FAQ: Primary Care Training and Enhancement-Residency Training in Mental and Behavioral Health (PCTE-RTMB)

Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-23-099

• Eligibility
• Accreditation
• Program Requirements

Eligibility 

Does this funding opportunity fund clinical psychology doctoral students to work in primary care or to consult with primary care residents?

No. This funding opportunity trains primary care residents in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, treatment, and referral of services for mental and behavioral health conditions. A clinical psychology Psy.D. program is not eligible to apply to HRSA-23-099. 

Can a licensed psychologist qualify as the program director for this funding opportunity?

No. Per page 20 of the NOFO, “The Project Director must be a board-certified physician, employed by the applicant organization, and dedicate approximately 20 percent of his/her time (may be in-kind or funded by grant funds) to grant activities.”

Can pediatric and general internal medicine residencies apply for a collaborative project? 

No. The NOFO did not make provision for a collaborative application which, whenever allowed, will have additional requirements specific to such applications. 

Multiple applications from an organization are allowed if the applications reflect different specialty areas (family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics or combined internal medicine and pediatrics [med-peds]). Each residency program would need to apply separately.

Can family medicine residency programs train other primary care specialty residents?

Yes. The applicant organization can train other residents, specialties, and interprofessional disciplines. 

Note: However, grant funds can only be used for the primary care residency specialty of the applicant organization.  Training of other specialty residents and disciplines would not count in Attachment 5 Residents Mental and Behavioral Trainee Table. 

Is a nonprofit hospital working with an ACGME-accredited primary care residency program (i.e., family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, or combined internal medicine and pediatrics (med-peds) an eligible entity?

No. The applicant organization must hold and operate the ACGME-accredited residency training program.

Are Federally Qualify Health Centers (FQHC) that have a hospital as one of the departments eligible for this funding opportunity?  

An FQHC is eligible to apply if it holds and operates an ACGME-accredited residency program.

Can we apply for this NOFO if we do not have as many patients that fall into the pediatric/adolescent/young adult group? 

Yes. However, the focus of this NOFO is on pediatric, adolescent, young adult, and other populations who are at-risk or have experienced abuse, trauma, or mental health and/or substance use disorders, including those related to the effects of gun violence.

Accreditation

Are programs with initial ACGME accreditation status eligible for this funding opportunity? 

Yes.  

Do applicants need to provide the full letter of accreditation in their application?  

No. Per the NOFO on page 3, applicants must provide documentation of accreditation by the American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) as Attachment 1 Accreditation. 

Documentation must include:

1. A statement that you hold continuing accreditation from the relevant accrediting body and are not under probation
2. The dates of initial accreditation and next accrediting body review
3. The accreditation start and expiration dates
4. A web link to the accreditation status. 

Program Requirements

Is the one-month rotation consecutive, or may sites create rotations that are spread out throughout the year if the cumulative amount is equal to one month? 

The rotation may be consecutive or spread out throughout the three-year residency program.  HRSA encourages applicants to incorporate mental health care in other rotations beyond the one-month mental and behavioral health rotation.

Can the one-month rotation be in multiple sites? 

Yes.