Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program | HRSA 23 081

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 23 081

The Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program (PMHCA) is a federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), designed to make it easier for pediatric primary care providers to get timely support when children and adolescents present with behavioral health needs. The central idea is to strengthen behavioral health integration in pediatric primary care by building or expanding statewide, regional, or tribal tele-consultation access programs. These programs create organized networks of pediatric mental health care teams that primary care clinicians can contact for real-time expert consultation, practical training, technical assistance, and help coordinating referrals and follow-up care. In day-to-day practice, the program is meant to help front-line providers more confidently screen, diagnose, treat, and refer children with mental and behavioral health conditions, rather than leaving families to navigate long waits or fragmented systems on their own.

HRSA is offering this opportunity in two tracks. The first is for "competing continuations" aimed at organizations that already received HRSA PMHCA awards that began in fiscal years 2018 or 2019 and are reaching the end of their project periods. These continuation applicants can receive a three-year period of performance at up to $700,000 per year, with the expectation that they focus on continuing implementation and expanding what is already in place (there is no separate planning year under this track). The second track supports "new programs" for entities that are not currently funded under PMHCA and would extend the model into new geographic areas. New awardees are funded at up to $500,000 per year and are expected to use the early phase to plan and stand up the needed infrastructure before moving into implementation.

For new programs, the planning component is explicitly about building the backbone required for a functioning tele-consult access network. That includes putting reliable high-speed broadband and telehealth-capable technology in place, hiring and organizing personnel, formalizing partnerships, and establishing the resources and workflows that allow pediatric primary care clinicians to request consultations (tele-consult and, when relevant, in-person), receive training and technical assistance, and access care coordination services. Applicants are expected to identify the pediatric mental health care access team and to develop the operational details that make the program workable, such as protocols, procedures, contracting approaches, and hiring processes. Applications for new programs are structured around a planning year followed by two implementation years, so reviewers can see both how the program will be built and how it will run once launched.

A major emphasis across both tracks is expanding reach and reducing disparities in access to pediatric behavioral health care, particularly in rural and other underserved communities. Successful applicants are expected to set concrete methods for advancing health equity in pediatric behavioral health, including training and service approaches that are respectful and culturally and linguistically responsive. The program is intended to be a practical resource for pediatric primary care providers broadly defined, including pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. HRSA also encourages programs to extend support to additional provider groups who frequently interact with children and families, such as certain physician specialists (for example developmental-behavioral pediatricians and obstetrician-gynecologists), pharmacists, occupational therapists, behavioral health clinicians, care coordinators, addiction specialists, mental health counselors, and social workers. Programs are strongly encouraged to include settings that often see behavioral health crises or unmet needs, especially school-based health and emergency departments.

Partnership-building is treated as a core strategy rather than an optional add-on, especially for new awardees during the planning period. Applicants are encouraged to convene a broad set of stakeholders that shape how children actually access services, including schools, emergency departments, local and state governments, health and social service agencies, tribal organizations, insurers, family and self-advocacy organizations, primary care and behavioral health providers, professional associations, and academic institutions. The goal is to ensure that, once a primary care clinician receives a consultation, the child can be connected to appropriate services with realistic referral pathways and coordinated follow-through, rather than hitting dead ends in an overburdened system.

The program frames success around measurable growth in utilization, training, and equitable reach. Its long-term goal is to increase routine diagnosis, treatment, and referral for child and adolescent behavioral health conditions in primary care while reducing disparities in access to care. Key objectives include increasing the number of providers who use the program for real-time behavioral health consultations and care coordination (including referrals), increasing the number of providers trained on child and adolescent behavioral disorders (including screening, diagnosis, and treatment), increasing the number of trainings that explicitly incorporate equity and culturally and linguistically responsive care, and increasing the number of children and adolescents for whom a provider contacts the program for consultation or care coordination, with particular attention to youth in rural and underserved areas.

Administratively, this is a discretionary HRSA opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement within the health funding category (CFDA 93.110). Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city or township, and special district governments) as well as federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement. The funding opportunity is identified as HRSA-23-081, was posted April 11, 2023, and originally closed June 12, 2023, with an anticipated 36 awards noted in the source information.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.110.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 11, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 12, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 36 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HRSA 23 081

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