22-96-104. Behavioral health care professional matching grant program - application - criteria - grant awards. (1) An education provider that seeks a grant from the program shall submit an application to the department in accordance with the rules adopted by the state board. The department shall review each application received from an education provider and make recommendations to the state board concerning whether a grant should be awarded to the education provider and the recommended amount of the grant. If the department determines an application is missing any information required by rule to be included with the application, the department may contact the education provider to obtain the missing information.
(2) At a minimum, each grant application must specify:
(a) The intended recipient schools, the number of health professionals employed by the education provider prior to receipt of a grant, and the ratio of students to school health providers in the schools operated by or receiving services from the education provider;
(b) The education provider's plan for use of the grant money, including the extent to which the grant money will be used to increase the number of school health professionals at recipient schools and to provide behavioral health-care services at recipient schools, including screenings, counseling, therapy, referrals to community organizations, and training for students and staff on behavioral health issues;
(c) The education provider's plan for involving leaders at the recipient schools and in the surrounding community and the faculty at recipient schools in increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the behavioral health-care services provided to students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the education provider;
(d) The extent to which the education provider has developed or plans to develop community partnerships to serve the behavioral health-care needs of all of the students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the education provider;
(e) The extent to which the education provider has seen increased incidence of disciplinary actions for drug use or selling drugs, suicide attempts, deaths by suicide, bullying, adverse childhood experiences, or other factors that affect students' mental well-being;
(f) The extent to which the education provider has an existing program that can be expanded to increase the availability of school health professionals;
(g) The amount of matching funds that the education provider intends to provide to augment any grant moneys received from the program and the anticipated amount and source of any matching funds; and
(h) The education provider's plan for continuing to fund the increase in school health professional services following expiration of the grant.
(3) In reviewing applications and making recommendations, the department shall prioritize applications based on the following criteria and any other criteria adopted by rule of the state board:
(a) The education provider's need for additional school health professionals in schools, demonstrated by the local school and community data regarding student alcohol or drug use, access to a behavioral health-care provider, or other data showing the need for a school health professional;
(b) The existence of a successful school health team in the education provider's school or schools;
(c) The amount of the matching money that the education provider or a community partner is able to commit;
(d) The education provider's emphasis and commitment to implement evidence-based and research-based programs and strategies;
(e) The likelihood that the education provider or community partner will continue to fund the increases in the level of school health professional services following expiration of the grant; and
ng money that the education provider or a community partner is able to commit;
(d) The education provider's emphasis and commitment to implement evidence-based and research-based programs and strategies;
(e) The likelihood that the education provider or community partner will continue to fund the increases in the level of school health professional services following expiration of the grant; and
(f) The extent to which an education provider prioritizes use of grant money for staff training related to behavioral health supports.
(4) The department and the state board shall consult with experts in the area of school health professional services when establishing any additional criteria for awarding grants and in reviewing applications and selecting grant recipients.
(5) Subject to available appropriations, the state board shall award grants to applying education providers pursuant to this section. The state board shall base the grant awards on the department's recommendations. Each grant shall have an initial term of one year. In making the award, the state board shall specify the amount of each grant.
(5.3) (a) For the 2022-23 budget year, the general assembly shall appropriate five million dollars from the behavioral and mental health cash fund created pursuant to section 24-75-230 to the department to fund the program for the benefit of increasing the presence of school health professionals in schools to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative public health impacts. The department or the grantees awarded money must spend or obligate this money in accordance with section 24-75-226 (4)(d).
(b) The department and the grantees shall comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller in accordance with section 24-75-226 (5).
(6) The department may expend no more than three percent of the moneys annually appropriated for the program to offset the costs incurred in implementing the program.
(7) Grant applications and reporting will be designed to limit administrative burden on applicants and recipients.
