Application Information Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
Request for Applications (RFA) No. SM-05-019
Publication in grants.gov: March 4, 2005
Receipt date: June 1, 2005
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No..: 93.243
[Note: Letters from State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) in response to E.O. 12372 are due August 1, 2005.]
Summary:
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), announces the availability of FY 2005 funds for the Linking Adolescents at Risk to Mental Health Services Grant Program. A synopsis of this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), as well as many other Federal Government funding opportunities, are also available at the Internet site: www.grants.gov.
For complete instructions, potential applicants must obtain a copy of SAMHSA's standard Service-to-Science Grants Program Announcement (STS-05 PA), and the PHS 5161-1 (Rev. 7/00) application form before preparing and submitting an application. The STS-05 PA describes the general program design and provides instructions for applying for all SAMHSA Service-to-Science Grants, including the Linking Adolescents at Risk to Mental Health Services grants. SAMHSA's Service-to-Science Grants provide funds to document and evaluate innovative practices that address critical mental health service gaps but not yet formally evaluated. Additional instructions and specific requirements for this funding opportunity are described below.
A synopsis of this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), as well as many other Federal Government funding opportunities, is also available at the Internet site: www.grants.gov.
Funding Opportunity Description:
Authority: Section 520A of the Public Health Service Act, as amended and subject to the availability of funds.
The Linking Adolescents at Risk to Mental Health Services Grant Program (Adolescents at Risk) is one of SAMHSA's Service-to-Science Grants programs. The purpose of the Adolescents at Risk program is to evaluate voluntary school-based programs that focus on identification and referral of high school youth who are at risk for suicide or suicide attempts. Eligible applicants are local educational agencies or nonprofit entities in conjunction with local educational agencies. Grant funds may not be used to pay for direct treatment services.
End ofTranslation
The standard STS-05 PA describes two phases of grant activity: Phase I - Practice Development and Documentation and Phase II - Practice Evaluation. The Adolescents at Risk program will only support Phase II grant projects. That is, all grantees must use their grant funds to evaluate innovative practices to assess adolescents at risk for suicide and referral of adolescents at risk to appropriate mental health services (including school-based clinics) within the community. SAMHSA/CMHS expects that the Adolescents at Risk program will contribute to an understanding of the effectiveness of school-based programs for youth at risk for suicide or suicide attempts.
Grantees in the Adolescents at Risk program may use their grant funds for all of the allowable Phase II activities described in the STS-05 PA. In addition, grantees may use their grant funds for the following activities:- Implementing school-based programs that identify, assess, and refer youth at risk for suicide or suicide attempts. [Note, however, that grants funds may not be used to pay for direct treatment services.]
- Training of personnel who will be involved in implementing the school-based suicide prevention program.
- Obtaining parental consent and ensuring that the families of youth at risk identified by suicide prevention programs receive adequate education about risk for suicide and suicide attempts and assistance in accessing the mental health system.
- Continued development of interagency agreements that will allow referral of youth to appropriate services, including emergency referrals of youth at imminent risk of suicide.
- Continued development of a structured and feasible policy for making decisions about response, referral, and further assessment when youth are identified to be at risk.
The evaluations conducted through the Adolescents at Risk program must focus on assessing whether the programs being evaluated are successful in linking at-risk youth to mental health services, as well as the extent to which families of at-risk youth accept treatment recommendations and are satisfied with school-based suicide prevention services. Although there are existing school-based suicide prevention programs that show promise for further large-scale State, regional, or national development, and several programs are at an advanced stage of development and evaluation, previous evaluations have not included a thorough investigation of the following questions:
(1) How are identified high-risk students assessed and referred for treatment?
(2) What are the characteristics of high-risk students referred for treatment?
(3) How many identified high-risk students pursue treatment following referral?
(4) What are the characteristics of high-risk students who are linked to treatment following referral?
(5) What is the level of family acceptance, involvement, and satisfaction after a school-based program identifies at-risk students?
(6) What kinds of barriers to receiving treatment are encountered and what is helpful in overcoming those barriers?
(7) What types of services (public, private, psychotherapy, medication, etc.) do students receive following identification and referral through school-based programs?
(8) Do students remain in treatment following initial linkage? These questions must be incorporated into the evaluation design of the projects funded through the Adolescents at Risk program.
The school system's commitment to this project will be critical to its success. Therefore, applicants must include in their applications evidence of the school system's commitment to implement and evaluate the program. Specifically, applicants must include memoranda of understanding among or between the local education agency, the organizations or entities that will provide community-based services, any nonprofit entity providing school-based suicide prevention services, and the local evaluator, if any, in Appendix 1 - Letters of Support of the application.
Background:
For young people ages 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, following unintentional injury and homicide. In 1999, more teenagers and young adults died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined. Many school-based suicide prevention programs have been developed and implemented for youth, but many of these efforts have either not been evaluated, or not been demonstrated to lead to successful referrals for treatment or other sources of help. Additionally, acceptance by families has not been demonstrated. There is a clear need to further develop evidence-based programs to identify youth at risk for suicide and suicide attempts. Such programs must take into account the cultural background of the adolescent and must be age appropriate.
The Linking Youth at Risk to Mental Health Services Grant Program will advance the early identification and referral of youth at risk for suicide to the mental health system through the evaluation of evidence-based school mental health suicide prevention programs.
Eligibility
1. Eligible Applicants: Because the purpose of the Adolescents at Risk Grant program is to evaluate voluntary school-based programs that focus on identification and referral of high school youth who are at risk for suicide or suicide attempts, eligibility for the Adolescents at Risk grant program is limited to local educational agencies and domestic public and private nonprofit entities working in conjunction with local educational agencies. American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and tribal organizations are encouraged to apply for these grants. The authorizing statute for this program precludes grants to for-profit entities.
For the purpose of this competition, the definition of the term "local educational agency" (LEA) is the definition at Section 9101 (26) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended:
In general-The term "local educational agency" means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.
A "local educational agency" is usually a school district, rather than an individual school. However, there are some exceptions. Some schools may also be a school district, and thus also a "local educational agency." Also, some Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools, Educational Service Agencies, and State Educational Agencies, while not school districts, are considered to be "local educational agencies."
Applicants may verify status as a "local educational agency" by going to the National Center for Educational Statistics website, https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/, and searching under school district. Each applicant must document that it or its collaborating partner is a "local educational agency" in Appendix 1 of the application. This documentation may be a copy of the NCES webpage verifying status as a "local educational agency" or another form of documentation, such as a letter from the State Educational Agency.
If the applicant is a nonprofit entity, it must include a memorandum of understanding with the LEA specifying each organization's roles and responsibilities in Appendix 1 - Letters of Support of the application in order to be eligible for funding.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching is not required.
3. Other: Applicants must also meet certain application formatting and submission requirements or the application will be screened out and will not be reviewed. These requirements are described in Section IV-2 below as well as in Section IV-2.3 of the STS-05 PA.
Application and Submission Information:
1. Address to Request Application Package:
Complete application kits may be obtained from the National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647.
When requesting an application kit for this program, the applicant must specify the funding opportunity title, "Adolescents at Risk," and the funding opportunity number (SM-05-019). All information necessary to apply, including where to submit applications and application deadline instructions, is included in the application kit. The PHS 5161-1 application form is also available electronically via SAMHSA's World Wide Web Home Page. The STS-05 PA is available electronically at https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/2005/standard/Srv2Sci/index.html
When submitting an application, be sure to type "SM-05-019 Adolescents at Risk" in Item Number 10 on the face page of the application form. Also, SAMHSA applicants are required to provide a DUNS Number on the face page of the application. To obtain a DUNS Number, access the Dun and Bradstreet web site at https://dandb.com/ or call 1-866-705-5711.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission:
Information, including required documents, required application components, and application formatting requirements, is available in the STS-05 PA in Section IV-2.
Checklist for Application Formatting Requirements
SAMHSA's goal is to review all applications submitted for grant funding. However, this goal must be balanced against SAMHSA's obligation to ensure equitable treatment of applications. For this reason, SAMHSA has established certain formatting requirements for its applications. If you do not adhere to these requirements, your application will be screened out and returned to you without review.
Award Information
- Estimated Funding Available/Number of Awards:
It is expected that approximately $1,877,000 will be available to fund approximately 8 awards in FY 2005. The maximum allowable award is $250,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) per year for up to two years. Proposed budgets cannot exceed the allowable amount in any year of the proposed project. Annual continuations will depend on the availability of funds, grantee progress in meeting program goals and objectives, and timely submission of required data and reports.
- Funding Instrument: Cooperative Agreements
Role of Grantee
The Adolescents at Risk grantees must comply with the terms of the grant, including implementation of grant activities described above under "Funding Opportunity Description." The grant recipient must agree to provide SAMHSA with all required performance data and collaborate with SAMHSA/CMHS staff in all aspects of the Cooperative Agreement, including submission of all required forms, data, and reports.
Grantees will be expected to abide by the provisions for parental consent established in the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (Section 520E of the Public Health Service Act, as amended). These provisions require written informed consent from a parent or legal guardian of an at-risk minor before involving that minor in a youth suicide early intervention or prevention program. This requirement will not apply in an emergency, in which it is necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of any minor.
Role of Federal Staff
The Federal Government Project Officer (GPO) will participate, as needed, on policy, steering, advisory, or other task forces. The GPO will also facilitate linkages to other SAMHSA/Federal government resources and will help grantees access appropriate technical assistance. The GPO will monitor development and collection of process and outcome measures; will ensure compliance with Government Performance and Results Act; will promote collaboration with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and other SAMHSA, NIMH, and other Federal partner-sponsored suicide prevention resources. The GPO will also promote collaboration with the Garrett Lee Smith Grant Program evaluator.
Award administration information, including award notices, administrative, and national policy requirements are available in the STS-05 PA in Section VI. SAMHSA's standard terms and conditions are available at https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grants-management.
Progress and Financial Reports: Grantees must provide progress reports every six months, with the last report a final, cumulative report. As stated in the STS-05 PA, grantees must provide annual and final financial status reports.
Grantees are also required to develop and submit one copy of procedural manuals for all significant clinical and judicial supervision (of clients) practices and activities. Copyrighted materials should be excluded. A goal of the program is that such manuals will be submitted to SAMHSA's National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP) for evaluation.
Contact Information
For questions on program issues, contact:
Richard McKeon, Ph.D.
SAMHSA, Center for Mental Health Services
1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 6-1105
Rockville, MD 20857
240-276-1873
richard.mckeon@samhsa.hhs.gov
For questions on grants management issues, contact:
Kimberly Pendleton
Division of Grants Management
Office of Program Services, SAMHSA
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 7-1097
Rockville, MD 20857
(240) 276-1421
Kimberly.Pendleton@samhsa.hhs.gov
Documents needed to complete a grant application:
The complete Announcement No. SM-05-019
Applications that are not submitted on the required application form will be screened out and will not be reviewed.
Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants
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Microsoft Word
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Frequently Asked Questions
You may request a complete application kit by calling one of SAMHSA's national clearinghouses:
- For substance abuse prevention or treatment grants, call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 1-800-729-6686.
- For mental health grants, call the National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-CMHS (2647).
Additional Materials
For further information on the forms and the application process, see Useful Information for Applicants
Additional materials available on this website include:
- Technical Assistance and Training for SAMHSA Grant Applicants
- Grants Management at SAMHSA: Useful Information for Grantees
Last updated: 02/12/2009