Friday, October 25, 2024
10/25/2024
Alaska's Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) aims to help fill a need for resources to improve the mental health outcomes for children/youth, birth to age 21, at risk for or with serious emotional disturbances (SED), and their families. The geographic region/population for this proposed project represents the full state of Alaska, including larger as well as smaller communities. Alaska faces many challenges in service delivery/implementation; the state is geographically the nation's largest, though its population is only about 3/4 million, ranked 48th lowest nationally. A range of data sources and reports indicate the gaps and needs for Alaska's System of Care for child/youth mental health. Thus, Alaska plans a multifaceted approach that supports the implementation, expansion, and integration of the System of Care by working towards creating sustainable infrastructure and services. Such efforts aim to prepare children and youth with or risk of SED for successful transition to adulthood. Examples of the required activities Alaska will implement are a needs assessment and sustainability plan, training to service providers, enhancing collaborative partnerships, board, and family participation, provision of evidence based mental health services, such as diagnostic/evaluation and outpatient services, including trauma/grief informed care, including service to those from diverse populations (e.g. LGBTQAI+, racial/ethnic groups) and rural areas. DBH will also endeavor to work towards care coordination, and appropriate integration with existing services, such as other suicide prevention, recovery support services, and crisis services, to avoid both duplication of services and gaps in coverage. Alaska's CMHI goals and measurable objectives aim to address and monitor progress towards filling the needs and gaps in Alaska's System of Care across the state for such children and their families and align with SAMHSA required activities. The goals include: decreasing reliance on out of state residential behavioral health services for youth; increasing opportunities for agencies to provide early intervention and outpatient services to help prevent out-of-home placement away from youth and children's communities; increasing education regarding mental health and the benefit of mental health services, with a focus on behavioral health equity and reaching under-served populations; and expanding the implementation of additional crisis services and short-term respite placement opportunities. Measurable objectives are linked to each of these goals, and complement additional data and reporting, and these measures include tracking counts of out of state youth placements, tracking numbers of tribal and community-based organizations with under-served populations who receive materials and education regarding mental health and available services, and tracking the number of technical assistance sessions offered on the development and implementation of different crisis support services. Over the four years of anticipated SAMHSA funding, Alaska will gradually increase number of persons served annually, beginning in year 1 with 250 persons, 400 persons in year 2, and concluding with 500 persons in year 3 and in year 4, for a total planned number of 1,650 served over the project's lifetime.
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).
