National Technical Assistance Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Cooperative Agreement

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services is accepting applications for fiscal year the (FY) 2010 National Technical Assistance Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Cooperative Agreement (NTAC). The purpose of this program is to serve as a resource and training center to increase the effectiveness of mental health services for children, adolescents and young adults and their families in States, counties, Tribes and Territories. The NTAC will provide technical assistance on systems of care development, implementation, sustainability and related policy issues to current and previously funded grantees of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program, also known as the Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI). The NTAC will also provide technical assistance to grantees in the State/Community Partnerships to Integrate Services for Youth and Young Adults 16-25 with Serious Mental Health Conditions and Their Families Program (Healthy Transitions Initiative).Children’s mental health is a public health concern. There is a high prevalence of mental health challenges in children with about 10% of children having a serious emotional disturbance, and 20% of children having a diagnosable mental disorder. The onset for 50% of adult mental health challenges is by age 14, and this number rises to 75% by age 24; yet limited resources are devoted to children and their families. There is also a high rate of suicide and depression in young people, with suicide being the third leading cause of death in individuals in the 15-24 year age group, and approximately one in five adolescents and young adult students having suicidal ideation every year.Since the concept of systems of care for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances was first introduced, there has been significant growth in such systems throughout the country. Increasingly, research and evaluation studies from the CMHI have indicated that children, youth and families benefit from participating in these programs. Improvement has been demonstrated in emotional well-being and behavioral functioning, school performance, reduced contacts with law enforcement, and reduced use of inpatient care. Despite the progress that has been made, many counties across American have yet to benefit from implementing a system of care. Since its inception, the CMHI has impacted nearly 22% of the nation’s 3,177 counties, parishes, boroughs, independent cities, geographical census areas, geographical regions and the District of Columbia, and has served over 90,000 children and youth. Grants have also been awarded to 15 Federally recognized Indian Tribes. Given the demonstrated effectiveness of systems of care as one important part of a multi-faceted approach to improving services and systems for youth and their families, and given the absence of such systems of care in many communities, an important next step is to expand the reach of systems of care by bringing them to scale so that they exist in every county and Tribe throughout the country.The NTAC is one of SAMHSA’s infrastructure grant programs. SAMHSA’s Infrastructure Grants support an array of activities to help the grantee build a solid foundation for delivering and sustaining effective mental health services. SAMHSA recognizes that each applicant will start from a unique point in developing infrastructure and will serve populations/communities with specific needs. Awardees may pursue diverse strategies and methods to achieve their infrastructure development and capacity expansion goals. Successful applicants will provide a coherent and detailed conceptual “roadmap” of the process by which they have assessed or intend to assess service system needs and plan/implement infrastructure development strategies that meet those needs. The plan put forward in the grant application must show the linkages among needs, the proposed infrastructure development strategy, and increased system capacity that will enhance and sustain effective programs and services. As of February 2009, approximately 1.89 million men and women have been deployed to serve in support of overseas contingency operations, including Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Individuals returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are at increased risk for suffering post-traumatic stress and other related disorders. Experts estimate that up to one-third of returning veterans will need mental health and/or substance abuse treatment and related services. In addition, the family members of returning veterans have an increased need for related support services. To address these concerns, SAMHSA strongly encourages all applicants to consider the unique needs of returning veterans and their families in developing their proposed project.The NTAC grant is authorized under Sections 520A and 561 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2010 focus area 18 (Mental Health and Mental Disorders).

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