Saturday, April 5, 2025
4/5/2025
FY 2024 Behavioral Health Service Expansion - Beginning as “The Mother’s Clinic” in 1925, Family Health Care Centers of Greater Los Angeles, Inc. (FHCCGLA) has dedicated nearly a century to providing uninterrupted primary health care services for low-income and marginalized residents of Los Angeles County, California. Today, FHCCGLA is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) operating from six clinic sites: Bell Gardens Family Medical Center (BGFMC), Hawaiian Gardens Health Center, Downey Family Medical Center, Commerce Family Medical Center, and two School-Based Health Centers – one at Bell Gardens High School in Bell Gardens, and the other at Fedde Middle School in Hawaiian Gardens. FHCCGLA’s service area is home to approximately 670,000 people, 84.4% of whom identify as Hispanic or Latinx, and 37.8% of whom are foreign-born – with over one-quarter of the population (25.7%) hailing from Mexico alone. Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in the service area, with 71.1% of residents reporting they speak Spanish at home. FHCCGLA estimates that at least 30% of its patients are undocumented immigrants, and according to the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, more than one in three residents of FHCCGLA’s service area (38.4%, representing 257,403 individuals) lives on an income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). Hispanic and Latinx Americans experience disproportionate barriers to behavioral health services and care, including, but not limited to: racism and discrimination, mental health stigma that hinders individuals from seeking help; language access issues and negative encounters with care providers; immigration and acculturation trauma; institutional and systemic barriers; and a shortage of in-language and culturally competent providers (2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health; Mental Health America, 2024). FHCCGLA is a trusted community medical home and, therefore, is well positioned to address these gaps in access and care. Currently, our Behavioral Health (BH) staff – which includes two Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) and one Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner – are well over capacity and unable to meet the soaring demand for mental health (MH) and substance use disorder (SUD) services. As illustrated in our 2023 Uniform Data System (UDS) report, FHCCGLA provided MH services to 586 patients, SUD services to 455 patients, and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) services to 12 patients – which is merely a fraction of patients who indicated a need for these services. Through the FY24 Behavioral Health Services Expansion (BHSE) initiative, FHCCGLA will increase the number of patients receiving MH services and increase the number of patients receiving SUD services, including patients receiving MOUD. If awarded, BHSE funds will be used to support both new and existing personnel in order to expand our BH program scope and increase our capacity to provide more MH and SUD services for patients in the service area. New hire positions will include two LCSWs with MH and/or SUD expertise, as well as a BH Director, who will allocate 0.8 FTE to patient caseload and 0.2 FTE to program administration and oversight. Four existing staff members, including two Medical Assistants and two Outreach and Enrollment Specialists, will also dedicate time to this initiative. Additional BHSE funds will be used to purchase three electronic health record (EHR) licenses (one for each new hire) and related subscription costs; computers, laptops, and tablets for staff; and iCIMS recruitment software to ensure we are reaching the most competitive candidates. Finally, to ensure our program staff are well-versed in evidence-based modalities that will maximize success of our BHSE initiative, FHCCGLA will use existing operating funds to cover travel costs for two staff members to the NatCon25 Conference in Philadelphia, PA, planned for May 2025.
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).