Description

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2014 Statewide Consumer Network grants. The purpose of this program is to improve mental health service delivery to people with serious mental illnesses. In so doing, it seeks to enhance statewide mental health consumer-run and -controlled organizations to promote service system capacity and infrastructure development that is consumer-driven, recovery-focused and resiliency­-oriented. Toward that end, the program goals are to enhance consumer participation, voice, and empowerment statewide and to promote activities related to: partnership development, peer support, training and skills development, trauma-informed peer support, integrated care and wellness, and/or health reform as part of the recovery process for consumers.

The Statewide Consumer Network program also seeks to address the needs of underserved and under-represented consumers, including those from ethnic, racial, or cultural minority groups, service needs related to gender, veterans, those who have histories of chronic homelessness, those with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders, young adults, sexual orientation and gender identity minority individuals, and those who have been involved in the criminal justice system.

SAMHSA has demonstrated that behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people recover from mental and substance use disorders. Behavioral health services improve health status and reduce health care and other costs to society. Continued improvement in the delivery and financing of prevention, treatment and recovery support services provides a cost effective opportunity to advance and protect the nation’s health. To continue to improve the delivery and financing of prevention, treatment and recovery support services, SAMHSA has identified eight Strategic Initiatives to focus the Agency’s work on improving lives and capitalizing on emerging opportunities. The Statewide Consumer Network program closely aligns with SAMHSA’s Recovery Support Strategic Initiative. As part of the Strategic Initiative, SAMHSA funded the Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS-TACS) to promote the widespread adoption of recovery concepts and practices throughout the United States. The BRSS-TACS will help facilitate the dissemination of information among consumers, families, and youth about health care reform initiated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Statewide Consumer Network Program grants are authorized under Section 520A of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Mental Health and Mental Disorders Topic Area HP 2020-MHMD.

Eligibility

SAMHSA is limiting eligibility for this program to mental health consumer-controlled organizations only that are domestic public and private nonprofit entities, tribal and urban indian organizations, and/or community- and faith-based organizations. A primary goal of the program is to strengthen the capacity of consumers to act as agents of transformation in influencing the type and amount of services, so they must be an integral part of an organization that supports individuals with a serious mental illness or who have received public mental health services, and ensures that their mental health care is consumer driven with access to recovery support services. Therefore, only organizations controlled and managed by mental health consumers are eligible to apply

Consumer-controlled organizations must meet the following requirements:

• An applicant organization must complete the Certificate of Eligibility (see Appendix K of this RFA) indicating that the applicant meets all eligibility requirements.

In order to strengthen and expand the impact of this program across the nation and ensure broad geographic distribution, SAMHSA will make only one award per state, territory, or tribe and is limiting eligibility to applicants in states, territories, and tribes that do not have a currently funded Statewide Consumer Network grant.

See Appendix L of this RFA for a listing of states, territories, and tribes with a currently funded Statewide Consumer Network grant. Organizations located in these jurisdictions are not eligible to apply. Tribes, regardless of location, are eligible to apply providing they do not have a currently funded grant.

The statutory authority for this program prohibits grants to for-profit agencies.

Award Information

Funding Mechanism: Grant

Anticipated Total Available Funding: $490,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: Up to 5

Anticipated Award Amount: Up to $98,000 per year

Length of Project: Up to 3 years

Cost Sharing/Match Required?: No

Proposed budgets cannot exceed $98,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) in any year of the proposed project. Annual continuation awards will depend on the availability of funds, grantee progress in meeting project goals and objectives, timely submission of required data and reports, and compliance with all terms and conditions of award.

Funding estimates for this announcement are based on an annualized Continuing Resolution and do not reflect the final FY 2014 appropriation. Applicants should be aware that funding amounts are subject to the availability of funds.

These awards will be made as grants.