City of Chico Arts Grant 2024-25

The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation is offering grants specifically for children and youth mental health, aligning with its mission to improve behavioral health service delivery. The foundation recognizes that a significant number of children and adolescents with mental health and substance use disorders do not receive adequate treatment, with 1 in 5 children aged 13 to 18 experiencing serious mental illness, half by age 14 and 75% by age 24. This grant program aims to address this critical gap by supporting the implementation of Children's Mental Health Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs). The primary beneficiaries of these grants are children and young people (21 years old and younger) in southeast Michigan, particularly in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, or Washtenaw counties. The foundation may also consider programs benefiting a major portion of the State of Michigan. The impact goals are centered around improving access to and quality of behavioral health services for this vulnerable population, ultimately leading to better mental health outcomes and earlier intervention. The grants are open to local or state governmental agencies and non-profit organizations that provide mental health care and services. The foundation prioritizes proposals that focus on several key areas. These include implementing infant mental health models for at-risk parents (zero to three), integrating developmental screening and treatment in early childhood settings (four to six), and establishing pediatric screening and treatment models in primary care and school-based clinics. Additionally, the foundation supports various therapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, family psychoeducation, trauma-informed care, and applied behavior therapy. Crucially, it also emphasizes diversion programs to steer children and youth with mental health disorders away from the juvenile justice system and into appropriate treatment, as well as best practice peer support models. While the foundation does not endorse a specific list of evidence-based practices, its strategic priorities and theory of change are evident in its focus on these areas. By supporting a range of evidence-based practices and models, the foundation expects to see measurable results in improved behavioral health service delivery. This includes increased access to mental health care, earlier detection and intervention for mental health disorders, and effective therapeutic outcomes. The allocation of approximately $500,000 for 2024, with two-year grant requests ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 per year, underscores a commitment to sustained impact over the grant period of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.