The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center Mental Health Services (CMHS) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2014 Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) grants.  The purpose of this four-year grant program is to reduce health disparities and improve health care outcomes for racially and ethnically diverse populations by increasing the number of culturally competent behavioral health professionals available to underserved minority populations in the public and private non-profit sectors.

The mental health and substance abuse needs of racial and ethnic minority communities within the United States have been historically underserved  through a limited number of trained practitioners sensitive to the cultural issues or equipped with the language skills that impact effective services delivery.  In 1974, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) established the MFP to enhance services to minority communities through specialized training of mental health professionals in psychiatry, nursing, social work, and psychology.  In 1992, SAMHSA was established, and the MFP was transferred from NIMH to CMHS in SAMHSA.  Eligibility for this grant was expanded by Congress in FY 2007 to include a fifth professional association, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 provided funding to allow SAMHSA to increase the pool of culturally competent mental health professionals by granting professional counselors eligibility to participate in the program.”  Professional counselors are highly trained and well qualified mental health professionals who deliver culturally appropriate behavioral health services to diverse populations. 

Given additional funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 for the new “Minority Fellowship Program Expansion” included as part of the President’s Now is the Time plan, SAMHSA will be working with all grantees to maximize coordination and collaboration where appropriate in support of fellowships and behavioral health specialty training, including mental health and addiction providers who are focusing on youth.

SAMHSA has demonstrated that 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 people and emerging opportunities. Find more information about SAMHSA's Strategic Plan.

The MFP closely aligns with the Affordable Care Act and SAMHSA’s Eight Strategic Initiatives by addressing the current and projected behavioral health workforce shortages and the need to train providers on recovery-based practices. The MFP seeks to address health disparities by providing stipends, specialized training and mentoring supports to individuals that have demonstrated commitment to working in underserved communities and working with underserved populations post fellowship.  (See Appendix H of this RFA titled Addressing Behavioral Health Disparities.)

The Minority Fellowship program will be jointly funded with CMHS, CSAT, and CSAP.  The funds will support behavioral health specialty training and financial support (stipend) for MFP Fellows, but not limited to any of the three domains: substance abuse prevention, substance abuse treatment, and mental health treatment. 

Minority Fellowship Program grants are authorized under Section 520A, 509 and 516 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.  This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Mental Health and Mental Disorders Topic area HP2020-MHMD and/or Substance Abuse Topic Area HP 2020-SA.

House Report. 112-331 which accompanied the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 stated that, “[w]ithin the funds provided for the Minority Fellowship Program, the conferees have provided an increase in funding to allow SAMHSA to increase the pool of culturally competent mental health professionals by granting professional counselors eligibility to participate in the program.”  Professional counselors are highly trained and well qualified mental health professionals who deliver culturally appropriate behavioral health services to diverse populations. 

The ANA, ApA, APA, CSWE, and the AAMFT along with their affiliates, have direct involvement in curriculum development, school accreditation, and pre-/post-doctoral training.  These organizations have experience in working directly with university training programs from which the pools of participants are selected.  These are the only organizations that have the infrastructure and expertise in place to administer this program in their respective organizations.  They already have mechanisms and databases in place to identify students serving underserved populations.

National Professional Counselor Organizations:

For the grant for the National Professional Counselor Organization, in order to the meet the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, eligibility is restricted to national organizations serving mental health professional counselors that are dedicated to the growth, advancement and enhancement of the counseling profession, including promoting the professional competence of professional counselors.   Applicant organizations must--either solely or in partnership with its affiliates--have direct involvement in curriculum development, school accreditation, and pre-/post-doctoral training, and must have demonstrated mechanisms and databases in place for identifying candidate students for Minority Fellowship awards.  Organizations that meet these criteria are uniquely qualified to administer the Minority Fellowship program.  Note that only one award will be made to a National Professional Counselor Organization.

All applicant professional counselor organizations must complete the Certificate of Eligibility (see Appendix J of this RFA) indicating that the applicant meets all eligibility requirements and have provided the necessary information as specified in the Certificate of Eligibility.  The Certificate of Eligibility should be included in Attachment 5 of this RFA.

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