All Nations Health Center 2023

All Nations Roadmap to Success

All Nations serves as the Urban Indian Health Center for Missoula and Ravalli counties. This grant will support the development of their three-year strategic plan, and planning efforts for a new facility that will include a clinic and housing, on property recently acquired by the organization. Funds will cover costs of the consultants leading the strategic planning process, a site visit to Southcentral Foundation to view the Nuka care system, a site visit to Spokane to visit family-centered permanent supportive housing, and pre-development costs and planning for the new facility. Project goals include identifying gaps in community services, opportunities for enhancing care and revenue, and adoption of a strategy for the organization to implement as it steps into the next three years and develops its new facility. All Nations has partnered with the Missoula-based developer Homeword to coordinate facility development efforts, and with Project Mosaic to lead the strategic planning process.

Grant Amount

$163,000

Term

24 month

2023

Alliance for Youth 2023

Recovery Mentor Program: Expanding Recovery Support Services and Building the Peer Support Workforce Pipeline

Alliance for Youth is a nonprofit organization that advances healthy youth development through a collaborative approach to substance use disorder education, prevention, intervention, and treatment. Sober Life is a program within the Alliance for Youth that provides peer and recovery support services. The goal of the project is to build a Recovery Mentor Program to improve outcomes and access to services and to increase the Certified Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist (CBHPSS) workforce. They will accomplish this by providing training and real-world experience to those interested in a career as a CBHPSS and developing a pipeline of trained and experienced CBHPSS that area providers can hire. Grant funds will be used towards staffing, training, and travel. Partners for this project include Many Rivers Whole Health, Alluvion Health, Indian Family Health Clinic, the Little Shell Tribe, Child and Family Services, and Veterans and Adult Drug Courts.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2023

Benefis Health System Foundation 2023

Meadowlark Initiative – Benefis Hospitals

Benefis Hospital will continue participating in The Meadowlark Initiative, expanding the mental health services and care coordination it provides to pregnant women in Great Falls and the surrounding areas. Benefis will use this grant mainly to hire an additional licensed behavioral health provider. The new provider will allow the site to treat more patients and shorten wait times for counseling services. Benefis will sustain the position through billing insurance. Partners include Great Falls OB/GYN Associates, Cascade City-County Health Department, and DPHHS Child and Family Services.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2023

Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority 2023

Engaging Tribal and Rural Communities in the Development of Passenger Rail Services in Southern Montana

The Big Sky Rail Passenger Rail Authority will conduct community engagement in relation to a proposal to renew passenger rail service in southern Montana. This project will support regional meetings in three rural and three Native American communities along the proposed North Coast Hiawatha/Limited Line. The grantee will facilitate these regional discussions to understand transportation needs and assess how the rail line might impact access to health care, employment, and services for residents along the corridor. Partners include 19 counties and three tribes (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Crow Tribe of Montana, and Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation). Montana State University-Extension, Amtrak, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, and the Montana Department of Transportation are core partners.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2023

Blackfeet Tribal Health 2023

Blackfeet Meadowlark Initiative

The Blackfeet Tribal Health Department will continue participating in The Meadowlark Initiative and expand integrated, team-based care to pregnant women on the Blackfeet Reservation. Through a partnership with the Women's Clinic at the Indian Health Service (IHS) Blackfeet Community Hospital, Blackfeet Tribal Health will provide behavioral health services to women with mental health issues or substance use disorders. Grant funds will support a care coordinator who will help women access community-based resources to address their social needs. Care will be coordinated with Logan Health in Kalispell and Benefis Health System in Great Falls when appropriate. Partners include IHS, Blackfeet Child Protective Services, and many programs under Blackfeet Tribal Health.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2023

Broadwater County Public Health Department 2023

Broadwater County Public Health Crisis Resource Coordination

This grant will support Broadwater County to build on the work of the Local Mental Health Advisory Council and develop a strategic plan for an effective behavioral health crisis system. The Broadwater County Health Department will serve as the lead agency. The County is coordinating this effort with Crisis planning work in Jefferson and Lewis and Clark Counties, focusing on aligning resources across the region to implement the Crisis Now model. Other key partners include the Sheriff, County commissioners, Billings Clinic Townsend, Fire and Rescue, and Many Rivers Mental Health Center. Grand funds will support a coordinator and consultants for mapping, strategic planning, and data collection.

Grant Amount

$37,000

Term

18 months

2023

Butte SPIRIT Center 2023

Scaling up Staffing for Womens’ SUD Recovery Home

The Butte SPIRIT Center provides recovery housing and services to those recovering from substance use disorders. This grant will allow the organization to expand on the success of the Butte SPIRIT Home for Men by opening its second recovery home, the Butte SPIRIT Women’s Home. This will be the first licensed recovery home for women with substance use disorders in the Butte area. Grant funds will offset the new home's initial staffing costs (for a residence manager and Licensed Addictions Counselor) until it obtains state certification and can start billing for services. This project builds on a successful planning grant for the women's home, through which Cascadia Management Group facilitated strategic planning and developed an operating plan and budget for the new home. Local partners include the Montana Chemical Dependency Center, Southwest Montana Community Health Center, Action Inc., Montana’s Peer Network, and representatives from existing women’s facilities.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2023

Clark Fork Valley Hospital 2023

CFVH Medicine Network Behavioral Health Expansion for Long-Term Sustainability

Clark Fork Valley Hospital (CFVH) will improve and expand its integrated behavioral health program (now in its ninth year) by hiring and training new staff to replace a retiring therapist and by increasing addiction counseling and case management services. Over the next two years, CFVH will hire, train, and establish supervision and networking for new team members. Contracting with licensed professionals to supervise pre-licensure clinicians will create a workforce pipeline for its three family medicine clinics. Grant funding will support two full-time staff, including a licensed behavioral health provider or candidate with addiction counseling credentials and a social work care coordinator. Project partners include the Sanders County Commissioners, a local therapist to provide clinical supervision if needed, Western Montana Mental Health Center, AWARE, the Sanders County Council on Aging, and the Sanders County Local Advisory Council.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

36 month

2023

Columbia Falls School District #6 2023

HOME – Health Outcomes Made Easy

The Columbia Falls School District is a K-12 district that serves 2,400 students. The district includes two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The goal of the project is to strengthen the partnership with the school-based health center, integrate the school-based health center into the tiered system of support for the students, and develop a student advisory council. They will use the funds towards the salary of the school district staff member supporting the project, staff training, and outreach. The primary partner is Logan Health, which operates the school-based health center.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2023

Crow Tribe Health & Human Services 2023

Crow Nation Strategy for a Sacred Way of Life

This project will support the Crow Tribe in developing a strategic plan (the Crow Nation Strategy for A Sacred Way of Life) to address health disparities through an Indigenous health care model that incorporates Crow healing philosophy and cultural practices. The strategic plan will create a business model and an implementation plan that outlines the operational, financial, and program development steps needed to advance the tribe's vision for its health system. Grant funds will support the strategic planning process and a site visit to Southcentral Foundation. Project partners include the Crow Tribal Health Improvement Program, One Health, the Indian Health Service Crow Service Unit, and other local partners working to serve the Crow community.

Grant Amount

$116,000

Term

12 month

2023

Dodson School District 2023

Dodson School Mental and Physical Health Plan

The Dodson School District will partner with Fort Belknap Tribal Health to improve the health and education outcomes of the students it serves. The Dodson School District is a K-12 public school district in Northcentral Montana serving 85 students, 94% of which are Native American. Fort Belknap Tribal Health received a grant from MHCF in 2022 to implement school-based health centers in Dodson, Harlem, and Hayes-Lodge Pole. This grant will facilitate Dodson School District’s participation in planning, implementation, and sustainability activities in collaboration with Fort Belknap Tribal Health for the school-based health center. As part of this project, the district will identify a staff member to work directly with tribal health. It will also install vape detectors to deter vaping in bathrooms and locker rooms and implement a prevention curriculum. Grant funds will be used to support the project director, supplies, development of a prevention curriculum, and motivational speakers. The vape detectors support the drug-free environment that the district is striving for and will also help the school identify students that would benefit from services. The goal of the partnership between the district and tribal health is to improve the school climate and positively impact disciplinary procedures.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2023

Fort Peck Tribal Health Department 2023

Fort Peck Tribes and Roosevelt County Crisis Coalition Planning Grant Project

This grant will support the Fort Peck Tribes in developing a crisis coalition that will serve the reservation and Roosevelt County. The coalition will bring together diverse partners on the Fort Peck Reservation and in Roosevelt County to collaborate on improving their community's behavioral health crisis response system. The coalition will engage health and justice system partners, develop a charter, analyze data related to the behavioral health crisis in the community, create a sequential intercept map of the current crisis system, and develop a strategic plan for improving the local crisis response system according to evidence-based guidelines. Grant funds will be used to hire a crisis coalition coordinator. Primary project partners are the Fort Peck Tribe and Roosevelt County. Coalition partners will include the local justice system, health system, first responders, schools, public health, and other community organizations.

Grant Amount

$35,000

Term

24 month

2023

Gallatin County 2023

Gallatin Regional Day Treatment School

Gallatin County will develop a business plan for a regional day treatment school for youth that require access to behavioral health services throughout the school day. The county will work closely with the Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition youth committee to develop a detailed plan for the implementation and sustainability of a day treatment school. The school will provide educational and health services to students with intensive behavioral health needs. Grant funds will be used to contract with a planning consultant, who will provide research, analysis, facilitation, and planning services. Partners include the Bozeman School District, Madison/Gallatin Special Education Co-op, Belgrade School District, Youth Dynamics, Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, AWARE, Community Health Partners, Gallatin County Behavioral Health Coalition, and Intermountain.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

Helena Indian Alliance 2023

Lewis and Clark County School Based Mental Health 

Helena Indian Alliance is an Urban Indian Health Center and a federally qualified health center look-alike. Through this grant Helena Indian Alliance will implementing school-based health care services in two schools in the Helena School District, Helena High School and CR Anderson Middle School. Initially, they will provide behavioral health services, and they will explore implementing medical services in the future. Grant funds will be used towards the salaries of the behavioral health providers. The primary partner for the project is Helena School District. 

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

24 month

2023

Helena School District 2023

Helena Public Schools SBHC Implementation Grant

The Helena School District is a public school with 16 schools serving over 7,000 prekindergarten through 12th-grade students in the Helena area. This project will help the district implement school-based health services in its schools in partnership with the Helena Indian Alliance and PureView Health Center. Grant funds will be used to support the salary of the director of student health services. This position oversees district programming and services which support student mental and physical health, including school-based health and school-based health centers.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

12 month

2023

Hopa Mountain 2023

Local Food for Local Families

Hopa Mountain will lead the Local Food for Local Families initiative, a collaborative effort with Mission West Community Development Partners, Local Food Marketplace, Livingston Food Resource Center, Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC), Western Montana Growers Cooperative, Great Northern Development Corporation (GNDC), and the Montana Food Bank Network. This network supports the development, coordination, and expansion of rural and tribal food pantries and food hubs to increase access to healthy, locally produced food in food deserts across the state. Project partners provide peer-to-peer capacity building and technical assistance to help new and prospective food pantries develop plans to source local foods and create revenue-generating strategies. Annual Local Food Summits present an opportunity for project partners to share information and build relationships. MHCF funds will be used for the Local Food Outreach Coordinator staff position and contracts with partner organizations providing technical assistance. The grant leverages an award from USDA’s Local Food Promotion Program and proposes an evaluation of key data, including information about purchases of local and regional agricultural products, as compared to baseline information gathered in 2017.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

Indian Family Health Clinic 2023

Strengthening Urban Indian Health Care

The Indian Family Health Clinic (IFHC) is an urban Indian health center based in Great Falls that provides culturally-informed medical, behavioral health, and wellness programs to nearly 7,000 American Indian people in Cascade County. This project will help IFHC develop a five-year strategic plan to support the organization’s effectiveness, sustainability, and partnership with the Little Shell Tribe. Grant funds will support consultation services, staff training, and a site visit to Alaska Southcentral Foundation to learn about the integrated behavioral health model and how to implement these best practices within the system.

Grant Amount

$109,400

Term

12 month

2023

Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana 2023

Strategic Planning Site Visit

Members of the Little Shell Tribe’s leadership team and tribal council will travel to Southcentral Foundation (SCF) in Anchorage, Alaska, for a week-long site visit. This visit will support their ongoing strategic planning work with SCF. SCF's Nuka System of Care is a nationally-recognized, award-winning health care system that provides comprehensive, integrated services to support physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. Grant funds will support travel and site visit costs.

Grant Amount

$42,000

Term

12 month

2023

Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana 2023

Little Shell Tribe Food Security & Food Sovereignty

The Little Shell Tribe will begin building a sustainable food system by implementing a program to provide healthy foods to members who experience food insecurity and have limited access to healthy foods. Funding will be used to hire a project coordinator to develop processes, procedures, and policies for the program while defining a sustainable strategy. The tribe currently has a storage facility and distribution center, and the coordinator will arrange food acquisition, delivery, and distribution. Partners include the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the Great Falls Community Food Bank, USDA, Clause Law PLLC, the Little Shell Elder's Committee, Silver Wolf Enterprises, and other Little Shell Tribal Health programs. 

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2023

Logan Health Cut Bank 2023

Logan Health- Cut Bank School Based Clinic

Logan Health-Cut Bank is a critical access hospital and rural health clinic serving Glacier County and surrounding communities. With this project, Logan Health-Cut Bank will create a new school-based health center that will improve access to high-quality, affordable health care for students and staff in the Cut Bank School District. The school-based health center will serve over 700 students and 150 school district staff. The school-based health center will be located at the middle school and will serve all eight schools in the district. The services will include primary care and behavioral health services. Grant funds will be used towards the salaries of the medical providers and project supplies. The primary partner is Cut Bank School District.

Grant Amount

$200,000

Term

24 month

2023

Marias Healthcare Services, Inc. 2023

School-Based Healthcare Services in Schools – Montana’s Golden Triangle Region

Marias Healthcare Services is a Community Health Center serving four counties in Montana’s Golden Triangle Region, along with patients from Great Falls and Havre. Through this grant, Marias Healthcare will develop school-based health centers in Valier, Sunburst, and Shelby School Districts, improving access to high-quality, affordable health services and, in turn, supporting better academic outcomes for approximately 680 students. The services will include primary care, mental health screening and referral, diabetes screening, preventive care, and vision screening. Grant funds will be used towards the startup costs, including salaries of the medical providers, recruitment fees, and project supplies. The project partners are the three school districts served: Valier Public Schools, Sunburst Public Schools, and Shelby Public Schools.

Grant Amount

$286,280

Term

24 month

2023

Missoula County Public Schools 2023

Integrated School-Based Supports: A Vision for Coordinated Care

The Missoula County Public Schools District (MCPS) is a K-12 district that serves 9,763 students. The district includes nine elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools. The goal of the project is to implement the Community Schools model and the multi-tiered systems of support structure within the district. They will do this by developing an organizational and operational infrastructure to weave together school, home, and community resources, including health, children, and family resources. They will use the funds to hire a school coordinator at one of the identified high-priority schools with the goal of developing the framework to expand to the rest of the district. They will partner closely with Partnership Health, which operates the school-based health center in the district.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

12 month

2023

Montana Consortium for Urban Indian Health 2023

Workforce Pipeline Program

This one year planning grant to the Native American Development Corporation will support the Montana Consortium of Urban Indian Health (MCUIH) to assess and begin to design a workforce pipeline to meet the staffing needs of the urban Indian health centers of Montana. The overall goal of MCUIH's Urban Indian Organization (UIO) Workforce Pipeline Program is to build a comprehensive approach to recruiting, training, and retaining talent, with a focus on developing skills and competencies that align with the UIOs business objectives. The program will assess the current and future workforce needs of each UIO, effective ways to recruit and attract talent, provide training and development opportunities, and focus on retaining and engaging talent. The ultimate goal is to build a robust health care workforce for each UIO that meets their individual and group needs and helps ensure that each UIO remains competitive and successful in the years ahead. Funds will be used to support MCUIH staff time and small portion for contractor to support workforce assessment for each urban program.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

Montana Homeownership Network 2023

Montana Native Homeownership Coalition and Montana Housing Conference

The Montana Native Homeownership Coalition will host its third in-person gathering in conjunction with the annual Montana Housing Conference. The coalition has 178 members and includes representation from seven tribes. Attending the conference will allow coalition members to connect with and learn from other housing stakeholders. The coalition gathering will be an opportunity for all members to build relationships with their peers, receive updates on projects in progress, learn about future work, and become more engaged. Grant funds will support travel and registration fees for 25 coalition members representing tribes and Native organizations.

Grant Amount

$29,250

Term

12 month

2023

Montana Innocence Project 2023

Exploratory Behavioral Health Collaboration for Reentering Community Members

The Montana Innocence Project (MTIP) works with clients who are released from prison to support a successful return to society. This planning grant will help MTIP develop a sustainable behavioral health support model for people reentering the community following incarceration. The grantee will use an innovative partnership with the University of Montana, through which social work students will engage with 12 clients held in Montana State Prison, Montana Women’s Prison, and CoreCivic correctional facilities and develop personal case plans for reentry. MTIP aims to develop a model that could be replicated by small-budget nonprofit organizations that serve this population, enabling them to provide social and behavioral health resources through shared clinical staff and partnerships with behavioral health training programs. MHCF funds will be used for student stipends, travel costs for client visits, volunteer training, and a portion of MTIP staff time for student supervision and project management. Partners include the University of Montana School of Social Work and College of Business, Welcome Back, and All Nations Health Center.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

Montana Prevention Certification Board 2023

Montana Prevention Certification Administration and Promotion

The Montana Prevention Certification Board is a new non-profit that works statewide to advance the certification of prevention specialists. This grant builds upon an earlier MHCF grant to the University of Montana to establish the certification process and board. The Board’s goal is to broadly implement certification through the prevention workforce and further advance the field of prevention as a viable and effective professional discipline. Once certified, professionals must observe a code of ethical conduct and participate in annual continuing education. Funding will support outreach, marketing, convenings, and a Board Administrator to oversee the work. Partners include key prevention stakeholders in DPHHS, Montana Public Training Institute, Montana Prevention Association, current prevention specialists, and local and tribal public health departments.

Grant Amount

$35,000

Term

12 month

2023

People’s Partners for Community Development 2023

The People’s Garden – Empowering the Northern Cheyenne Community Through Sustainable Agriculture

People’s Partners for Community Development (PPCD) is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) serving the Northern Cheyenne reservation. PPCD provides a suite of financial services to serve reservation residents and run a mobile meat processing facility and grocery store. The People’s Garden aims to promote sustainable and healthy living among the members of the community by educating them on the resources for healthful eating that are available on their land and how to utilize these resources to improve their overall well-being. The project will establish a community garden in each of the five districts on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Through this effort, members of the community will learn and practice sustainable agriculture techniques. The goal is to provide access to fresh, locally grown produce for the community while promoting healthy eating habits and reducing the reliance on imported food items. PPCD will use this opportunity to expand fresh produce availability at Warrior Grocery and establish a farmer's market where the community can sell their produce, including any excess from the garden. The project is expected to be self-sustaining in the long run, with the revenue generated from the farmer's market and grocery store going towards maintaining the gardens and educating the community for generations to come. MHCF funds will be used to create a comprehensive program that develops garden space, provides access to healthy foods, and educates people about the importance of growing and consuming nutritional foods. PPCD will hire a Project Director and a Community Food Resource Coordinator to conduct the proposed activities. Project partners include the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and a local food pantry.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

PureView Health Center 2023

PureView School Based Health Center

Pureview Health Center is a Community Health Center serving Lewis and Clark County and Lincoln. With this project, Pureview Health Center will improve access to high-quality, affordable health care by implementing school-based health care in Helena School District. Initially, they will provide behavioral health services, with the goal of implementing primary care services in years two and three. Grant funds will be used towards the salaries of the clinicians and project supplies. The primary partner for the project is the Helena School District.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

36 month

2023

Roosevelt County Health Department 2023

Roosevelt County and Fort Peck Tribes Crisis Coalition Planning Grant Project

This project will support Roosevelt County in developing a crisis coalition. The coalition will bring together diverse partners from Roosevelt County and the Fort Peck Reservation to collaborate on improving their community's behavioral health crisis response system. Through this project, the coalition will engage health and justice system partners, begin regular coalition meetings, and develop a coalition charter, analyze data related to the behavioral health crisis in the community, create a sequential intercept map of the current crisis system, and begin to develop a strategic plan for improving the local crisis response system according to evidence-based guidelines. This grant is being made in tandem with a grant to the Fort Peck Tribes for the same work, and the county and Tribes have agreed to partner throughout the project. Grant funds will be used to hire a crisis coalition coordinator. Coalition partners will include the local justice system, health system, first responders, schools, public health, and other community organizations.

Grant Amount

$35,000

Term

24 month

2023

St. Peter's Health Foundation 2023

Helena FUSE: CSH Contract

St. Peter’s Health Foundation will continue to serve as Helena’s lead organization in implementing the frequent user's systems engagement (FUSE) model, which seeks to reduce adverse health impacts among community members experiencing homelessness who are also high utilizers of emergency departments and correction services. St. Peter's has built strong community partnerships with the Helena Housing Authority, PureView Health, housing and shelter providers, and the City of Helena in implementing their FUSE work. St. Peter's has committed two community health workers to coordinate care for customers identified through FUSE data matches to fill gaps identified in the community. Grant funds will secure technical assistance from the Corporation for Supportive Housing to develop a more sustainable services package and conduct a Housing is Health Care summit for landlords, city and county officials, and other community stakeholders.

Grant Amount

$15,000

Term

12 month

2023

The City of Missoula, Community Planning, Development & Innovation 2023

Built for Zero Project Management

The City of Missoula will participate in a second action cycle in the Built for Zero Program. Built for Zero is a national model that uses community collaboration and data analysis to address homelessness in the community. During the first action cycle, in conjunction with the Housing is Health Care Initiative, the city made significant progress in data collection and coordinated entry systems, established stronger partnerships, and identified gaps in services and data. The second action cycle aims to enhance the tracking of homelessness exit destinations and outcomes, strengthen community partnerships to address service gaps, and secure sustainable funding for staffing and implementing the community plan. Partners include Missoula County, All Nations Health Center, Partnership Health Center, St. Patrick's Hospital, Missoula Housing Authority, and housing service providers. The insights gained from this work may prove valuable for other Montana communities addressing significant homelessness challenges among their populations.

Grant Amount

$17,000

Term

12 month

2023

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2023

Kaiser Health News Montana News Partnership (2023-2025)

This project will support the continuation of the Kaiser Health News (KHN) bureau in Montana. The bureau increases Montana-centered health journalism and provides high-quality, relevant coverage of critical health care, public health, and health policy issues free of charge to news outlets throughout the state. The continuation of this partnership will fund a Montana-based health journalist who will continue producing impactful stories on the important issues affecting Montanans, which will be widely distributed through media partners across the state, region, and nation, as well as through social media. The project aims to increase the quantity and quality of health journalism for and about Montana residents, helping them understand the political, economic, and social factors that impact their health and well-being.

Grant Amount

$200,000

Term

24 month

2023

The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger Inc. 2023

A Network for Rural Schools as Nutrition Hubs

The Montana Partnership to End Childhood Hunger (MT-PECH) creates collaborations and partnerships across all sectors of Montana's food system to build awareness, address root causes of hunger, and maximize community-based resources to increase access to culturally appropriate, nutrient-rich food. The Network for Rural Schools and Nutrition Hubs project will work with small, rural schools in neighboring communities to help school meal programs serve more local, scratch-made foods. Power and Choteau schools will participate in the program, with plans to bring two additional schools (Conrad and Valier) on board. Food system partners include school and summer meal programs, Indigenous food sovereignty programs, and healthcare partners, along with state and local food programs. The project will leverage local food production to increase the nutritional value of school breakfasts/lunches and food security in a manner that may be scalable to other rural communities and have potential policy implications. MT-PECH is working with the MSU system to learn about improving food distribution and buying power among rural schools and institutions as well. Funds from MHCF will be used to hire part-time staff to support the schools and create a guide and framework for other small, rural schools to implement their own programs.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

The Rural Behavioral Health Institute 2023

Increasing Access to Care for Adolescents with Unmet Mental Health Needs

The Rural Behavioral Health Institute (RBHI) is a nonprofit working to reduce suicide among Montana youth by administering universal screenings in school districts around the state, providing brief "bridge" care to at-risk students, and providing follow-up and referral to mental health providers as needed. With this grant, RBHI will develop a registry to strengthen its case management processes. It will implement new custom software to track the impact of behavioral health services on students’ mental health over time and will develop formal relationships with mental health partners statewide. Grant funds will be used to support the development of custom case management and analytics software and integrations with current software platforms. Partners for the project include the Helena School District, PureView Health Center, Helena Indian Alliance, Elysian Mental Health Foundation, and Sunflower Counseling. 

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2023

United Way of Yellowstone County 2023

Yellowstone County CoC Site Visit to Boise

United Way of Yellowstone County serves as the lead convener for the Billings area Continuum of Care, which is considering options for creating permanent supportive housing in Billings. This grant will support a site visit to a high-performing permanent supportive housing program in Boise, Idaho. The Boise visit, planned in partnership with our technical assistance provider, Corporation for Supportive Housing and staff from the City of Boise, includes visits to permanent supportive housing projects and panel discussions regarding service packages with local organizations. Representatives will attend from Billings Clinic, the City of Billings, Yellowstone County, Community Crisis Center, Downtown Billings Alliance, HomeFront (the local housing authority), the Billings Continuum of Care, Riverstone Health, Gratitude in Action, St. Vincent’s, and United Way. The site visit will support this group in developing a feasible plan to create and staff permanent supportive housing for the Billings community.

Grant Amount

$20,000

Term

12 month

2023

University of Montana 2023

MPAS Clinical Training Network Development

The University of Montana College of Health will develop a new physician assistant training program to address Montana's health care provider workforce shortages. This project will support the university in building a diverse network of clinical training sites, a core element in creating a new graduate program in physician assistant studies. The university will hire a project director and support staff to lead the development of the clinical training infrastructure and curricular development, focusing on reaching rural areas. Grant funds will be used towards the project director and support staff’s salaries. The university is actively building preceptor partnerships with health care providers, including hospitals, clinics, and private practices in Western Montana.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2023

University of Montana Foundation 2023

Establishment of the University of Montana Eating Disorder Training Clinic

The Department of Psychology at the University of Montana in Missoula is establishing a multidisciplinary eating disorder training center to increase the number of behavioral health providers in Montana trained to treat eating disorders. This project will improve access to eating disorder care in Montana, including rural regions of the state. The training center will emphasize early intervention with services targeted at pediatric and young adult patients. It will train licensed behavioral health clinicians and student trainees by offering an online training curriculum, weekly session-by-session guidance, multidisciplinary treatment team meetings, group supervision, and ongoing consultation. MHCF funding will support salaries and fringe benefits for faculty who will teach the coursework and Graduate Research Assistants who will assist in recruiting trainee participants, preparing training materials, and delivering training. Primary partners include the UM Clinical Psychology Center, Curry Health Center and Curry Counseling Services, and Providence Women’s Care and Family Wellness.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

University of Providence 2023

University of Providence Care Coordinator and Campus Advocate Project

University of Providence (UP) is a private four-year institution of higher education serving the Great Falls community and the greater North Central region. UP aims to develop on-campus services supporting students' mental and physical health care needs through this grant. The project will catalyze building a team-based well-being initiative for the UP community. The initiative will rely on clinical interns from the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program to provide counseling services in person and via telehealth. UP will establish on-campus medical services with a community provider in year two. UP will hire a care coordinator/campus advocate through this grant to focus on student advocacy, mental health resources, and student health care. The licensed behavioral health provider will be part of the student engagement team embedded in the wellness suite located in the Student Center. Grant funds will be used to hire and onboard this position, with matching funds to support the retention of this individual over two years. Project partners include Benefis, Providence, the County Health Department, NAMI, and other health care providers in the area to ensure students can access and connect with critical services.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2023

Valley Felon-Aid 2023

Peer Support Program

Valley Felon-Aid is a nonprofit in Ravalli County that provides services to ensure a successful reentry to community following incarceration. This project will implement a peer support program, offering returning citizens a new resource to help overcome barriers and stigma post-incarceration. Reintegration services and support systems are lacking for many reentering individuals, leading to high recidivism rates and high community expenses for re-incarceration. Through this grant, peer support specialists will connect clients to Ravalli County community partners for housing, health care, jobs, education, and basic needs. Grant funding will support two peer support specialists, supervision by a Licensed Addiction Counselor as required by the state, and travel expenses for the peer support certification training and visiting pre-releases, prisons, and jails around the state. Project partners include the Western Montana Mental Health Center, Sapphire Community Health Center, Summit Career Center, Accelerate Montana, homelessness service providers, local churches, Ravalli County Courts, Probation and Parole, the Department of Corrections, and the MT Reentry Task Force.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2023

Vaughn Public Schools 2023

School Based Health Center Awareness and Enhancement

The Vaughn School District is a K-8 school district that educates approximately 150 students. Vaughn School District is located 14 miles from Great Falls and does not have health services available in the community aside from the school-based health center. This project will enhance the partnership between the district and the school-based health center that is operated by Alluvion Health. Grant funds will be used for partial salaries of staff positions that will support increased communication about the available services, district participation on the advisory committee, and the development of tiered systems of support for students that includes the school-based health center.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2023

Veterans Navigation Network 2023

Building a Sustainable Future for Montana Veterans

The Veterans Navigation Network (VNN) serves Montana’s Veterans by facilitating the smooth transition from military service to civilian life through one-on-one resource counseling, case management, peer mentorship, and advocacy. This planning grant will help VNN develop a business and sustainability plan to ensure that its services are sustainable as it expands from its office in Billings to support Veterans and their families statewide. VNN will collaborate with veterans, the 80 different service partners it works with, and the communities it currently serves to find viable ways for VNN to maintain and expand its services sustainably. Grant funds will be used to survey partners, organize a focus group, and map a sustainability plan.

Grant Amount

$20,000

Term

12 month

2023

West Yellowstone Foundation 2023

West Yellowstone Housing Coalition

The West Yellowstone Housing Coalition will address the pressing housing challenges community members face, particularly emergency responders, health care workers, educators, and public works personnel. The project will commence with a comprehensive housing needs assessment, followed by developing and implementing a housing strategy plan tailored to this rural, tourism-based community. To achieve the project goals, the West Yellowstone Community Foundation will collaborate closely with the Town of West Yellowstone and HRDC IX, engaging a wide range of community members through facilitated community meetings. Grant funds will be primarily utilized to complete the housing needs assessment and hire a part-time housing manager responsible for implementing the identified housing solutions.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2023

YWCA Missoula 2023

Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse & Targeted Case Management Capacity Building and Revenue Expansion Initiative

YWCA Missoula operates a new facility -- "The Meadowlark" -- that provides housing and supportive services to families and survivors of domestic violence. This grant will support planning to expand services to include mental health, substance use, and case management. By creating a pathway for the shelter services to receive Medicaid reimbursement, the project will create financial sustainability while contributing to a knowledge base that other shelter providers across the state can draw on to expand services for their clients. The project will examine service delivery models of immediate interventions for families in crisis, with long-term programming provided through the establishment of permanent housing. Grant funds will be used to hire a consultant to lead the process of determining the feasibility of offering additional services and a Medicaid reimbursement structure. They will also support an outcomes evaluation by the University of Montana School of Social Work.

Grant Amount

$47,663

Term

12 month

2023

Alternatives, Inc. 2022

High-Risk Targeted Case Management Pilot Project

Alternatives, Inc. will improve behavioral health outcomes and recidivism in Billings by hiring two case managers to coordinate care for high-risk offenders, focusing on individuals discharged from Montana State Prison, Women’s Prison, and other secure correctional facilities throughout the state. The case managers will be embedded with probation and parole offices in Billings, ensuring a team-based approach to care. Over the course of the project, the case managers will coordinate care for up to 140 offenders and connect them to treatment and community support. Grant funds will be used to offset the onboarding of the case managers. Project partners include the Department of Corrections, Rimrock, RiverStone, and Billings Urban Indian Health and Wellness Center. The Department of Corrections is dedicating probation officers and space to ensure a team-based approach to working with offenders.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2022

Barrett Hospital and Healthcare 2022

Behavioral Health Consolidation Grant

Barrett Hospital & HealthCare is an 18-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Dillon, serving several rural communities in southwest Montana. This consolidation grant will build on Barrett’s previous successful integrated behavioral health implementation grant. It will allow Barrett to develop consistent screening protocols, pathways, and processes for anxiety and suicide risk; build psychiatric collaborative care management services; drive practice change through ongoing data analysis; optimize technology and electronic medical record tools to facilitate and deliver behavioral health care. Barrett will also implement social determinants of health (SDOH) screening to allow them to identify unmet needs like housing or transportation that impact health and well-being, and they will develop a referral system to connect patients to available community resources to address those needs. Barrett will also increase access to behavioral health services by adding another licensed clinical social worker or coordinated care staff member to its primary care team and pursuing a contract with existing partners for psychiatric consultation. Funding will support an additional full-time team member, consultation services for collaborative care, and direct expenses, including education, electronic medical record tools, and marketing. Barrett will complete the project in close collaboration with current partners, including social services and mental health agencies serving low-income community members and families struggling with food and housing insecurity, drug and alcohol use, suicidal ideation, and other needs.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

36 month

2022

Benefis Health System Foundation 2022

Advancing Integrated Behavioral Health in North Central Montana

Benefis Health System in Great Falls will integrate behavioral health and primary care. This project will improve behavioral health access, care delivery, patient outcomes, and patient and provider experience in Benefis' women's health, pediatrics, and family medicine clinics. The project will move forward in four phases: laying the foundation, planning for clinical practice change, building clinical skills, and fully implementing the integrated model. Funding will support project staff – including a coordinator, data manager, counselor, and case manager – and education for leadership, providers, and patients. Benefis will also partner with Benefis Teton Medical Center, a critical access hospital and rural health clinic in Choteau, to implement integrated care there.

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

36 month

2022

Bitterroot CASA, Inc. 2022

Peer Advocate Model – Train, Pilot, and Transition

The Bitterroot Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) will train and utilize seasoned volunteers to support, coach, and supervise new CASA volunteers. Bitterroot CASA, located in the Bitterroot Valley, recruits and trains volunteer advocates to reduce trauma for children and advocate for the child's best interests in court. This project will allow the program to serve more children, support volunteers, and increase the retention of volunteers. The program has strong partnerships in the community and the court system, including the 21st District Court and community volunteers.

Grant Amount

$17,266

Term

12 month

2022

Blackfeet Tribal Health 2022

RAVE Emergency Notification System Coordinator

The Blackfeet Tribal Emergency Response recently purchased an Emergency Notification system for the Blackfeet Reservation. The goal is to implement a critical communication and collaboration system to improve incident response. The RAVE alert system provides the ability to send mass notifications and targeted messages to connect and inform the community, local organizations, schools, and other institutions with critical information at critical times. To accomplish this project, the Blackfeet Tribe will hire a RAVE Coordinator to train, data coordinate, and educate other administrators with the funds. The Blackfeet Tribe, Blackfeet Homeland Security, Blackfeet 911, Blackfeet Tribal Health, Blackfeet IT Department, Blackfeet Community College, and Blackfeet Emergency Preparedness are collaborating on this project.

Grant Amount

$60,000

Term

12 month

2022

Blackfeet Tribal Health 2022

Southern Piegan School Health – TeleHealth

Blackfeet Tribal Health's school-based health center, Southern Piegan School Health, will implement a telehealth program to increase access to medical and behavioral health services for students and staff. Southern Piegan School Health provides school-based health services to rural communities throughout the Blackfeet Reservation. This project will increase access to services in Browning, Babb, Heart Butte, and East Glacier. This project will implement telehealth services to enhance the services provided by the physical school-based health center. Funding will support a nurse and software to run the telehealth program. Project partners include the Blackfeet Tribe and the Browning and Heart Butte School Districts.

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

36 month

2022

Blackfeet Tribe 2022

Blackfeet Responsible Parenting Project

Blackfeet Manpower’s Child Support Program will partner with the Aspen Institute Center for Native American Youth to create a standardized curriculum to educate teens and young adults on parenthood, and to support informed family planning, with an emphasis on prioritizing education, stable employment, and healthy relationships. This project will support the creation of a culturally appropriate standardized curriculum to share with young people on the Blackfeet Reservation and the facilitation of youth groups that will teach cultural traditions and crafts. The project will provide educational opportunities for youth ages 13-25 with an emphasis on building self-esteem, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and setting personal and community goals. Funds will be used to support the development of the curriculum, youth group gatherings, and incentives for attendance. Partners include schools located on the Blackfeet Reservation, Blackfeet tribal and family courts, Blackfeet Crystal Creek Treatment Center, and Blackfeet Community Hospital.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

24 months

2022