Trauma-Informed Care Regional Collaborative Sustainability

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), through its Office of Community and Family Resiliency, has released a Request for Applications (RFA #87) for the Trauma-Informed Care Regional Collaborative Sustainability initiative. This program aims to fund and support six regional grantees, one per identified region in Ohio, to sustain and expand coordinated trauma-informed care infrastructure. The funding period runs from September 19, 2025, to September 30, 2026, with applications due by September 5, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. The initiative seeks to strengthen and connect trauma-informed care efforts, promote evidence-based practices, and increase the availability and implementation of trauma-specific services to benefit residents across Ohio’s six identified regions. The program builds upon the Ohio Trauma-Informed Care Regional Collaboratives, established in 2014, which originated as a grassroots volunteer effort. These collaboratives are designed to foster partnerships among community-serving organizations, coalitions, and grassroots groups aligned with trauma-informed care principles. They focus on upstream prevention to reduce adverse childhood experiences, enhance resilience, and mitigate trauma-related disorders. Funded conveners—eligible county boards, nonprofits, government entities, healthcare facilities, educational service centers, or higher education institutions—will coordinate regional efforts, training, workforce development, and community engagement. The scope of work requires grantees to organize at least one event, training, outreach activity, or program implementation per quarter; maintain a collaborative leadership team; and ensure representation across counties in the region. Goals include increasing collaboration among agencies, conducting outreach to expand representation, facilitating regional trauma-informed care opportunities, maintaining a membership inventory, and implementing a strategic plan informed by a Community Readiness Assessment. Proposals must also include evaluation and sustainability plans, detailing outcomes, indicators, and methods for measuring progress, along with strategies for maintaining infrastructure beyond the grant term. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations, government entities, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, and healthcare organizations with demonstrated experience in regional collaboration and trauma-informed care implementation. Awards will not exceed $20,000 per grantee, with one grantee selected for each of the six regions. The number of awards is fixed at six, contingent on the availability of federal or state funds. Applications must be submitted electronically to MHAS-OPWGRANTS@mha.ohio.gov and follow the application guidelines, which include a face sheet, abstract, detailed project description, staffing plan, evidence-based practices, SMART objectives, evaluation methods, and budget narrative. All questions about the RFA must be submitted by August 29, 2025, to the same email, and responses will be posted publicly. No bidders’ conference will be held. The anticipated award announcement date is the week of September 19, 2025. Evaluation criteria will assess the applicant’s scope of work, abstract, project description, qualifications, partnerships, proposed implementation approach, use of evidence-based practices, evaluation plan, sustainability strategy, and budget reasonableness. Applications will be scored on a scale from 0 (does not meet) to 5 (strong) for each criterion. Awards are dependent on both quality and budget feasibility, and OhioMHAS may negotiate budgets if proposed costs exceed available funds. All grant work must be completed by September 30, 2026, in accordance with the Notice of Sub-Award issued by the State of Ohio.

Ensure county representation across the region, conduct Community Readiness Assessment, maintain membership inventory, include a sustainability strategy