Applying for Funding

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research, is continuing to provide direct training and technical assistance to jurisdictions across the nation to better support people with behavioral health needs who are involved in the criminal justice system. The GAINS Center is seeking applications from jurisdictions interested in collaborating with subject-matter experts on Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts through a Criminal Justice Learning Collaborative (LC).

The primary goal of the Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts LC is for court-based teams to develop strategic plans to advance policies and practices in trauma-informed treatment court programs. This LC will bring together teams from various local jurisdictions and states to create coordinated strategic plans. These plans will address implementation strategies for integrating the principles of trauma-informed systems and associated practices into the everyday processes of their treatment court(s). The teams selected for this LC will work intensively to determine optimal ways to implement best practices and define success indicators, working with subject-matter experts during the implementation process and to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing.

Selected teams will work together to learn and complete their implementation work, while at the same time, sharing with other jurisdictions and receiving an array of technical assistance from subject-matter experts across the country. Through this LC, participating treatment court teams will work locally and collaboratively to examine their court-specific policies and practices and identify those that need to be revised to be trauma-informed. Additionally, teams will be encouraged to include a local evaluator on their team who can suggest metrics and processes to collect, maintain, analyze, and report data of interest to the team and the larger community.

Selected treatment court teams will be expected to work with both existing and new partners across the Sequential Intercept Model, such as other criminal justice system professionals, behavioral health providers, and peer/recovery support providers. Throughout these components, subject-matter experts in treatment courts and trauma-informed practices will be available for consultation and technical assistance. This LC aims to foster a more effective, trauma-informed approach within treatment courts to improve participant and program outcomes. Teams will refer to the recently developed publication, Recommendations for the Implementation of Trauma-Informed Approaches in Treatment Court Settings, which will be released shortly.

Application and Selection Process for the Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts LC

• Applications for the Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts LC are due by December 6, 2024.
• The application process consists of two requirements:
  • Complete the Microsoft Forms application.
  • List key partners who will participate in the team.

All applicants will receive notification via email regarding the status of their application by January 12, 2025.

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) is releasing this solicitation for applications on behalf of the Office of Justice Program’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the State Justice Institute (SJI). This 12-month planning initiative will support individual practitioners or cross-sector teams from the same community or region interested in adopting bold solutions and reimagining how diverse organizations and agencies with different missions can engage with one another to address the persistent challenge of substance use and misuse among justice-involved individuals in rural communities.

The Reaching Rural initiative is designed for rural agency leaders or mid-level professionals working in counties, cities, or tribes as justice, public safety, public health, or behavioral health practitioners. Selected participants will bring a diversity of expertise and experiences, a desire to learn and contribute, and a passion for addressing substance use and misuse in their rural communities.

Applicants may apply to participate in the Reaching Rural initiative as an individual practitioner or as a member of a cross-sector team from the same community or region. All selected participants, whether they participate as an individual or a team, will:

• Assess local or regional opportunities for systemic change around addressing the impacts of SUD.
• Build leadership skills to facilitate cross-sector collaboration.
• Explore the implementation of evidence-informed strategies in diverse rural settings.
• Identify opportunities for different sectors (e.g., law enforcement, child welfare, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation, judges, public health, behavioral health) to effectively align efforts.
• Prioritize opportunities and strategies and commit to action.
• Build a roadmap for local implementation.
• Identify resources to support the implementation of the roadmap.
• Commit to a project or individualized learning opportunity in month 5 of the project and devote focused time during months 6 through 11 to that effort. This portion of the planning initiative will be developed in collaboration with assigned site coaches.

Participation in the planning initiative includes:

• Travel and per diem reimbursement to participate in three required in-person meetings: an orientation, a field visit to observe the implementation of evidence-informed practices in a rural setting, and a closing session.
• Monthly mentorship and guidance aimed toward your local needs.
• Monthly assignments that help you apply core concepts to your local community or region.
• Access to a diverse network of peers, innovative rural communities (including the Rural Justice Collaborative’s Innovation Sites), and technical assistance (TA) providers.
• Formal recognition for completing the planning initiative.
• At the conclusion of the planning period, the opportunity to apply for an implementation grant of up to $100,000 for up to 15 months to launch a project planned during the Reaching Rural fellowship.

Eligibility

All proposed activities supported under this solicitation are designed for rural communities. To determine if your community is defined as “rural,” use the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, a tool maintained by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). If you believe your community is rural but not identified as such by the HRSA tool, you will be asked to provide documentation that your community has been designated rural by an alternative state or federal agency.

We aspire to recruit a diverse group of rural practitioners with different skills and backgrounds committed to learning from others and exchanging ideas. We encourage anyone interested to apply, regardless of their previous level of experience or exposure to this topic. We aim to engage rural practitioners who do not have prior cross-sector strategic planning experience but are enthusiastic about the opportunity to participate in this effort with other practitioners from their community and practitioners from other rural communities.

Please see the solicitation for additional eligibility information.

Full Details of Opportunity

Full details of this opportunity—including additional information about individual and cross-sector team eligibility requirements, the time commitment associated with this initiative, and the selection process—can be found at https://www.cossup.org/Content/Documents/Funding/Reaching_Rural_Advancing_Collaborative_Solutions_Oct2024.pdf.

How to Apply

All application components must be submitted via online application no later than 5:00 p.m., ET, on December 16, 2024.

The cross-sector team application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/RR3-Team

A PDF version of the questions on the cross-sector team application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/e8DhJzAP

The individual application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/RR3-Individual

A PDF version of the questions on the individual application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/ahdq2U48

A template for the letter of commitment can be accessed here: http://s.iir.com/qfpp76pH

Curious to Learn More?

If you want to learn more about this initiative and application process, an informational webinar was held on November 6, 2024, and can be viewed here.

Questions

If you have any questions about the application process, please email info@COSSUP.org.