Monday, May 19, 2025
5/19/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Project Abstract Project Title: FY 24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (HRSA-24-078) Applicant Organization Name: Center for Family Health & Education, Inc. Grant Number: H80CS28984 Project Director Name: Dr. Daryoush Kashani Brief Description of the Proposed Project: The Center for Family Health & Education (CFHE) is a 501(c)3 non-profit and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in the neighborhood of Panorama City, CA, with a service area comprising surrounding zip codes that overlap with Los Angeles and Fresno counties. Having received New Access Point designation in 2015 for its Panorama City site, CFHE currently provides a comprehensive range of primary and preventive care, including medical, oral health, and behavioral health programs. Services are provided across the lifecycle from ten permanent delivery sites, with a focus on residents living below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), including marginalized and first-generation community members. According to our recent community health needs assessment, more than one-third of CFHE’s service area residents (35.0%) live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG), a rate exceeding that of Los Angeles and Fresno counties (32.2%) California (28.5%), and the U.S. (29.2%). Additionally, more than one-third of residents (35.6%) are uninsured or covered by Medicaid or another means-tested health plan, also higher than the counties’ (32.1%), state (27.0%), and national (23.6%) rates. Out of approximately 1.1 million low-income service area residents served by CFHE, more than one-half (59.0%) identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 20.4% represent other non-Caucasian racial/ethnic groups. The majority of all service area residents (61.3%) speak a language other than English at home. Nearly one in four low-income residents reported a fair or poor health status (23.9%), and more than one in eight (13.2%) have either delayed or have not received medical care that they needed at some point in the past year. Increasing access to timely behavioral health services is a top priority for our health center. Thousands of low-income community members continue to struggle with mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are also higher rates of heroin use, methamphetamine use, and prescription pain killer misuse overall among low-income residents compared with county and state averages. As reflected in our most recent Uniform Data System (UDS) report, CFHE served a total of 1,773 unique mental health services patients in 2023, with 2,052 clinic visits and 1,866 virtual encounters. While we did not provide substance use disorder (SUD) services, inclusive of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), to CFHE patients in 2023, our organizational experience and commitment to comprehensive behavioral health services expansion will enable us to effectively address barriers to accessing needed treatment, recovery, and support services. CFHE proposes to use FY 24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (BHSE) funding to primarily support the hiring and training of new clinical personnel, who will function as members of integrated medical and behavioral health care teams to fulfill the BHSE program objectives of increasing the number of health center patients receiving mental health services, and increasing the number of patients receiving SUD services, including MOUD. In addition to our low-income population of focus, CFHE plans to engage in community outreach and patient in-reach activities to serve more adolescents, LGBT, and formerly incarcerated individuals. We will also strengthen partnerships and collaboration with other health and social services agencies within our service area to facilitate referrals and provide navigation to a full range of behavioral health and wraparound services, including those designed to meet health-related social needs.
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).