California Veterans Health Initiative (CVHI) Mental Health Support Grant Program (MHSGP)

Purpose: The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) is announcing the availability of up to $38 million in competitive grants. Grantees will focus on prevention and early intervention efforts with the end goal of increasing access to mental health services for veterans and their families. This initiative is to be known as the California Veterans Health Initiative (CVHI) Mental Health Support Grant Program (MHSGP). Description: Grantees will be asked to focus on prevention and early intervention efforts with the end goal of increasing access to mental health services for veterans and their families. Proposals funded under CVHI must be inclusive, equitable, and available to all veterans regardless of age, period of service, type of service, discharge status, or disability rating. Applicants must be able to meet the eligibility requirements of California Military and Veterans Code Section 881 to be considered for funding, and proposals must aim to expand the state’s capacity to provide mental health support to veterans and to fill gaps in mental health services. Applicants are required to select the program areas they are proposing and provide a description of the proposed activities and how the proposed activities would increase mental health access for California veterans. This NOFA allows for flexibility in program design to fit the specific needs of veterans and their families across the state, Outreach, Peer Support, Case Management, Outpatient Clinical Treatment, and Innovative Approaches will be eligible for funding and are further defined in the NOFA. The Grantee staff and leadership will be expected to maintain significant engagement with CalVet for monthly check-ins, operations assistance, reporting, and evaluation. Applicants are encouraged to ensure they are budgeting for appropriate levels of staff, time for data collection and reporting, time spent in CVHI meetings and trainings, and appropriate facility requirements (office space, group space, hardware and software equipment, supplies, overhead). Through an Application process responsive to the NOFA, awarded Grantees will provide clear and convincing evidence of adequate personnel, facility, and organizational capacity to effectively carry out their proposed project. The successful Applicant will describe how they meet minimum qualifications, including their breadth of experience working with Veterans, with special emphasis on treating veterans with mental health concerns. Eligibility Requirements Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit In addition to the minimum requirements described in NOFA applicants must be able to meet the eligibility requirements of California Military and Veterans Code Section 881 to be considered for funding, and proposals must aim to expand the state’s capacity to provide mental health support to veterans and to fill gaps in mental health services. Eligible Geographies: CalVet intends to ensure access to mental healthcare through the CVHI network by targeting 8 regions in California: North Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, Central Coast, Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Orange, and San Diego. Multi-regional and statewide proposals will also be considered. A regional map can be found in the NOFA. Matching Funding Requirement: Grantees will receive full funding for the first year of the grant, 75% of year one funding in the second year, and 50% of year one funding in the third year of the grant term. To compensate for the decrease in funding, grantees are required to provide a 25% match in the second year and a 50% match in the third year of the grant term to account for the reduction in funding.