VA Discretionary Funding Fiscal Year 2023

Mount Rogers Community Services Prevention Services will implement evidence-based programs, practices, and strategies to shift community norms, change individuals’ perceptions and behaviors, and train community members and staff to identify signs and symptoms of mental health disorders. School personnel, emergency first responders, law enforcement, parents and caregivers of youth at risk for SMI or SED, and staff at primary care facilities in the service area will be provided training in Mental Health First Aid, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper Training, and ACE Interface/Trauma Informed Care. Proposed project goals include an increase in outreach/engagement to related workforce understanding of mental health-related practices and activities for identification and referral, an increase in the capacity of school personnel, emergency responders, law enforcement, parents and caregivers, and staff at primary care facilities to recognize signs and symptoms of trauma and mental health disorders, and then refer individuals to appropriate professional help, and an increase and expansion of community service capacity to address the needs of individuals with mental health or related services. Mount Rogers Community Services Mental Health Awareness Training project plans to reach 332 unduplicated individuals in year 1, 345 in year 2, 355 in year 3, 365 in year 4, and 375 in year 5, for a total of 1,772 individuals reached throughout the lifetime of the project.

The proposed MRCS Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) project will promote resilience, trauma-informed approaches and equity in the Counties of Smyth, Wythe, Bland, Carroll, Grayson, and the City of Galax. Implementing guidance and leadership strategies outlined within the Strategic Prevention Framework, the project team will engage a diverse coalition of community stakeholders in the development of a community needs and resources assessment and strategic plan that address the specific needs of rural communities recovering from collective trauma in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the project will build partnerships and awareness around issues facing high-risk youth and families, geriatric populations, and marginalized communities, and expand trauma-informed behavioral health services that support youth and their families. The program will expand the Peer Family Support program to include an additional Family Support Partner; increase the number of consumers, community members, and MRCS staff receiving training and resources around mental health, trauma, resiliency, and wellness. Specific training will be provided to staff in cultural and linguistic competency, to engage and retain clients from diverse populations. We will also increase services and support around the geriatric population, individuals in our communities who have been most isolated during the pandemic. This project will expand our agency’s availability and responsiveness to the growing behavioral healthcare needs and challenges facing our service area. The proposed project will serve 500 individuals in year 1, and a total of 2,157 over the life of the project.

The proposed Mental Health Awareness Training Project by the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) will prepare and train others on how to appropriately and safely respond to individuals with behavioral health disorders, particularly individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). The main purpose of this project is to train individuals to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders and deploy crisis de-escalation techniques and educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for persons with behavioral health disorders. By using evidenced-based approaches such as CIT and MHFA, this project will more effectively respond to the needs of persons affected by co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Services and training for this project will be delivered in Richmond, a mid-sized city of 230,436 residents located in central Virginia, The MHAT grant will respond to the growing need for more education and awareness regarding persons with behavioral health disorders than what currently exists by focusing on three key aspects: 1) Deliver Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to law enforcement officers in Richmond; 2) Provide Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to the community (virtually and in-person if possible; and 3) Provide resources and referrals for individuals in need of community-based behavioral health services. CIT will target officers in the Richmond Police Department, City of Richmond Sheriff's Office and Virginia Commonwealth University Campus Police. CIT trains officers to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, employ crisis de-escalation techniques and educate individuals about resources that are available in the community for individuals with a behavioral health disorder. MHFA will be provided to school personnel, veterans groups, community agencies and interested community members. The project goals include: 1)To increase mental health awareness and skills regarding de-escalation techniques for local law enforcement by offering evidence-based programming; 2) To increase mental health awareness and resource/referral knowledge in the community by offering evidence-based programming and resource information; and 3) To establish infrastructure and ongoing trainings and resource referral by developing a mental health awareness training plan. The MHAT Project will train 1,350 unduplicated individuals over the 5 years (270 in each of years 1-5).

Abstract Plain language summary – The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine will implement intensive training in suicide prevention and mental wellness across its four-campus system and incorporate MindfulMEDS, a customized mental health and wellness app, to connect students to screening tools, educational programs, community resources, and crisis response support to combat depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation experienced by med students. Project name – VCOM Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Program Population to be served - The proposed multi-platform, multi-disciplinary program will target all medical students enrolled at The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). VCOM is a financially stable, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) educational institution whose mission is to prepare globally-minded, community-focused physicians to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved areas of populations. VCOM graduates over 500 physicians annually and is an established national leader in the education of primary care physicians (58% of all graduates) with 50% of graduates practicing in rural and medically underserved communities. There are four VCOM campuses located across the Appalachian and Delta Regions in Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana. Eighty-four percent of VCOM students are from Appalachian and Delta region states, and 47% of VCOM students come from communities with a population size of less than 30,000. VCOM students are more likely female (55%) compared to male (45%); have a mean age of 24-26 years; and are about 67% white, 19% Asian, and 14% underrepresented minority. Strategies/interventions – This grant will further build and enhance the network of counseling resources provided to VCOM students and implement the MindfulMEDS mental health and wellness screening app and educational programming across all four VCOM campus locations. Project goals and measurable activities – Project goals include: (1) Enhance mental health services for all VCOM students across all 4 campuses; (2) Increase awareness and education about mental health and substance use disorders, and promote help-seeking behavior among the student body; (3) Improve the identification and treatment of at-risk VCOM students so that they can successfully complete their medical education; and (4) Reduce access to lethal means among students with identified suicide risk. Measurable activities towards the accomplishment of these goals include: Objective 1 – Develop multi-disciplinary care teams comprised of mental health counselors, student services, academic advisors, facilities as appropriate, faculty members, and administration. Objective 2 – Design and implement educational modules in the MindfulMeds App and Beyond the Medicine series to promote life skills, resiliency, and social connectedness. Objective 3.a – Provide specific training to care teams in terms of crisis intervention and suicide prevention, including lethal means counseling, QPR, de-escalation, referral process, screening, legal considerations, and motivational interviewing strategies, among others. Objective 3.b – Provide specific training for students in suicide prevention. Objective 3.c – Encourage and promote the use of MindfulMeds app and screening tools for suicidality, depression, and substance abuse among VCOM students. Objective 4 – Develop crisis response protocols for care teams, to include linkages with outside mental health and community resources. Number of people to be served: annually – approximately 2,260; during project lifetime – approximately 6,780

There is a need to increase capacity at each participating call center to meet the expected increased demand. The goals in this area are statewide, and include: increase our in-state answer rate to 90% by the end of the grant period, answer 95% of calls within 20 seconds and 90% of calls within 15 seconds by the end of the grant period, and achieve an abandonment rate of less than 5% and a rollover rate less than 10%. In the interim, these investments will focus on decreasing our national rollover rate to 15% by July, 2022. To reach these goals, a range of capacity building activities will be required at the call center level. Thus, DBHDS will enter into subrecipient funding agreements with the regional call centers as well as all other NSPL call centers in the state. The focus of partnerships with call centers who are not directly contracted for a region will be to build collaborative relationships and assess call patterns and build capacity to serve as a back up call center. Each call center (regional as well as back up) will submit a detailed plan in terms of the specific approach to increasing capacity, and will be required to participate in monthly Crisis Workforce Innovations meetings with partners across the state. Plans will include activities designed to ensure responses during times of spikes in call volumes or public events.

Project Abstract Summary The Virginia Youth Suicide Prevention Program, coordinated by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Injury and Violence Prevention Program (IVPP), seeks to implement and expand suicide prevention efforts statewide for youth aged 10-24 years, with special emphasis on identified priority groups of Black youth, LGBTQ+ youth, and middle school-aged female youth. In addition to the identified priority groups, Virginia will also focus on comprehensive suicide prevention efforts for K-12 and Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) students, juvenile justice-involved youth and youth in foster care, youth experiencing substance use, and Indian tribes. An estimated 328,840 youth will be reached in some capacity each year, with 1,644,202 youth across the lifespan of the grant. The goals of this project are to: increase the capacity of Virginia’s system infrastructure to improve early intervention, screening, and assessment services to youth at risk for mental or emotional disorders that may lead to suicidal ideation or suicide attempt; provide better suicide care and appropriate community-based mental health services for youth at risk for suicide; enhance the VDH Youth Suicide Prevention Program’s capacity to monitor effectiveness of services and for research, technical assistance, and policy development; and increase Virginia’s capacity to improve its comprehensive, health-equitable, and data-inspired approach to youth suicide prevention, and recognize and respond rapidly and appropriately to suicide risk among youth. Interventions and strategies used will include early intervention, screening, and assessment services; linkages to care; development of curriculum delivery and training, standards of care, and postvention plans to support comprehensive suicide prevention; enhanced data collection, monitoring, and analysis; efforts to reduce access to lethal means; collaboration with youth advisors and people with lived experience; and continued or new partnerships with other state agencies, health systems, and community organizations statewide. Over the five-year project period, the objectives are to: ? Support 134 school divisions to adopt the Virginia Department of Education Suicide Prevention Guidelines; ? Provide 36,346 IHE first-year students with access to comprehensive mental health services; ? Train staff in juvenile justice environments using evidence-based suicide prevention curriculum to reach 650 youth in correctional facilities; ? Provide mental health services, suicide risk screening, and linkages of care in 3 comprehensive harm reduction sites with planned expansion; ? Champion trauma-informed care through training healthcare providers in suicide prevention for 5,300 Virginia youth in foster care, including 778 unaccompanied refugee minors; ? Implement and progress Zero Suicide frameworks with the goal of reaching 110 hospitals; ? Collect and analyze data on 100% of Virginia suicide prevention strategies; ? Facilitate postvention services for Virginia families who have been impacted by suicide; ? Reduce access to lethal means through Virginia Lock Your Meds initiatives, Safe Storage map development, and suicide hotspot mapping to improve in environmental infrastructure; and ? Build collaborations within the Virginia Suicide Prevention Interagency Advisory Group to establish relationships with the Virginia Indian, Latino, African American, and LGBTQ+ Advisory Boards, youth advisors, and people with lived experience.