The Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) submitted a grant application to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) last week seeking up to $2 million in emergency funding for crisis response during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The OBH proposal focuses on connecting children, adolescents, and adults with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and/or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) to proper care during the COVID-19 public health emergency, which has limited in-person services as providers accommodate federal and state public health measures. By obtaining emergency COVID response funding, OBH aims to keep behavioral health clients out of emergency rooms while keeping them and communities safe from infection risk.
If awarded, OBH plans to create bed capacity as a step-down from a medical setting for those patients who are unable to secure inpatient/residential level behavioral health services and have tested positive for COVID-19. The plan includes transportation between facilities to lessen the impact on medical transport services. OBH will also work with existing Colorado programs to increase behavioral health support for frontline healthcare workers.
SAMHSA announced the grant on April 1 and will dole out up to $110 million in total to states, territories and tribal organizations by May 30. The maximum award for states is $2 million. Read the OBH proposal.