REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GRANTS Behavioral Health Initiative Release Date June 21, 2017 This RFP is extended to community organizations from Cottage Health. This document provides detailed information about the grant program (i.e. focus area, purpose, goals, outcomes and strategies of interest), funding guidelines, selection criteria, application instructions, and deadlines for this grant opportunity.
SECTION I: DESCRIPTION OF GRANT PROGRAM INTRODUCTION The mission of Cottage Health is to provide superior health care for and improve the health of our communities through a commitment to our core values of excellence, integrity, and compassion. The Community Partnership Grants program is one way Cottage Health strives to achieve this mission and invest in the community. This grants program is committed to funding efforts that will address community needs with evidence-based interventions. For more than 20 years, Cottage Health has been providing grants to our community totaling more than $10 million in funding to improve the health of our community. Since 2013 Cottage Health s grants program was focused on access to care, funding grantees to address a variety of outcomes within this focus area. The 2017-2018 Community Partnership Grants will mark a shift in this grants program toward an initiativebased approach. This shift is intended to eventually lead to collective impact by inspiring a spirit of deep collaboration among community organizations and creating alignment of efforts toward addressing shared goals and outcomes. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE Behavioral health was selected as the focus area for the 2017-2018 Community Partnership Grants program. We use Behavioral Health to refer to the broad range of mental health and substance use needs. The term includes mental health needs, such as depression and anxiety and substance use needs, such as with alcohol or drugs. It was identified as a top five priority area in Cottage Health s 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment and Listening Tour. Additionally, results from an environmental scan of Santa Barbara County s health and healthrelated nonprofits revealed opportunities to support organizations in increasing access and addressing barriers to utilizing behavioral health services, which include mental health and substance abuse. PURPOSE The new grants program aims to support the expansion and/or enhancement of existing behavioral health programs/services in one of two ways: 1) Through the integration of these programs/services into new areas/ settings (e.g., schools, primary care, community settings, etc.). For example, a school could apply to enhance behavioral health services or resources provided to students by partnering with a behavioral health organization that has an existing program. 2) Through the use of innovation to improve services offered. For example, a behavioral health organization could develop a new method of providing their services or curriculum via telehealth, an app, or other method. FUNDING AMOUNT AND DURATION The maximum award amount that applicants may request is $100,000. Funds should be aligned with proposed strategies outlined in the application. The Community Health Coordinating Committee (CHCC), an interdisciplinary group of Cottage Health staff, will review applications and may allocate grant dollars at its discretion. Indirect costs are allowed, but must not exceed 10% of the project budget. Additionally, up to 20% of the grant may be spent on capital projects that support the purchase of equipment or creating new spaces for behavioral health services. The grant period is 15 months, beginning October 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2018.
GOAL, OUTCOMES, AND STRATEGIES A. Goals: To ensure individuals and their families in south and mid-santa Barbara County struggling with behavioral health needs have improved behavioral health outcomes and improved quality of life. 1. To ensure individuals and their families struggling with behavioral health needs have improved behavioral health outcomes and improved quality of life in south and mid-santa Barbara County. 2. To gain a broad understanding of the types of behavioral health programs/services in our community including prevention and intervention for youth and adults. B. Outcomes: To achieve the aforementioned goal, the initiative is working toward the following outcomes: 1. Increased access to and utilization of evidence-based behavioral health services and resources. 2. Improved knowledge and awareness of behavioral health services and resources. 3. Reduced stigma around behavioral health issues. 4. Improved policies and systems to support and sustain increased access to behavioral health services and resources. C. Target Population: Interventions strategies can target: 1. Those within south and mid-santa Barbara County (all ages) dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues and their families, and/or; 2. The broader community within south and mid-santa Barbara County for prevention purposes. D. Intervention Strategies: Strategies must be: 1. Evidence-based 2. Sustainable after the grant period 3. An improvement of an existing integrated program/service that has shown promising results or is based on promising practices; or 4. An integration of a behavioral health program/service into a new setting (e.g., clinic, school, community center, etc.) E. Demonstrated Impact: As a result of the strategies implemented, grantees will be expected to demonstrate impact on the following areas: 1. Impact on individuals served, for example: # individuals served # services provided type of services provided knowledge/awareness of services provided indicators of reduced stigma, depending on your population # individuals connected to other services (e.g., housing, job training, etc.) 2. Impact on lead and partner organizations, for example: Expanded reach of programs (e.g., increased # served or different population served) Increased organizational capacity (e.g., workforce, resources, etc.) Increased sustainability of services (e.g., increased institutionalization of services, ongoing funding source secured, reimbursement model in place, level of confidence that services will be sustained, contract or MOUs in place, etc.)
EVALUATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE As a part of this new grants program, Cottage Health is pleased to provide support to grantees with evaluating their programs/services through offering workshops (no more than four), peer learning opportunities and one-on-one technical assistance. Specifics around the frequency and content of these support activities will be determined during the grant period and customized to meet the needs of grantees during the grant cycle. Evaluation consultants will support grantees in developing an evaluation plan that can capture process milestones as well as the impacts of strategies implemented. Guidance will also be provided on what data to collect and methods to use. Grantees will be responsible for data collection. SECTION II: GENERAL GUIDELINES APPLICATION PROCESS Prior to submitting an application, submit an email to listenpophealth@sbch.org by July 14, 2017 expressing your intent to submit a proposal. You will be provided with the required application forms. Prospective applicants may also attend the Community Partnership Grant workshop on June 28, 2017 to get more information and support around the grant application. Finalists will be invited to provide a brief presentation. Additional evaluation technical assistance during the application process will be provided upon request by Population Health staff from June 28 - August 4, 2017. Applications are due August 8, 2017. For any questions around the RFP and application, or to request evaluation technical assistance, please contact Ama Atiedu (aatiedu@sbch.org). TIMELINE RFP Released June 21, 2017 Application Workshop June 28, 2017 Request for Application Deadline (send email to listenpophealth@sbch.org) July 14, 2017 Evaluation Technical Assistance Available June 28 - August 4, 2017 Applications Due August 8, 2017 Presentations from Finalists August 21 - September 1, 2017 Grantees Notified September 29, 2017 Grants Begin October 1, 2017 Planning Phase October 1- December 31, 2017 Implementation Phase January 1 - December 31, 2018
ELIGIBILITY Funds can be awarded to community organizations within Santa Barbara County that have an existing behavioral health program. This includes: Nonprofit organizations, universities, hospitals, and government agencies Organizations that are not a 501(c)(3) entity can apply through partnership with a tax-exempt organization acting as the fiscal sponsor SELECTION CRITERIA An ideal project for funding would be one that: Utilizes evidence-based or best practice models and/or program strategies Demonstrates evidence of capacity to evaluate outcomes of the proposed program Demonstrates collaboration among two or more organizations representing different sectors Demonstrates the potential for proposed program sustainability after the grant GRANT REQUIREMENTS Grantees approved for funding are required to: Submit a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with any partners identified in the grant within two weeks of grant award. Participate in monthly initiative-wide technical assistance and evaluation activities throughout the grant period that are tailored to the needs of the grantees. These will include workshops and one-on-one technical assistance (upon request). Grantees may use the first 3 months (October 1, 2017-December 31, 2017) for continued planning and evaluation development. All grantees are required to submit a logic model, final workplan, and evaluation plan at the end of the first 3 months. Submit six-month progress and expenditure reports on July 31, 2018. A final report will also be required a month after the conclusion of the grant (January 31, 2019). Participate in one site visit by Cottage Health as requested.