The King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) is pleased to release the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Rural Behavioral Health Services – Mobile and Outreach/Engagement Services.
Up to $1.1M is available through American Rescue Plan Act funding. DCHS anticipates funding three to six awards with a maximum of $400,000 in any one award. Applications are due on March 9, 2023, by 2:00 pm PST.
This RFP seeks to increase access and availability of behavioral health care in rural, unincorporated areas of King County through mobile outreach and engagement services with an emphasis on helping individuals enroll or re-engage in Medicaid-funded outpatient behavioral health services and locally funded behavioral health services.
View the full RFP and apply here: https://www.zoomgrants.com/zgf/KC_Rural_Mobile_BH_Outreach_and_Engagement_ARPA
Overview
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of individuals who have untreated behavioral health conditions including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, substance use and the severity of chronic behavioral health conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. In addition, residents in rural, unincorporated areas of King County prior to the COVID-19 pandemic had a lower rate of accessing BHRD behavioral health services (5.4%) compared to the overall rural population of King County (9.9%.)
The purpose of this RFP is to expand availability and access to behavioral health (mental health and/or substance use disorder (SUD)) services for individuals living in rural (particularly unincorporated) areas of King County who have unmet behavioral health needs. The primary goal of the program is to provide time-limited behavioral health supports via mobile and/or outreach and engagement services to help individuals become aware of behavioral health service options, and access in-person or telehealth outpatient services in partnership with rural, CBOs and other Medicaid behavioral health providers.
Funding will support behavioral health providers in King County, including King County Integrated Care Network (KCICN) providers, to offer services in locations convenient and relevant to rural King County residents, as well as support auxiliary needs such as transportation costs and access, travel time, and childcare/caregiver needs. Rural services may be received in-person, via mobile, and/or outreach and engagement services by staff who will move throughout rural community locations based on need and volume of participants.
Awarded organizational staff will build rapport and assist individuals who are likely to qualify for Medicaid-funded behavioral health services, or are enrolled in services but not well-engaged, by providing time-limited behavioral health supports and assistance with accessing outpatient services.
Services can include:
- Outreach, engagement, assessment, determination of eligibility, and referral to, or re-engagement with, outpatient behavioral health services;
- Referral and linkage to ongoing mental health and/or SUD outpatient services;
- Development and delivery of short-term individualized service plans (services may be in-person or telehealth) until linkage to ongoing outpatient services can occur;
- Accompanying individuals as needed to an in person or telehealth screening and intake meetings and initial appointments;
- Hands-on training and assistance with accessing telehealth services;
- Coordination with community-based organizations for referrals or ongoing engagement, linkage and confirmation of acceptance by the receiving organization;
- Participation in monthly and/or quarterly rural, behavioral health community collaborations to create a seamless, sharing of behavioral health knowledge, resources and support for individuals and communities in rural, unincorporated areas of King County.
Eligibility
This request is open to King County Integrated Care Network (KCICN) providers and behavioral health organizations with strong partner connections to KCICN providers.
Eligible Applicant(s) must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The applicant is a current, KCICN-contracted provider, or partners with a KCICN-contracted partner. Partnerships should include a letter of support, MOA, or intent to partner that describes the shared roles and funding between partners.
- Applicant must demonstrate knowledge and experience in providing outreach and engagement services to individuals with behavioral health conditions and subsequent enrollment of these individuals in Medicaid-funded services. A previous BHRD contract for the sole purpose of outreach and engagement, is not required.
- Demonstrated commitment to ESJ and working with marginalized communities most impacted by institutional and systematic racism.
Available Funding
Up to $1.1M is available through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). DCHS anticipates funding three to six awards with a maximum of $400,000 in any one award.
Join the Applicant’s Conference on Tuesday, February 14
Join the pre-application conference and webinar on Zoom: https://kingcounty.zoom.us/j/83749013339
Meeting ID: 837 4901 3339
Passcode: 062467
Apply by March 9
Please submit your proposal via by March 9, 2023, at 2:00 pm PST. View the full RFP and apply here: https://www.zoomgrants.com/zgf/KC_Rural_Mobile_BH_Outreach_and_Engagement_ARPA
RFP Timeline
| RFP Release | February 6, 2023 |
| Pre-Application Conference and webinar on Zoom https://kingcounty.zoom.us/j/83749013339 Meeting ID: 837 4901 3339 Passcode: 062467 The Pre-Application Conference will be recorded and posted to ZoomGrants. This will be a remote session with speech to text captioning provided. For accommodations to participate, please contact the Procurement Lead by February 9, 2023. | Tuesday, February 14, 2023 11:00 am – 12:30 pm |
| Final day for small organizations to initiate request for technical assistance | February 27, 2023 |
| Final day to submit questions via ZoomGrants | March 2, 2023 |
| Proposals due | March 9, 2023 by 2:00 pm PST |
| Responses reviewed | March 9, 2023 through March 31, 2023 |
| Interviews with Applicant(s) (if applicable) King County reserves the right to conduct interviews as needed to make award determinations. | late March / early April, 2023 |
| Notification of selected and non-selected Applicant(s) | April 10, 2023 |
| Anticipated program/contract start date | Earliest start date: May 2023 or later date as proposed by agency. |
Grant Technical Assistance is Available at No Cost
Grant application consulting is available for free. While this service is available to all, the main purpose is to eliminate linguistic, cultural, and other barriers that may prevent organizations from seeking government funding. DCHS’s grant application consultants offer a wide range of skills, areas of expertise, and language abilities. Applicants can request assistance here and read more about it in the full RFP here.
Questions?
Submit your questions through ZoomGrants or to Andria Howerton, RFP Lead, at dchscontracts@kingcounty.gov
