Friday, January 3, 2025
1/3/2025
ACCESS VT (Accessible Community-Based Care for Everyone. Stop the Stigma) is a statewide collaboration between Vermont Care Network, Vermont’s Community Mental Health Agencies, and Vermont Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Program. ACCESS VT will train 48 Teen, Youth, and Adult Mental Health First Aid (T/Y/MHFA) instructors, 5000 Vermonters in T/Y/MHFA and 250 Vermonters in Cultural and Linguistic Competency (CALC). The goals of ACCESS VT are to: 1) Expand Vermont’s statewide infrastructure of T/Y/MHFA instructors to identify mental health needs throughout the state and increase collaboration among community base providers; 2) Increase the capacity of community members and others supporting the populations of focus to recognize the early warning signs of suicide and the signs and symptoms of mental illness and to gain a greater understanding of available resources; 3) Increase the capacity of mental health agencies to provide culturally responsive services to diverse populations. In addition to general community members, targeted populations include: school staff, students in grades 10-12, students and staff in higher education, first responders, Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, and Refugee and Immigrant (R/I) communities. ACCESS VT goals will be accomplished through the following objectives: By 12/21 VCN will complete an instructor gap analysis; By 12/21 VCN will expand community based partnerships with youth and adult serving organizations, adding two partners per grant year; By 2/22 VCN will develop and begin to implement a marketing plan, inclusive of social media strategies and reflective of community members and populations of focus; By the end of year 1, instructors will train 200, 10th, 11th, and/or 12th graders in Teen MHFA and 250 additional individuals in each following year for a total of 1,200; By the end of year 1 instructors will train 300 individuals in Youth MHFA and 400 additional individuals in each following year for a total of 1900; By the end of year 1 instructors will train 300 individuals in Adult MHFA and 400 additional individuals in each following year for a total of 1900; Of the 5000 mental Health First Aiders trained throughout the grant, 50% will be within workforce development and 50% general community members; In year 1, VCN will develop a resource guide template, describing available services and referral options; By the end of the grant period, referrals to mental health services will show a 150% increase from baseline; By the end of the grant at least 6,000 youth and/or adults will be supported by a step of the ALGEE Action Plan and/or referred to mental health services by First Aiders; By the end of the grant VCN will contract for consultation on culturally responsive hiring practices provided to 75% of the community mental health centers; By the end of the grant, 250 youth and adult serving community members and/or mental health providers will be trained in the CALC curriculum; By the end of the grant, 4 Cultural Responsiveness Summits will be held.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).