justify any adaptations or modifications to the proposed service/practice that will be made.

2.2 Services Delivery

SAMHSA's Services Grant funds must be used primarily to support direct services, including the following types of activities:

• Conducting outreach and pre-service strategies to expand access to treatment or prevention services to underserved populations. If you propose to provide only outreach and pre-service strategies, you must show that your organization is an effective and integral part of a network of service providers.

• Purchasing or providing direct treatment (including screening, assessment, and care management) or prevention services for populations at risk. Treatment must be provided in outpatient, day treatment or intensive outpatient, or residential programs.

• Purchasing or providing "wrap-around" services (see Glossary) (e.g., child care, vocational, educational and transportation services) designed to improve access and retention.

• Collecting data using specified tools and standards to measure and monitor treatment or prevention services and costs. (No more than 20% of the total grant award may be used for data collection and evaluation.)

2.3 Infrastructure Development (maximum 15% of total grant award)

Although SAMHSA expects that its Services Grant funds will be used primarily for direct services, SAMHSA recognizes that infrastructure changes may be needed to support service delivery expansion in some instances. You may use up to 15% of the total Services Grant award for the following types of infrastructure development, if necessary to support the direct service expansion of the grant project.

• Building partnerships to ensure the success of the project and entering into service delivery and other agreements.

• Developing or changing the infrastructure to expand treatment or prevention services.

• Training to assist treatment or prevention providers and community support systems to identify and address mental health or substance abuse issues.

2.4 Data and Performance Measurement

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (P.L.103-62, or "GPRA") requires all Federal agencies to set program performance targets and report annually on the degree to which the previous year's targets were met.

Agencies are expected to evaluate their programs regularly and to use results of these evaluations to explain their successes and failures and justify requests for funding.

To meet the GPRA requirements, SAMHSA must collect performance data (i.e., "GPRA data") from grantees. Grantees are required to report these GPRA data to SAMHSA on a timely basis.

Specifically, grantees will be required to provide data on a set of required measures, as specified in the NOFA. The data collection tools to be used for reporting the required data will be provided in the application kits distributed by SAMHSA's clearinghouses and posted on SAMHSA's website along with each NOFA. In your application, you must demonstrate your ability to collect and report on these measures, and you may be required to provide some baseline data.

The terms and conditions of the grant award also will specify the data to be submitted and the schedule for submission. Grantees will be required to adhere to these terms and conditions of award.

Applicants should be aware that SAMHSA is working to develop a set of required core performance measures for each of SAMHSA's standard grants (i.e., Services Grants, Infrastructure Grants, Best Practices Planning and Implementation Grants, and Service-to-Science Grants). As this effort proceeds, some of the data collection and reporting requirements included in SAMHSA's NOFAs may change. All grantees will be expected to comply with any changes in data collection requirements that occur during the grantee's project period.

2.5 Grantee Meetings

You must plan to send a minimum of two people (including the Project Director) to at least one joint grantee meeting in each year of the grant, and you must include funding for this travel in your budget. At these meetings, grantees will present the results of their projects and Federal staff will provide technical assistance. Each meeting will be 3 days. These meetings will usually be held in the Washington , D.C. , area and attendance is mandatory.

2.6 Evaluation

Grantees must evaluate their projects, and you are required to describe your evaluation plans in your application. The evaluation should be designed to provide regular feedback to the project to improve services. The evaluation must include both process and outcome components. Process and outcome evaluations must measure change relating to project goals and objectives over time compared to baseline information. Control or comparison groups are not required. You must consider your evaluation plan when preparing the project budget.

Process components should address issues such as:

• How closely did implementation match the plan?
• What types of deviation from the plan occurred?
• What led to the deviations?
• What effect did the deviations have on the planned intervention and evaluation?
• Who provided (program, staff) what services (modality, type, intensity, duration), to whom (individual characteristics), in what context (system, community), and at what cost (facilities, personnel, dollars)?

Outcome components should address issues such as:

• What was the effect of treatment on participants?
• What program/contextual factors were associated with outcomes?
• What individual factors were associated with outcomes?
• How durable were the effects?

No more than 20% of the total grant award may be used for evaluation and data collection, including GPRA and incentives for completing the evaluation.