These are twenty-eight frequently asked questions about the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 competitive supplements to the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
Questions
Q1. What experience in providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services do partnering health centers need?
A: Partnering health centers must have patients who received MAT for opioid use disorder from a physician, certified nurse practitioner, or physician assistant with a Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) of 2000 waiver working on behalf of the health center in 2017, and will in 2018 and 2019.
If your partnering health center did not report MAT patients in their 2017 Uniform Data System (UDS) report they may be eligible if they can demonstrate in the memorandum of understanding/agreement with you that they:
- Provided MAT services in 2018; and
- Meet all other Partnering Health Center Requirements, as stated in the HRSA-18-112 notice of funding opportunity.
Get more information about the Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce supplement.
Q2. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are not included in the list of Behavioral Health students to be trained. Is this an oversight or are Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner trainees not covered?
A: Psychiatric NP’s are eligible. Eligible applicants are limited to the current Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training grant recipients awarded under HRSA-17-070. There is an exhaustive list in the HRSA-17-070 Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Q3. Where do we find county overdose rates and HPSA scores (high need / demand requirement)?
A: You can find overdose rates by contacting your local health department.
Q4. How do we find eligible HRSA-supported health centers in our area?
A: You can identify potential HRSA-supported health center partners using HRSA’s Find a Health Center map. You can also review page seven of the NOFO.
Q5. Our HPSA scores are 15+ years old. Is there a way to receive updated HPSA scores?
A: We will use the HPSA score that is currently on record.
Q6. Does the funding go to the BHWET grantee or to the HRSA-supported health center?
A: We award funding under the HRSA-18-112 NOFO to the BHWET grantee.
In addition, HRSA plans to award $200,000 per year to approximately 50 HRSA-supported health centers partnering with HRSA-18-112 award recipients.
BWHET applicants may propose to partner with more than one health center. Depending on the number of approvable applications, HRSA may adjust health center supplement award amounts consistent with available funds.
Q7. How will HRSA allocate/manage funding if the BHWET grantee collaborates with multiple HRSA-supported health centers?
A: HRSA plans to award $200,000 per year to approximately 50 HRSA-supported health centers partnering with HRSA-18-112 award recipients.
BWHET applicants may propose to partner with more than one health center. Depending on the number of approvable applications, HRSA may adjust health center supplement award amounts consistent with available funds.
Q8. Can this project have a different project director than the initial grant?
A: HRSA recognizes only one Project Director for each award.
The Project Director for this Supplement must be the same Program Director as listed in your base FY 2017 BHWET grant. You can, however, in your budget, identify a Co-Project Director or Project staff who will manage the supplemental award. You must specify duties and responsibilities for each person.
Q9. Are students who are already receiving scholarships/stipends from the base BHWET program able to receive stipends from the supplement as well? Or, do they need to be new recipients?
A: No, they may not. The trainees under the supplement need to be new recipients in their final field placement.
Q10. Can a BHWET grantee affiliate with a clinic that does not apply for supplemental funds?
A: BHWET supplement applicants may only partner with HRSA-supported health centers for the purposes of HRSA-18-112.
BHWET applicants must partner with at least one HRSA-supported health center. Find a HRSA- supported health center.
We will award Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce supplemental funding to health centers that partner with HRSA-18-112 award recipients and meet all stated requirements.
Q11. We are already placing our student field placements in a HRSA-supported health center. Can we still apply for this supplement?
A: BHWET students funded under the base award cannot receive additional HRSA funds.
These supplemental funds would be used to enhance your existing HRSA-supported health center placements with the integrated team based care to address opioid use disorder and other substance use disorder treatment.
Q12. If awarded, can we wait to allocate the additional stipends in summer 2019?
A: It is HRSA’s goal for grantees to begin training trainees under this supplement in the fall of 2018.
Q13. Do all of the trainees need to be trained at the HRSA-supported health center?
A: Yes, for the purposes of HRSA-18-112, all the trainees must be placed at an eligible HRSA-supported health center.
To be eligible, health centers must:
- Receive Health Center Program operational (H80) grant funding at the time of the HRSA-18-112 notice of funding opportunity release;
- Meet all the Partnering Health Center Requirements; and
- Sign a memorandum of understanding/agreement (MOU/A) with a HRSA-18-112 award recipient.
- You must include the signed MOU/A in the HRSA-18-112 application and demonstrate that the health center fulfills each of the Partnering Health Center Requirements.
Additionally, health centers will not be eligible if they have one or more of the following characteristics at the time of award:
- Conditions related to five or more Health Center Program requirement areas that are in the 60-day phase of Progressive Action.
- Conditions related to one or more Health Center Program requirement area(s) that are in the 30-day phase of Progressive Action.
Q14. Can we include non-HRSA-supported health centers as partners if we have at least one HRSA-supported health center as an experiential partner?
A: No, the funds for this supplement are for partnerships with HRSA-supported health centers.
Q15. Can you describe what you mean by a learning collaborative with other BHWET supplement recipients? What are the expectations? Will HRSA manage the collaborative?
A: Similar to the base award, there will be an orientation call and quarterly calls. Grantees will be required to join learning collaborative in order to share best practices, leverage resources, and share peer experiences. We will share additional details about the expectations and learning collaborative specifics once we make awards.
Q16. Is there a problem with having an MOU/A with more than one HRSA-supported health center?
A: No, it is not a problem to have more than one MOU/A with more than one clinic partner, as long as it is a HRSA-supported health center and there’s the staff capacity to complete all the stated work.
A HRSA-supported health center can also partner with more than one FY2017 BHWET grantee.
Q17. Can you only award stipends to students in their final year of study? This was the case for the base award.
A: Yes, that is correct. Only students in their final year of study are eligible for the stipend.
Q18. Does the HRSA-supported health center have to fill out an application or is the MOU sufficient?
A: The FY2017 BHWET grantee will submit the application in response to HRA-18-112, which includes the established MOU/A with the HRSA-supported health center.
Health centers receiving Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce supplemental funding will receive instructions near the time of award on how to submit required documentation to support their awards, including a complete project work plan, budget, and budget narrative.
Q19. Can the HRSA-supported health center be in a different rural county than the BHWET academic institution?
A: Yes, the HRSA-supported health center can be in a different rural county and state than the FY2017 BHWET grantee.
Q20. Is the list for eligible HRSA-supported health centers updated? We noticed that some of the centers on the list are closed.
A: The HRSA Data Warehouse provides the most updated list of the HRSA-supported health centers.
It is the BHWET grantee’s responsibility to ensure that potential health center partners fulfill all requirements. In part, we determine your eligibility for supplemental funding under HRSA-18-112 by the eligibility of your partnering health centers.
Q21. How do HRSA-supported health centers find a BHWET program with whom to partner?
A: Review FY 2018 Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce Supplemental Funding Opportunity for Health Centers Technical Assistance to identify current BHWET award recipients.
Q22. Does a HPSA score below 16 preclude us from partnering/applying, or does it just mean that our lower HPSA score will be taken into account during the proposal review?
A: This does not preclude you from applying. Points will be allocated for:
- Partnering health center site(s) that are located in a county where the overdose rate is equal to or higher than the national average of 19.8 per 100,000 population (10 points); or
- Partnering health center site(s) that are located in a Mental Health Automatic Facility HPSA of equal to or greater than 16 (10 points).
Q23. Is it accurate that we need to stay with the specific paraprofessional certificates or credentials for which we have HRSA approval? We cannot expand to a paraprofessional certificate that addresses the NOFO or expand to professional track?
A: You are correct, you have to stay with your base award.
Q24. If there isn't a BHWET in the county the HRSA-supported health center is located, can the HRSA-supported health center work with a BHWET in a neighboring county?
A: Yes, the HRSA-supported health center can partner with a BHWET outside of their county and/or state.
Q25. Do students have to be placed full-time at the HRSA-supported health center for their internship or can they have rotations or split with other internship opportunities?
A: For this supplement award, the student must be placed full-time at the HRSA-supported health center.
Q26. May we propose a different training program or do we need to stay with our approved training program?
A: You must stay with the same discipline and the training must be focused on the treatment of opioid use disorders and other substance use disorders.
Q27. What is the timeline for the Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce supplemental funding for health centers awards?
A: We will announce HRSA-18-112 supplemental awards and Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce supplemental awards for health centers around September 1, 2018.
We will only award supplemental funding to HRSA-supported health centers partnering with HRSA-18-112 award recipients.
Health centers will receive instructions on how to submit required documentation to support their awards, including a complete project work plan, budget, and budget narrative. We will add technical assistance materials to Enhancing Behavioral Health Workforce Supplement Technical Assistance in August 2018 to support the prompt submission of these documents.
Q28. When preparing the budget in grants.gov, which action should we choose: competing continuation or revision?
A: You may select either competing continuation or revision.
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Patsy Cunningham
Phone: (301) 443-0861