Collaborative Care for Perinatal Mental Health

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) is offering a competitive grant opportunity to expand the implementation of the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) into obstetrics, gynecology (OBGYN), and family medicine practices throughout New York State. This evidence-based model integrates behavioral health services into primary care settings, improving patient outcomes, provider satisfaction, and health equity. CoCM enhances care by embedding Behavioral Health Care Managers (BHCMs) and Psychiatric Consultants into medical teams to deliver structured, targeted treatment to individuals with behavioral health needs. This funding opportunity aims to address significant gaps in perinatal mental health care, particularly among underserved and at-risk populations. OMH highlights that mental health conditions contribute to 23% of maternal deaths nationally. Implementation of CoCM in OBGYN settings has been shown to improve screening and treatment for perinatal depression, including reducing racial disparities in care. The initiative prioritizes counties without existing CoCM programs, and those with high maternal mortality rates and elevated percentages of Medicaid or self-pay births. The grant provides a one-time payment of $50,000 to up to 17 successful applicants for startup costs. Awardees must become new CoCM Medicaid program sites, capable of supporting at least 65 patients per full-time BHCM. Eligible applicants include OBGYN and family medical practices, including Federally Qualified Health Centers and other community-based health organizations. Each practice must submit a separate application and must not already be receiving duplicative CoCM startup funding from other sources. Applicants must commit to implementing a series of required program components, including hiring a BHCM, securing a Psychiatric Consultant, designating a Clinician Champion, forming an Implementation Team, and using a caseload management registry. Practices must participate in mandatory training, ensure fidelity to CoCM’s five core principles, and track and report patient outcomes quarterly. Sustainability planning is also essential, with practices expected to generate sufficient revenue through billing to maintain operations post-grant. Applications must be submitted online via the Statewide Financial System (SFS). The submission window opens on October 30, 2025, and closes at 2:00 PM EST on January 13, 2026. Pre-submission questions are due by November 20, 2025, with responses posted by December 16, 2025. Awards are expected to be announced on February 17, 2026, and contracts will begin as early as July 1, 2026. Prequalification in SFS is required for all not-for-profit applicants. Applications will be evaluated based on the applicant’s location, maternal mortality rates, and Medicaid/self-pay birth percentages, with priority given accordingly. The designated contact for this opportunity is Jeremy Rossello at [email protected]. Applications that fail to meet eligibility or submission requirements will be disqualified. The contract term is one year, with potential reassignment of awards if performance standards are not met.