Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Project Title: FY24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (HRSA-24-078) Applicant Organization Name: Korean Community Services, Inc. dba KCS Health Center Grant Number: H80CS33646 Project Director Name: Ellen Ahn, JD, MSW Chief Executive Officer/HRSA Project Director Korean Community Services, Inc. dba KCS Health Center is a multi-service, non-profit community clinic and trusted Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Orange County, California. KCS Health Center has a large service area, providing a range of clinical services to 48 ZIP codes. KCS Health Center’s target population is the more than one-quarter (26.5%) of low-income residents living below 200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) who reside in the service area (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates). Through the FY24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (BHSE) initiative, KCS Health Center will increase the number of patients receiving mental health (MH) services and increase the number of patients receiving substance use disorder (SUD) services, including patients receiving medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). We will focus our efforts on serving low-income, uninsured adults and children with a behavioral health (BH) diagnosis, including individuals with Severe Mental Illness, Sever Emotional Disturbance, and Co-Occurring Disorders. With funding, KCS Health Center will be able to start BH services at its MacArther location -- 19742 MacArther Blvd, Suite 250, Irvine, CA 92612 – and expand access to BH services at all KCS Health Center’s other locations. Furthermore, funding will be used to provide BH-related education and training opportunities for BH providers and staff to further their education in support of the population served by this initiative. In addition, KCS Health Center will offer recruitment and incentive opportunities for new and existing staff. As illustrated in our 2023 Uniform Data System (UDS) report, KCS Health Center provided MH services to 1,278 patients via 10,644 visits (2,360 clinic visits and 8,284 virtual visits). While we had zero (0) SUD patients, we had 992 patients who received medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) disorder during the reporting period. KCS Health Center is a trusted community medical home and therefore, is well positioned to address the gaps in BH access and care. Currently, our BH staff includes a psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, licensed clinical psychologist, licensed clinical worker workers, and peer support specialists. Per our current Form 5A: Services Provided, KCS Health Center already provides MH, SUD, and Psychiatry Services in Column I on Form 5A: Services Provided. Thus, a scope adjustment or change in scope to add the services will not be needed. To increase the number of patients receiving mental health services and SUD and MOUD services, KCS Health Center will hire a SUD/MH therapist, a MOUD Nurse Practitioner, and a Peer Support Specialist. We will look to recruit providers and staff who have experience working with ethnic populations, with an emphasis on bilingual providers. Two existing staff members, a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, and a Peer Support Specialist, will also be part of this initiative.
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).