Healthy Steps June 2025 Expansion

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) has released the HealthySteps June 2025 Expansion Request for Applications to support the expansion of HealthySteps across pediatric and family medicine practices in New York State. OMH anticipates making up to forty-four awards with total funding of approximately $21.3 million over five years. This funding is specifically designated for new HealthySteps sites, with priority given to counties without existing programs and to areas with higher proportions of births covered by Medicaid or self-pay. Since 2016, OMH has invested in HealthySteps as part of its broader commitment to reducing unmet mental health needs and strengthening prevention services for young children and families. HealthySteps is an evidence-based program delivered in pediatric primary care settings that integrates child development specialists into the healthcare team. The model provides universal access to developmental, behavioral, and social-emotional screening and supports for children ages zero to three years, with optional services extending to age five. HealthySteps Specialists, who are often trained mental health professionals, work with families during well-child visits to address a wide range of needs, from feeding and sleep to maternal depression, social determinants of health, and trauma-informed care. OMH highlights that the program improves adherence to well-child visits, vaccination rates, developmental assessments, family resilience, and overall provider satisfaction. The program emphasizes trauma-informed care, requiring applicants to adopt principles such as safety, trust, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural responsiveness. Practices are encouraged to incorporate Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) screening where appropriate, use resources from the New York State Trauma-Informed Network, and support caregiver resilience. HealthySteps Specialists must be integrated members of the healthcare team and will require supervision, a physician or nurse practitioner champion, office space within the practice, and participation in a formal implementation team. Practices must also commit to fidelity requirements, national affiliation agreements, and ongoing data reporting. Eligible applicants include pediatric and family medicine practices located in New York State that serve children ages zero to three. Federally Qualified Health Centers, American Indian Health Programs in New York, Rural Health Centers, and Community Health Centers are specifically noted as eligible. Sites listed in the HealthySteps directory or those that already received or anticipate funding from prior OMH HealthySteps RFAs are ineligible unless applying to establish new sites at additional locations. Practices must have a minimum panel size of one hundred children aged zero to three, with options for small practices to partner under defined conditions. Each site must submit its own application, even if applying in partnership. Funding per site includes $111,333 annually in years one through three to support the HealthySteps Specialist position, with $50,000 per site in years four and five. Partnering sites share this funding equally. Additional program development grants are provided for training through the Virtual HealthySteps Institute and for aligning data systems. Awardees may use up to fifteen percent of the specialist salary for administrative costs. Continued funding is contingent on meeting programmatic requirements, maintaining staffing, and timely submission of quarterly data reports. Sites must also participate in a statewide learning collaborative and maintain fidelity to the HealthySteps model within three years. The application timeline is as follows: the RFA was released June 11, 2025. Applicant questions are due July 1, 2025, with responses posted July 22, 2025. The application deadline is August 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM EST. Notifications of award are anticipated October 1, 2025, and the earliest contract start date is April 1, 2026. Applications must be submitted through the New York Statewide Financial System (SFS) with required prequalification for not-for-profit applicants. The designated contact for the RFA is Amanda Szczepkowski, Office of Mental Health, Contracts and Claims, 44 Holland Avenue, 7th Floor, Albany, NY 12229, email OMHLocalProcurement@omh.ny.gov. Questions must be submitted in writing by the deadline with “HealthySteps RFA 2025” in the subject line.