E-Memo

Update on SAMHSA Opioid Crisis Grant

On December 23, 2016 we sent out E-Memo #16-48 announcing that the Minnesota Department of Human Services was  involved in application planning for the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants.  MN is eligible to receive around $5.3 million dollars per year, for Federal Fiscal Years 17 and 18. The grant is due to SAMHSA, midnight on February 17, 2017.  This E-Memo is an update on the application planning.

The funds are for Federal Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018, and the expectation is that all funds are expended within this time period.  We plan to submit a grant application that will project all funds spent by September 30, 2018.

Required Grant Application Goals:

1. Improve access to treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder.
2. Decrease the gaps in unmet treatment needs for individual with opioid use disorder.
3. Reducing opioid related deaths through increasing prevention, treatment and recovery efforts related to opioid use disorder.

 DHS' Identified Spending Priorities:

1. Overdose prevention via providing naloxone.
2. Provide access to services for direct access, care coordination and peer support.
3. Increasing state capacity for providing medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Including increasing availability of office based opioid treatment and supporting the development of an infrastructure in the state for collaborative relationships between behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment.
4. Primary prevention efforts
5. State wide media campaign for primary prevention and also by expanding our Know the Dangers website to include opioids.

 Opportunities to Apply:

1. Expanding or amending existing contracts for grantees that are currently doing work that aligns with the spending priorities.
2. Sole source contracts and interagency agreements for entities that are solely able to perform certain activities. 
3. Request for proposal process.  These grants will be available for interested entities to apply for, and we will be looking for proposals that have ideas related to any of the five spending priorities listed above.  We anticipate that approximately 2.5 million dollars per Federal Fiscal Year of the available money will be distributed through RFP.

Projected Timeline:

1. Drafting of contract amendments for existing grantees and sole source contracts will begin following the grant application submittal to SAMHSA.  Contract amendments will not be executed until MN receives notice of the grant award.
2. DHS plans to host a webinar to review the application after it is submitted to SAMHSA.
3. Early March ADAD will issue an RFP for the grants that will be distributed through the RFP process.  A bidder’s conference will be scheduled and held approximately 1 and 3 weeks after the release of the RFP.
4. SAMHSA anticipates the notice of award to occur in April.
5. Early May is the earliest the funds are anticipated to be available to the state.
6. RFP process will close in May.
7. Late May DHS will negotiate with selected vendors from the RFP process.
8. Late June execution of contracts for RFP proposals. Grantees begin work on the contract deliverables.

With an expedited timeline, we are encouraging interested parties to review the Funding Opportunity Announcement to develop ideas.

Questions

For questions please contact Dave Rompa at dave.rompa@state.mn.us or 651-431-2378.