On September 24th, Public Health Solutions, on behalf of the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), released a Concept Paper outlining a future Request for Proposals (RFP) that will fund services delivered to children and youth (age 5-21) and their families who reside in NYC Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE)-designated neighborhoods. Through this RFP, DOHMH intends to support community-based organizations (CBOs) to:
- Expand mental health knowledge, skills, and strategies among staff that will enhance their capacity to identify and address mental health needs among community youth and their families;
- Enhance capacity to identify and deliver evidence-based interventions to meet participant mental health needs;
- Develop strong partnerships with mental health providers to refer youth for services when appropriate and enhance the effectiveness of the CBO referral process to a local mental health provider through strategies such as warm handoffs and service coordination; and
- Coordinate activities, as appropriate, with other TRIE community initiatives.
DOHMH intends to provide $19.8 million in total funding over three years to up to 33 awardees. CBOs must designate a local mental health provider who will provide coaching and consultation to the CBO staff and an enhanced pathway for referrals through warm handoffs and service integration. The CBO and mental health provider partnership will receive $200,000 in total annual funding. Contracts will last for three years starting on March 1, 2022.
The Concept Paper is available here and SPG’s summary is attached. Comments are due on November 8th. DOHMH intends to release the RFP on November 16th and applications will be due in December.