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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention (SASP)

SASP SPIP Federal Funding Opportunity

For IHS Federal Facilities

The Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention, Suicide Prevention Intervention, and Postvention (SPIP) program award opportunity is available for federal sites. If you are an IHS Facility (IHS Service Unit, IHS clinic or hospital) you can apply for the federal program funding opportunity.

Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention (SPIP)

Expected Number of Awards: 8 to 10 per year
Award Ceiling: $250,000
Award Floor: $ 200,000
Project Period: 5 years
Due Date: Friday, December 23, 2022 at close of business

Background

The current Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention program was originally called the Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI). The demonstration pilot phase of the MSPI began September 29, 2009 and ended September 28, 2015. During this 6-year phase the IHS funded 130 IHS, Tribal, and Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) and focused on providing methamphetamine and suicide prevention and intervention resources for Indian Country. The second phase of the MSPI built on lessons learned from the pilot phase, began September 29, 2015 and ended September 28, 2021, and funded 174 IHS, Tribal, and UIO projects. For the current phase the SASP has been split into two programs where funding will be made available for IHS federal programs and will build upon previous years’ work.

Purpose

The primary purpose of these program awards is to reduce the prevalence of suicide among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations impacting suicide. Federal programs can accomplish these goals by:

  1. Improving care coordination.
  2. Expand behavioral health care services through the use of culturally appropriate evidence-based and practice-based models to address these issues; and,
  3. Develop and expand activities focused on Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) Initiative by implementing early intervention strategies for AI/AN youth at risk for suicidal behavior, in addition to any proposed activities for the adult population.

Required Activities

The focus of this federal program award is on the intervention, and treatment of suicide related behaviors among AI/AN populations. The IHS is seeking sites that will initiate the following activities.

  1. Initiate team development to improve care coordination between the federal service unit and community on suicide prevention education, training and training specific supervision and oversight to ensure fidelity federal staff and tribal program staff in the following evidence based treatments for substance use and suicide prevention:
    1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP) Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
    2. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
      In-person training Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
      Online Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
    3. Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality
    4. Safety planning (suicide prevention)
      Stanley-Brown Safety Plan Intervention Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
    5. Lethal Means Counseling
      Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
  2. Establish local health system policies and protocols to integrate coordination of care to provide access to services and improve referral process between federal service unit and the community to increase service capacity.
  3. Promote and support the development of evidence informed Native youth educational programs focusing on prevention of suicide.
  4. Develop a formal plan or process to ensure sustainability of the training beyond the federal award cycle.

Award Information

Total Funds Available: $2,000,000
Anticipated Award Amount: Individual award amounts for one year are anticipated to be $200,000 to $250,000.
Anticipated Number of Awards: Approximately 8 to 10 awards per year will be issued.
Period of Performance: 1 year per site
Performance Cycle: 5 years, each year a different cohort of sites will be awarded.

The amount of funding available for competing awards is subject to the availability of appropriations and budgetary priorities of the Agency. All awards will be for one year only, per site.

Eligibility

  • Must be a federal facility within the Indian Health Service providing inpatient medical services in addition to mental health and behavioral health services.
  • Must maintain capacity and availability of staff to meet identified requirement.

Metrics

  • Number of staff trained by type.
    • Social Workers
    • Psychologists
    • Mental Health Specialists
    • Nurses
    • Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
    • Nurse Practitioners
    • Physicians
  • Percentage of behavioral health staff trained at federal facility.
  • Percentage of medical staff trained at federal facility.
  • Number of community providers trained by type.
    • Social Workers
    • Psychologists
    • Mental Health Specialists
    • Nurses
    • Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
    • Nurse Practitioners
    • Physicians
  • Number of community sites available to partner.
  • Number of memorandums of understandings or formal letters of partnerships established with community sites.
  • Percentage of staff who completed training.
  • Percentage of community providers who completed training.
  • Submission of policy outlining plans for sustainability.
  • Submission of plans focused on evidence informed early intervention strategies for AI/AN youth at risk for suicide and substance abuse behavior.
    • Type of early intervention strategy
    • Length of service
    • Number of participants

How to apply: Application and Submission

This SPIP Federal Program Award Opportunity was announced by Memo [PDF - 163 KB]

For consideration, interested federal facilities must submit:

  1. Letter of Interest
  2. SPIP Site Capacity Assessment Form [PDF - 112 KB], and
  3. Quality Improvement Charter Form [PDF - 107 KB]

Submit package by e-mail to Pamela End of Horn, National Suicide Prevention Consultant.

Federal Sites SPIP Technical Assistance Open Office Hours