H79SM085770

Jewish Board Bronx Community Mental Health Center - Project Abstract:

The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services requests a $5 million, 2-year grant to strengthen assessment, treatment planning, care navigation, outreach, engagement, and crisis services at its Bronx Community Mental Health Center. The goal is to assist a thousand high-need children and adults impacted by the pandemic who are new to or disconnected from care to engage in treatment. Grant funds will be used to substantially expand the telehealth infrastructure.

Service Area/Population of Focus:

The proposed project, Strengthening the Jewish Board's Bronx CMHC Telehealth and Human Infrastructure to Tackle the Pandemic Mental Health Epidemic, addresses the unmet needs of the population of focus. This population consists of low-income, Black, and Hispanic Bronx residents with serious emotional disturbances (SED), serious mental illness (SMI), and co-occurring disorders (COD) living in the CMHC's economically disadvantaged service area of Crotona-Tremont, Fordham-Bronx Park, and Pelham-Throgs Neck in Bronx, New York. This area is a COVID hotspot. The Jewish Board aims to serve 500 people per year for two years.

Unmet Need:

The pandemic has caused and is expected to continue causing unprecedented population-wide trauma, anxiety, stress, social isolation, and economic decline for many NYC households. These factors erode protective factors and accelerate risk factors associated with poor mental health, substance use, and addiction. According to a NYC survey, 44% of adult residents experienced anxiety and 36% experienced depression. Additionally, 35% of parents with children reported adverse impacts on their child's emotional/behavioral health. Rising pandemic-related unemployment has driven children into or to the brink of poverty, with 26,000 young people affected in the Bronx. Black and Latinx children are being more heavily impacted than white children.

Strategies/Interventions:

With the grant funds, the Jewish Board's Bronx CMHC will implement the following strategies and interventions:

1. Strengthen infrastructure necessary to provide audio and audio-visual HIPAA compliant telehealth capabilities. This will be done by equipping 134 staff with WiFi hotspots and tablets that have integrated webcams and microphones for telehealth sessions. Client telehealth workstations will also be added at the CMHC for those who face barriers. Patient-facing software will be licensed to enable virtual secure exchange/execution of consents, clinical screenings, and medical information.

2. Create 2 facilitated intake teams consisting of 6 full-time equivalent staff members. These teams will provide urgent care, comprehensive assessment, care planning, and navigation for 240 people monthly.

3. Establish an 8.5 full-time equivalent Bridges to Care team. This team will focus on outreach, engagement, community crisis care, and connection to community services for people with SED, SMI, and COD living in Jewish Board's supportive residential programs, as well as in community housing within the service area.

4. Provide staff training on evidence-based practices, including harm reduction and medication-assisted treatment.

Project Goals/Measurable Objectives:

The project aims to achieve the following goals and measurable objectives:

- Increase timely access to treatment for 200+ people.
- Provide 24/7 community crisis intervention services for 200+ CMHC clients.
- Assess unmet needs for 200 clients and successfully connect 150 of them to services.

Jewish Board Of Family And Children's Services

NOT APPLICABLE

93.958 - Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services

Division of Grants Management [HHS - SAMHSA]

Bronx, New York 104585203 United States

Single Zip Code

Community Mental Health Centers Grant Program (SM-21-014)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 09/29/23 to 02/29/24 and the total obligations have decreased 20% from $5,000,000 to $3,981,284.