Community Resilience and Recovery Initiative

Post Date

April 5th 2010

Application Due Date

May 28th 2010

Funding Opportunity Number

SM-10-015

CFDA Number(s)

93.243

Funding Instrument Type(s)

Cooperative Agreement

Funding Activity Categories

Health

Number of Awards

5

Eligibility Categories

Other

Eligible applicants are mayors’ offices or the offices of county executives or Territorial governments, or the highest ranking official and/or the duly authorized official of a federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribe or tribal organization in communities of high levels of unemployment. Tribal organization means the recognized body of any AI/AN tribe; any legally established organization of American Indians/Alaska Natives which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of American Indians/Alaska Natives in all phases of its activities. To be eligible, applicants must propose to provide services in a geographic area with at least 60,000 residents, but no more than 100,000 residents. You must identify the geographic area to be served and provide documentation that the population meets these criteria in Attachment 5 of your application. Eligible applicants must provide evidence that the communities they propose to serve had an unemployment rate of at least 12 %, in February of 2009 and that they had an unemployment rate of less than 10% in December of 2007 based on Local Area Unemployment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can access this data at http://www.bls.gov/lau/data.htm. Follow the links for the one screen data search or the multi screen data search to obtain your local information. You are expected to use the data from the smallest jurisdiction with data available that contains your chosen geographic area and provide these data in Attachment 5 of your application. As a place-based initiative, the CRRI depends on coordinating services within a defined area and providing sufficient resources to enable community-level change. In order to achieve this level of change, the population of focus has been limited to no more than 100,000 people. The success of the initiative also requires coordination across several systems to implement a multi-level approach. In order for the initiative to be most effective, the community of focus must include a population of at least 60,000 people to ensure that a sufficient infrastructure is in place. States are not eligible to apply because they do not have the direct connection to the community level that is necessary for this place-based initiative. Non-governmental organizations are not eligible to app

Funding

• Estimated Total Funding:

  $4200000

• Award Range:

  $0 - $1400000

Grant Description

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2010 Community Resilience and Recovery Initiative (CRRI) grants. The purpose of this place-based initiative is to improve behavioral health outcomes through enhanced coordination and evidence-based health promotion, illness prevention, treatment, and recovery support services in communities affected by the recent economic downturn. Through coordinated services the CRRI will work in funded communities to: * Reduce depression and anxiety; * Reduce excessive drinking (and other substance use if the community chooses); * Reduce child maltreatment and family violence; * Enable communities to better identify and respond to suicide risk; * Build a sense of cohesiveness and connectedness; * Enable coordination across service systems and community organizations; and * Improve community resilience and reduce the impact of the economic downturn on behavioral health problems. The intent of the program is to help communities mobilize to better manage behavioral health issues despite budgetary cuts in existing services and to promote a sense of renewal and resilience. The CRRI will use a place-based strategy to implement multiple evidence-based interventions targeted to four levels in the community. It will direct resources towards preventing or intervening early in behavioral health problems. It aims to prevent a downward cycle that leads to chronic declines in community resilience and long term behavioral health issues and unemployment among its residents. The CRRI is intended to develop and evaluate a new approach to targeting communities that are in need of intensive behavioral health interventions due to the recent economic decline. The initiative is not designed to address communities that had extremely high unemployment before the most recent economic downturn. Instead, it is designed to intervene in previously stable communities where the economic downturn poses major barriers or challenges to preserving community-wide behavioral health. A large body of literature shows that economic downturns have negative effects on behavioral health. Americans reported heightened levels of stress and anxiety during the recent financial downturns . During times of recession and high unemployment mental health problems become more prevalent and are related to increases in binge drinking and adolescent substance abuse . This increased need places additional demands on providers , as they experience budget cuts that result in forced reductions in services. Recessions also place great strain on families, as evidenced by increases in family violence during times of economic turmoil . 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 ten Strategic Initiatives to focus the Agency’s work on people and emerging opportunities. More information on these Initiatives is available at the SAMHSA website: http://www.samhsa.gov/About/strategy.aspx. Grantees will be expected to implement a range of evidence based services in community settings including prevention interventions, short-term therapies for depression and anxiety, brief interventions and treatments for problematic alcohol use, psycho-education, motivational interviewing, as well as medication-assisted treatments. Applications responsive to this Request for Application must implement evidence-based or best practices that will create or expand capacity to address the following SAMHSA Strategic Initiatives: * Jobs and Economy - Promote the behavioral health of individuals, families, and communities affected by the economic downturn, the employment of people with mental and substance use disorders, and policies for employers that support behavioral health in the workplace. * Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness - Create prevention prepared communities where individuals, families, schools, workplaces, and communities take action to prevent and reduce mental illness and substance abuse across the lifespan. * Military Families - Support of our service men and women and their families and communities by leading efforts to ensure needed behavioral health services are accessible and outcomes are successful. Like many people affected by the economic downturn, most returning veterans need to seek employment as they reintegrate into the community. They will likely be affected by the reduced availability of jobs and will face similar stresses of other unemployed people. Through this initiative, grantees should work to address the specific behavioral health needs of veterans, and be aware that returning veterans and their families may experience additional stressors because of the experience of multiple deployments coupled with the impact of the recent economic downturn. * Trauma and Justice – Reduce the pervasive, harmful, and costly health impact of violence and trauma by integrating trauma-informed approaches throughout health and behavioral healthcare systems and to divert people with substance use and mental disorders from criminal justice and juvenile justice systems into trauma-informed treatment and recovery. The CRRI will address the behavioral health needs of the communities affected by the economic downturn. SAMHSA will provide funding and technical assistance to communities to implement a continuum of behavioral health services including substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion activities; screening for alcohol use, brief interventions and treatments for depression, anxiety, and problematic alcohol use; and referral and crisis response for individuals at risk for suicide or severe psychological problems. The initiative will coordinate existing treatment services for mental health and substance abuse problems with a new framework for early identification and provide connections to community groups, vocational education, employment support services and other local services. These programs will be delivered through a network of service providers including local prevention coalitions, community-based behavioral health care providers and primary care providers. Staff in these settings will be trained to identify individuals with or at risk for mental illness and substance abuse. Identified individuals will then be provided with brief interventions and/or brief treatments or referred to more intensive services. Where feasible, grant funded behavioral health care services will be co-located to expedite access to and delivery of services. The CRRI is one of SAMHSA’s services grant programs. SAMHSA’s services grants are designed to address gaps in mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services and/or to increase the ability of States, units of local government, American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes and tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations to help specific populations or geographic areas with serious, emerging behavioral health problems. The delivery of services should begin no later than 4th months after grant award. SAMHSA anticipates that from time to time additional funds may be available to be used as supplements to support and enhance the primary grant activities. An integrated approach that includes criminal justice is a key priority of SAMHSA. To address this issue SAMHSA may provide supplemental awards in FY 2011 to CRRI grantees that apply for an optional supplement not to exceed $300,000 per grantee for up to 4 years, for a total of up to $1,200,000 to expand and/or enhance substance abuse treatment services in “problem solving” courts (including Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)/Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Courts, Co-Occurring Drug and Mental Health Courts, and Veterans Courts) which use the treatment drug court model in order to provide alcohol and drug treatment, recovery support services supporting substance abuse treatment, screening, assessment, case management, and program coordination to adult defendants/offenders. CRRI grants are authorized under 520A of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. The Drug Court Treatment Supplements are authorized under Section 501 (d)(18) and 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2010 focus areas 18 (Mental Health and Mental Disorders) and 26 (Substance Abuse).

Contact Information

• Agency

  Department of Health and Human Services

• Office:

  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin

• Agency Contact:

  Gwendolyn Simpson
  Office of Program Services, Division of Grants Management
  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  1 Choke Cherry Road
  Room 7-1085
  Rockville, Maryland 20857
  (240) 276-1408
  

• Agency Mailing Address:

  gwendolyn.simpson@samhsa.hhs.gov

• Agency Email Address:

  gwendolyn.simpson@samhsa.hhs.gov

• More Information:

  RFA | Community Resilience and Recovery Initiative (CRRI)