Tuesday, May 20, 2025
5/20/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Samuel Dixon Family Health Center (SDFHC, Health Center Program grant number H80CS24151) is proposing a behavioral health service expansion project that will allow the organization to hire 3.0 FTE mental health counselors, 2.0 FTE substance use treatment providers, 0.5 FTE case management, 0.1 FTE program supervision, and funding for up to six behavioral health provider intern positions to meet more of SDFHC’s service area low-income populations health needs. As a suburban area just outside of urban Los Angeles, the service area’s average incomes are not particularly low, although these rates obscure the fact that there are more than 50,000 low-income residents throughout the service area’s Santa Clarita Valley, many of whom are packed into various and very small low-income neighborhoods. Because the area has high average incomes, low-income residents in our service area have a history of being forgotten by other, larger, more regional social and health service providers. This lack of service that is accessible to the service area’s low-income population contributes to significant incidence of mental health and coping substance use issues that, thus far, have gone largely unaddressed. SDFHC views this opportunity as the ideal chance to expand behavioral health care to a population with an inordinate volume of life stresses that impact overall health status. Implementation of this project includes hiring two mental health counselors to work through local K-12 schools and colleges to address mental health needs of students and their families as the most effecting care entry point for people in need, and one counselor to work primarily at SDFHC’s most rural and isolated service site in Val Verde where needs are expected to be higher. We will start our substance use treatment program by hiring one CADC and one psychiatric nurse practitioner to provide in-house referrals and greatly increase treatment compliance among our patient population, who otherwise need to seek services down in Los Angeles. We find that treatment compliance is disappointingly low when our patients have to look so far away to receive services and providing them in-house is expected to increase compliance significantly. The proposed project will increase the number of patients receiving mental health services by 600 per year, and SUD services by 140 per year--these include patients receiving treatment with MOUD--by adding providers, behavioral health administration, and patient support staff. The project includes training and support for existing staff to appropriately refer patients determined to be in need of mental health or SUD treatments to appropriate providers, both in-house and with partner organizations. SDFHC is eager to provide these expanded behavioral health expansion services that low-income residents of our service area greatly need. This opportunity is the perfect vehicle to expand mental health and start direct SUD services and with the research conducted while developing the work plan and this application, we are ready to implement it. We greatly hope that our application is considered favorably. Thank you.
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).