Apsaalooke Nation Housing Authority 2024

Needs Assessment/Capacity Building

The Apsaalooké Nation Housing Authority (ANHA) is the tribally-designated housing agency for the Apsaalooké (Crow) Tribe. This grant will support a comprehensive housing needs assessment for the Apsaalooké Nation, build staff capacity for conducting needs assessments, and help AHNA develop programming for the planned permanent supportive housing hotel in Hardin, Montana. ANHA will hire a consultant to plan and design the survey tool. The consultant will train staff to conduct the survey on the Crow Reservation, collect and analyze survey results, and share the results with stakeholders and the community. The assessment results will be used to apply for funding to meet the housing needs on the Crow Reservation. MTHF funding will be used for consulting costs and staff time and training. To complete these tasks, ANHA will partner with the Crow Tribe and Plenty Doors Community Development Corporation. The Crow Tribal Health Department will also be a pivotal partner in developing a plan to provide health and related services for the permanent supporting housing project in Hardin.

Grant Amount

$104,181

Term

12 month

2024

Arlee Community Development Corporation 2024

Building Organizational Resilience

The Arlee Community Development Corporation (ACDC) seeks to address social needs and increase resiliency and self-suficiency for residents of the Jocko Valley and the Flathead Indian Reservation. This grant will support staff and board capacity building and development of a strategic plan, with a focus on ensuring the organization's long-term sustainability in preparation for the current Executive Director’s planned retirement. ACDC will recruit and train a Leadership Advisory Board, which, in turn, will lead the recruitment, selection, and training of a new Executive Director. MTHF funds will be used to support staff salaries to lead this effort. Partners include the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), CSKT Tribal Health, CSKT Food Sovereignty Program, Salish Kootenai College Extension, and Mission Mountain Food Enterprises.

Grant Amount

$30,000

Term

12 month

2024

Big Sandy Medical Center 2024

Rural Health Center Integrated Behavioral Health Project

Big Sandy Medical Center (BSMC) is a 25-bed critical access hospital with a rural health clinic that has served northcentral Montana since 1965. The clinic cares for 2700 patients annually from the Big Sandy community and surrounding rural areas, including the Rocky Boy’s reservation and Hutterite colonies. This project aims to integrate behavioral health services into the standard care provided at BSMC, enhancing its ability to address the community's mental health needs. BSMC will recruit and onboard a part-time mental health professional (LCPC/LCSW) to improve outcomes for patients with identified mental health conditions or those at risk for such conditions. It will also employ an RN as a care coordinator to optimize care for patients identified as ‘at risk’ of mental health concern development or crisis. Grant funds will support a portion of the salary for a part-time behavioral health provider and RN care coordinator, staff training, the development of mental health screening protocols, and the establishment of a sustainable framework for ongoing mental health care within the facility. Primary partners are the Chouteau County Health Department and Big Sandy Public Schools. BSMC also partners with AWARE's medical director for supervision of its psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

36 months

2024

Billings Clinic 2024

Expanding Empaths: Implementing Collaborative Care in the Perinatal Care Setting

Billings Clinic is a not-for-profit, community-owned and governed, multi-specialty group practice serving multiple regions throughout southeast and south-central Montana, including Crow and Northern Cheyenne Tribal Members. This project will expand and transition Billings Clinic's current reproductive behavioral health care program to an integrated behavioral health model. Billings Clinic will implement Collaborative Care services in its OB/GYN clinic to provide routine screening, care management, peer support, and therapeutic and psychiatric services for perinatal women. Grant funds will support a full-time behavioral health care manager and a portion of the project director's salary. Billings Clinic actively partners with One Health, which provides a recovery doula to OB/GYN patients.

Grant Amount

$149,987

Term

24 month

2024

Billings Clinic 2024

Expanding Empaths: Implementing Integrated Behavioral Health and the Collaborative Care Model in the Pediatric Setting.

Billings Clinic is a not-for-profit, community-owned and governed, multi-specialty group practice serving multiple regions throughout southeast and south-central Montana, including Crow and Northern Cheyenne Tribal Members. Billings Clinic will implement Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) within the pediatric primary care department using the Collaborative Care (CoCM) model to serve vulnerable patients' needs better. The goal of this project is to routinely screen all patients ages 11-18 for mental health conditions, social determinants needs, and substance use concerns. Billings Clinic will implement a team-based approach as a best practice model of care. The funding provided by MTHF will support personnel dedicated to the project, including an additional 1.0 FTE behavioral health care manager and a portion of the project director's salary. Many of the partners for this project include internal Billings Clinic departments that will be cross-trained to work with the perinatal and pediatric departments and the psychiatry residency program to provide psychiatric consultation for the CoCM implementation. Billings Clinic will also partner with graduate social work and/or counseling programs to host practicum students, generating further revenue to support program sustainability.

Grant Amount

$174,592

Term

36 month

2024

Billings School District 2024

Improving Systems and Sustainability for Mental and Behavioral Health

Billings Public Schools (BPS) serves 16,675 students in grades pre-k through 12th grade across thirty-three school buildings, educating 10% of all K-12 public school students in the state. This project will implement a sustainable multi-tiered system of support for behavioral health to proactively address students' needs by aligning academic standards and behavioral expectations. BPS will do this by engaging with a consultant to develop a vision and comprehensive implementation plan based on assessing the needs for improving student wellness and behavioral health. Grant funds will support the consultant, staff time to support the project, supplies, and meetings. BPS will partner with Riverstone Health, which operates two school-based health centers and provides behavioral health support through another grant-funded project; they also hope to strengthen their partnership with the Billings Urban Indian Health Center through this project.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2024

Bitterroot Health 2024

Maintenance and Expansion of Integrated Behavioral Health

Bitterroot Health is a critical access hospital in Hamilton with 24 acute care beds, more than 90 medical providers, and 14 associated primary and specialty clinics. Since 1931, its mission has been to provide quality, accessible, and personalized healthcare to Bitterroot Valley residents. This grant will enable Bitterroot Health to expand its integrated behavioral health project from two to five rural health clinics in Ravalli County. It will hire a behavioral health care manager in the first year of the grant and two more in the second year. It will also establish new partnerships for psychiatric consultation and clinical supervision to support its program objectives, community needs, and patient volumes. Grant funds will primarily support the behavioral health staff positions, with a portion used for developing and sustaining integrated care in Bitterroot Health's clinics.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

24 month

2024

Butte Native Wellness Center 2024

Strategic Planning

The Butte Native Wellness Center (BNWC) is an urban Indian health center based in Butte. This project will help the organization develop a strategic plan and will support training for its staff. Strategic planning is a top priority for BNWC, which has a new executive director, nine new staff members, and three new board members. A comprehensive strategic plan will allow the organization to plan, implement, and evaluate its programs in a more effectively to achieve better outcomes for the community it serves. The grant will support a site visit to Southcentral Foundation, emphasizing learning about integrated care teams, workforce development, data and information management, and integrated behavioral health. A consultant will work with organizational leadership to develop the strategic plan.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2024

Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Health 2024

Reservation School Based Behavioral Health Services

The Confederated Salish & Kootenai (CSKT) is located on the Flathead Reservation in Western Montana and is home to three tribes: Bitterroot Salish; Upper Pend d’Oreille; and Kootenai. CSKT Tribal Health offers both in-person and telehealth services, and provides wrap-around services including audiology and speech therapy, behavioral health, dental, medical and community health, optical services, pharmacies, physical therapy, radiology, and health and wellness. The goal for this project is to establish a comprehensive school-based behavioral health care program to improve the mental well-being of students and school staff by providing accessible, on-site services throughout the Flathead reservation. They will start their school-based program by serving Polson School District, Ronan School District, Charlo School District, and St Ignatius School District. In the initially proposed service area, there are 15 schools identified as high priority schools. Polson includes five Title I schools and one Targeted school, Ronan includes two Title I schools and one Targeted School, Charlo includes 2 Title I schools and one Targeted School, and St. Ignatius includes three Title I schools. They will accomplish their goal by developing a school-based health program and hiring a full-time behavioral health provider to serve the schools. As part of their project, CSKT will also partner with Logan Health. Logan Health will provide medical services to two of the school districts, Charlo and St Ignatius with their mobile medical unit. CSKT and Logan Health will participate in joint planning to serve those two districts together to provide both medical and behavioral health services. Grant funds to CSKT will be used for towards the salary and fringe for the new full-time behavioral health provider that will serve the schools.

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

24 month

2024

Day Eagle Hope Project 2024

Feeding Our People White Clay

The Day Eagle Hope Project is a Native nonprofit organization addressing food security in the Fort Belknap Indian Community. This planning grant will be used to complete a business plan to sustain the Fort Belknap Indian Community’s bison herd as an ongoing food source for the community. Our funds will be used for a consultant and the Day Eagle Hope Project Director's salary. This organization worked with the tribe to develop the proposal and included a letter of support from the Fort Belknap Indian Community. 

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2024

Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center 2024

Crisis Response in Frontier Regions

This is an invited proposal from Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center (EMCMHC) to expand their crisis work in the Eastern region. EMCMHC is the primary mental health and substance use organization in 17 Eastern Montana Counties. The proposal seeks to add two additional counties (Rosebud and Treasure) to the existing five counties that are currently being served with a mobile crisis platform. Other counties in the region are either already using or will be using the platform through other private and public grants. The proposal will also utilize funds to expand FTE for the existing coordinator and care manager. These two positions will work in tandem to ensure clients are connected and the communities and their stakeholders/coalitions are supported. Eastern will contract with a company called Avel, which will train 1st responders on utilizing mobile tablets to connect to on-call psychiatric nurses.

Grant Amount

$70,700

Term

18 month

2024

Elmore Roberts Community Partners, LP 2024

Elmore Roberts

Elmore Roberts is a historic commercial and residential building with 60 units located in downtown Great Falls. The tenants living in Elmore Roberts all earn less than 50% of the Area Median Income. Through this program-related investment (PRI), we will support the acquisition, preservation, and rehabilitation of these affordable housing units. The renovations will include low VOC vinyl plank flooring, formaldehyde-free cabinets and counters, low VOC paint, and low flow plumbing fixtures, along with exterior improvements such as updated energy-rated windows, paint, roof replacement, and siding repair. The renovation will also enhance ADA accessibility. The project will carry a 51-year Land Use Restriction Agreement, which ensures long-term affordability. This PRI will leverage nearly $12 million, including $5 million in private loan funds, $5.6 million in Low-Income Housing Credits, more than $900,000 in historic tax credits, and an investment of $130,000 from the Great Falls Tax Increment Financing District which demonstrates strong local commitment to the project. Partners include NeighborWorks Great Falls and the City of Great Falls.

Grant Amount

$600,000

Term

Other

2024

Emma's House - Bitterroot Valley Childrens Advocacy Center, Inc. 2024

Acute Intervention Medical Clinic

Emma’s House is a nationally accredited Children’s Advocacy Center in Ravalli County, serving as a resource for children and adolescents who have experienced abuse. Through this grant, Emma’s House will plan and begin to implement acute medical exams for child and adolescent victims of sexual and physical assault and drug endangerment. The grant will allow Emma’s House to obtain additional equipment, training, and certification to conduct acute exams within 72 hours of incidents of abuse. Grant funds will support a portion of project staff time, contracts for on-call providers, training, and a limited pharmacy license. The project relies on and benefits from partnerships with Bitterroot Health, FirstSTEP Resource Center, Sapphire Community Health, Ravalli County Attorney and Sheriff’s Office, DPHHS Child and Family Services Division, and Bitterroot Drug.

Grant Amount

$35,840

Term

12 month

2024

Florence Crittenton Home & Services 2024

Establishing Youth Maternity Home as a Licensed Medicaid Residential Setting

Florence Crittenton provides trauma-responsive care, family-centered support, and services to parents and children throughout Montana. Through this grant, it will work to improve Medicaid reimbursement for their youth maternity home, which serves young mothers aged 12-21 and their children. Establishing a reliable funding source will allow Florence Crittenton to fund these services and expand the number of clients the program can serve. The grant will support staff time to carry out the analysis required to establish a new Medicaid rate and engage DPHHS and critical partners in serving this population. Primary partners include the DPHHS Child and Family Service Division, the Early Childhood Services Bureau, the Montana Board of Crime Control, and Youth Courts and Juvenile Probation.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2024

Friends of the Children - Eastern Montana 2024

Public Partnerships & Sustainability for Long Term Youth Mentoring

Friends of the Children (Friends-Eastern) provides intensive youth mentoring services in Eastern Montana, with a primary location in Billings. Friends-Eastern is currently primarily reliant on private donations. With this grant, Friends-Eastern will hire a contractor to explore the potential for reimbursement for mentoring services through public agencies and programs, with a goal of securing at least 30% public, sustainable revenue. The executive director and board will work with the contractor during 2025 to identify and hire the contractor, then launch funding partnerships that best fit with their mission and model. Funds will be used to pay for a contractor and the partial salary of the executive director to oversee the project. Friends-Eastern will partner with Billings and Lockwood public schools, and DPHHS Child and Family Services (Region III), to enroll and serve Eastern Montana children.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2024

Good Housing Partnership 2024

Preservation of Eight Affordable Housing Properties

This PRI to Good Housing Partnership (GHP) will provide $500,000 in predevelopment financing to assist in acquiring, renovating, and preserving affordability for 321 housing units in eight existing housing developments in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Deer Lodge, and Libby. The PRI will fund the assessments required for each property to access Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), which are reimbursed at the closing of the LIHTC partnership. Of the 321 units to be preserved, 148 serve families, and 173 are for seniors and people with disabilities. Rents are targeted to be affordable to people earning less than 70% of Area Median Income. HUD subsidies are available to ensure that households do not pay more than 30% of their income toward rent, regardless of their income. The $500,000 PRI will be repaid with 2% interest at the closing of the LIHTC deal, which will happen within 12 months of the date of this PRI. The PRI will leverage $62.4 million in bond financing and LIHTCs that make up the full financing package for this multi-site project.

Grant Amount

$500,000

Term

Other

2024

Helena Indian Alliance 2024

The Resilience Lab

Helena Indian Alliance will partner with Helena High School to plan and pilot the “Resiliency Lab,” an innovative solution to the growing mental health crisis among Montana youth. The project will create a trauma-informed eight-week curriculum for staff, weekly educational offerings, and evidence-based therapeutic modalities for students. The project is coordinated with a new school-based health center run by Helena Indian Alliance. The Resiliency Lab program will help the school implement supports that benefit all students, allowing the clinic to focus on students needing a higher level of care. The project aims to improve academic and health outcomes across the student body. Grant funds will be used for staff salaries, supplies, travel, contracts, and communications. The partner for this project is Helena School District, specifically Helena High School.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2024

Helena Indian Alliance 2024

Facility Improvements

The Helena Indian Alliance (HIA) is an Urban Indian Organization and a federally qualified health center look-alike that serves the Native American population in Lewis and Clark County. This project will support renovating and expanding HIA's behavioral health clinic space and implementing a new electronic health records system. Together, these improvements will help HIA expand access to behavioral health services and improve their ability to deliver integrated behavioral health in the primary care setting. Grant funds will support consultants for the facility design, and electronic health record data migration and implementation. Partners include SMA Architects for the behavioral health unit expansion and eCW for the electronic health records systems.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

12 month

2024

Human Resource Development Council of District IX, Inc. 2024

Park County Housing Coalition Capacity-Building and Sustainability

This grant will support staffing costs for the Park County Housing Coalition as they implement the 2022 Park County Housing Action Plan. HRDC IX currently staffs the Coalition, which intends to become an independent organization. MTHF funds will support two primary activities outlined in the Community Health Improvement Plan. The first is facilitating collaboration among local healthcare and social service providers to improve the community's use of Coordinated Entry Systems (CES) to assist people experiencing homelessness. Like many rural communities, the use of CES is inconsistent and does not include the local hospital emergency department, where many people experiencing homelessness or unstable, unsafe housing often require care. Adding Livingston Health Care to CES addresses a gap in the data used to guide emergency housing decisions. MTHF funds will also support staff responsible for developing the organizational capacity for the coalition to successfully and sustainably operate as an independent organization and continue to build effective programming to serve the needs of people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.

Grant Amount

$24,999

Term

12 month

2024

Human Resource Development Council of District IX, Inc. 2024

Housing First Village Supportive Housing Project

HRDC IX is a nonprofit Community Action Agency serving Gallatin, Park, and Meagher counties with programming that includes housing, energy, food, community transportation, early childhood education, and services for the elderly. HRDC IX has particpated in MTHF's Housing is Healthcare initiative since 2018. In that time, they planned, financed, and built, and began to house clients in the "Housing First Village." This innovative program permanent supportive services to people who are chronically homeless and require frequent emergency medical care and corrections interventions. This grant will help HRDC enhance the services provided on site through new and expanded partnerships with clinical providers as well as through exploring the feasibility of providing certain Medicaid services directly. Specifically, HRDC will explore providing the tennancy support services (newly approved for Medicaid reimbursement) and other Medicaid services independently. In addition, HRDC will work to expand the current partnership with Community Health Partners for medical and behavioral health services, and work L'Esprit to secure services from its newly-formed PACT team for residents in need of intensive services. MHCF funds will support staff time to develop onsite services with CHP and L’Esprit and explore the implementation of Medicaid billable services, including the upcoming tenancy support services waiver.

Grant Amount

$45,000

Term

12 month

2024

L'esprit 2024

Program for Assertive Community Treatment

L’espirit is a licensed mental health center based in Park County and serving Park, Sweet Grass, and Gallatin Counties. L’esprit will implement an assertive community treatment (ACT) team in Gallatin County. L’esprit has an existing ACT team that serves Park and Sweet Grass Counties, and they also have outpatient and school-based services in Park County. L’esprit will utilize its existing ACT team and expand its services into Gallatin County. MTHF funds will offset start-up costs for new staff to expand the team. L’esprit will work closely with the Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition and, specifically the Human Resource Development Council and One Health.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2024

Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana 2024

Self-Governance Annual Tribal Conference & Training

The Little Shell Tribe (LST) is planning to assume governance of the Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic and Service Unit from the Indian Health Service (IHS) and is working to develop member housing. LST used this grant to send its tribal council and key leadership staff to the annual Tribal Health Self-Governance Conference, a week-long event where participants can learn about self-governance and innovative approaches to service delivery, network with other tribal members, and meet with federal agencies to identify top priorities and challenges in self-governance. The group also had the opportunity to visit the River People Health Center and housing development operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, where they could see the design and operation of a patient-centered health clinic that integrates traditional healing practices with modern health care. They learned about eco-friendly building practices, safety and security, and funding and financing models at the housing development site.

Grant Amount

$38,750

Term

12 month

2024

Logan Health 2024

Expansion of School Based Health Services at Conrad Public Schools

Logan Health-Conrad (LHC) is a critical access hospital and rural health clinic serving Pondera County and the surrounding areas. Through this grant, LHC will partner with Conrad Public Schools to provide a school-based health center that serves 500 students and 80 faculty in the district. This project will improve access to primary care services and behavioral health services with minimum disruption to the students, staff, and their families. Grant funds will be used towards the salaries of the nurse, medical provider, and behavioral health provider. The primary partner for the project is Conrad Public Schools.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2024

Logan Health Foundation 2024

School-Based Health Center, St. Ignatius and Charlo School Districts

Logan Health Medical Center is non-profit health system that includes five critical access hospitals and 68 health clinics that serve Northwest and Northcentral Montana. The goal of the project is to extend Logan Health's mobile school-based model to Lake County and serve schools in St. Ignatius and Charlo. They will do this in partnership with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), which will provide behavioral health services in these schools. There are six schools designated as high priority in the two communities. Charlo includes 2 Title I schools and one Targeted School and St. Ignatius includes three Title I schools. To accomplish the goal of the project, Logan Health will hire a team to provide services in their newly acquired mobile unit and they will bring that unit to each of the communities once a week to provide medical services in partnership with CSKT's behavioral health services. CSKT is a confirmed partner in this project. Grant funds will be used towards the salaries of the staff on the mobile medical unit and some supplies.

Grant Amount

$200,000

Term

24 month

2024

Missoula County Public Schools 2024

Willard Alternative High School Recovery Program

Willard School in Missoula County Public School District is an alternative school that serves over 240 at-risk students. The goal of the project is to establish a school-based recovery program for students struggling with substance use disorders. They will do this by embedding addiction counseling within the academic day, allowing students to receive therapeutic support while pursuing their education. Grant funds will be used for staff time on the project, travel for meetings and a conference, and supplies. Partnership Health Center will provide behavioral health services for the recovery program, and the Missoula Youth Court has also agreed to coordinate with the district.

Grant Amount

$49,325

Term

12 month

2024

Montana Legal Services Association 2024

Montana Health Justice Partnership MLP+ Project

The Montana Health Justice Partnership is a collaboration between the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA), the Montana Primary Care Association (MPCS), seven federally qualified health centers (FQHC), Providence St. Patrick Hospital, and 10 referral social service organizations. This project will support these long-standing medical-legal partnerships to provide comprehensive legal services and wraparound social services for low-income, vulnerable, and exploited patients and their families, and add two urban Indian Health Organizations as new sites for these services. Grant funds will provide a match to help MLSA secure a $214,000 federal grant to participate in the Medical Legal Partnerships Plus (MLP+) demonstration program. MLSA will use the funding and the $25,000 matching grant from MHCF to hire a new 1.0 FTE Intake Navigator focused on strengthening partnerships and cross-referrals with social service provider partners, allocating 0.35 FTE attorney time for increased capacity to provide legal services, adding the Montana Consortium for Urban Indian Health and two urban Indian health organizations as partners, and tracking improved health, legal, and social data for clients, their children, and their families, especially those experiencing challenges with housing stability, income support, family stability, civil rights, immigration, and environmental health. Grant funds will support a portion of the project manager's salary, travel and meeting expenses, project supplies, communications, and marketing. The primary partner for this expanded planning project is the Montana Consortium for Urban Indian Health and their five member urban Indian health organizations.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2024

Native American Development Corporation 2024

Eagle Seeker Construction Phasing

The Native American Development Corporation’s Eagle Seeker Community Center (ECC) serves Yellowstone County in South Central Montana. ECC's vision is to provide a culturally relevant space for health and wellness in the community, leaving a legacy of healing and community inclusion. This grant will support efforts to finalize a master plan for infrastructure and site improvements at ECC. Grant funds will cover the costs of consultant Enginuity, Inc. which will assess how the site development and improvements will impact each construction phase, and help alight the project phases together towards creating a permanent and welcoming space for providing urban Indian health care.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2024

Opportunities Inc 2024

Foundations for Change: Supportive Housing Initiative

Opportunities, Inc. is the Community Action Program serving Cascade County through programs that address housing, energy, Head Start, and behavioral health services for residents with low incomes. This grant will help the organization implement the service plan developed over the previous year for the community's first purpose-built permanent supportive housing, the Baatz Apartments. Using the Coordinated Entry System, Opportunities, Inc., and project partners will develop criteria for identifying frequent users, provide pre-tenancy support to individuals to be housed, and prepare the case management team for occupancy. Project partners include NeighborWorks, Great Falls Housing Authority, Alluvion Health, Many Rivers Whole Health, Indian Family Health Clinic, Veterans, Inc., and Volunteers of America. The grantee will also build partnerships with the Little Shell Tribe's housing and health departments. MTHF funds will support the staff salaries and TA for programming, service package development, and revenue opportunities. Staff will work with the TA providers to address identified system barriers, including data fragmentation, partner development, and limited community capacity.

Grant Amount

$40,000

Term

12 month

2024

Partnership Health Center 2024

Blue Heron Place Permanent Supportive Housing Project

Partnership Health Center (PHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center serving Missoula County. This grant will support Partnership Health Center to build and implement a sustainable package of supportive services to residents of the Blue Heron Apartments. Blue Heron provides housing for people with complex health issues who were experiencing chronic homelessness. PHC is already providing some health-related services and generating revenue to sustain staffing. MTHF funds will support the PSH program manager position, which is responsible for developing and implementing the services plan and overseeing case management staff working directly with tenants. Partners include the Missoula County Detention Center, City of Missoula, Poverello Center, All Nations Health Center, two local hospitals, the Missoula Housing Authority, and Homeword. In the grant year, PHC will work to develop its reimbursement model further and implement billing for tenancy support services under the Medicaid 1115 waiver to help address the revenue gap experienced in the first year of operations.

Grant Amount

$45,000

Term

12 month

2024

Pondera County Health Department 2024

North Central Montana Crisis Coalition

This grant will support Pondera County Health Department to lead a regional collaborative in North Central Montana for Crisis Now planning. Pondera will work with surrounding counties and tribes to support local efforts in place and identify regional collaborations to support individuals in crisis and implementation of the Crisis Now model. Grant funds will hire a coordinator/project manager to lead the effort and a consultant to conduct sequential intercept mapping and help develop a strategic plan for regional crisis services. Partners include Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, and Toole counties, the Blackfeet Nation, and the Chippewa Cree Tribe. JG Research & Evaluation will support the data infrastructure, collection, and analysis.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

36 month

2024

Poplar Public Schools 2024

Enhancing Health Coordination in School

Poplar Public Schools is one of the largest schools on the Fort Peck reservation, with approximately 850 students in the K-12 district. Situated in the remote town of Poplar, the school plays a pivotal role within the Fort Peck Tribes, with an enrollment consisting of approximately 99% Native American students. The project will improve health and educational outcomes by improving coordination with the longstanding school-based health center. Fort Peck's Health Promotion and Disease Prevention program has been operating school-based health services in Fort Peck since 2007, augmented by consulting from Montana Pediatrics. Through this grant, the schools will establish health coordinator positions responsible for developing tailored health initiatives, assisting with student health needs, coordinating health appointments for students and their families, and foster partnerships with local health organizations. The health coordinators will work closely with the school nurse to identify students that need additional health resources and connect them to the school-based health center and other service providers as needed. Grant funds wills be used for the health coordinator positions and supplies. The confirmed partners for this project are Fort Peck Tribes Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programs and Montana Pediatrics.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

24 month

2024

Rimrock Foundation 2024

Rimrock Consulting Proposal

This grant will support Rimrock to carry out an operational and programmatic assessment to ensure it follows best practices, provides evidence-based treatment, and that its programs become and remain financially sustainable. Rimrock is a behavioral health organization based in Billings, and its programs have a statewide reach. Rimrock will hire a consultant to lead the assessment, and Rimrock's staff and board leadership will support and participate in the effort. There are no external partners identified.

Grant Amount

$20,000

Term

12 month

2024

RiverStone Health 2024

School-Based Health Clinic Expansion

RiverStone Health is a federally qualified health center that is located in Billings. RiverStone has a longstanding partnership with Billings Public Schools through which it operates school-based health centers in two schools. This project will allow Riverstone to expand school-based services to two additional schools in Billings Public Schools, Senior High School and the Career Center. RiverStone will implement primary care and behavioral health at Senior High School and behavioral health at the Career Center. The grant funds will be used for initial support for salaries of the therapist and the advanced practice provider. Billings Public Schools is the main partner in this project.

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

24 month

2024

Rocky Boy Health Center 2024

Hi-Line Urgent Care Feasibility

The Rocky Boy Health Center (RBHC) serves the Chippewa Cree community on the Rocky Boy Reservation in north central Montana. RBHC provides healthcare and wellness services for over 4,000 people on one modern campus. This grant will support a feasibility study for an urgent care center in neighboring Havre, Montana. This project will help RBHC plan and implement new services for tribal members with urgent healthcare needs who currently use the emergency department at Northern Montana Hospital or travel to Great Falls for care. This study will estimate operating costs and revenue potential of an urgent care, and identify funding options for construction and start-up. Grant funding will be used to hire a consultant – American Indian Consulting Services – to conduct the feasibility study.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2024

Rocky Boy Health Center 2024

Improving Access to Behavioral Health on the Rocky Boy Reservation

Rocky Boy Health Center (RBHC) has been serving the Rocky Boy reservation since 1976. RBHC provides a full suite of professional health care and services for over 4,000 people with a staff of over 180 employees. RBHC will develop a coalition and map out the behavioral health crisis services needed for their tribe. They will utilize current programs and resources and identify gaps and opportunities to address them. RBHC's project coordinator will oversee the project and coordinate with partners. Loveland consulting will map current services and help develop a strategic plan. The grant funds will be used for meeting expenses and mapping the current services. RBHC will work with multiple organizations important to crisis response in the region, including Chippewa Cree Tribal Courts, Chippewa Cree Justice Center, the Rocky Boy Police Department, and both the Rocky Boy and Box Elder school systems, as well as external hospitals and health departments in the region. The work will be under the oversight of Dr. Debbie Essert, the Integrated Health Division Director.

Grant Amount

$31,500

Term

18 month

2024

South Central Montana Regional Mental Health Center 2024

PACT expansion into the rural counties of South Central Montana.

This is a proposal from S. Central MT Regional Mental Health Center (SCM) to expand their PACT team into Fergus and surrounding rural counties (Judith Basin, Petroleum, Musselshell.) This will allow SCM to provide PACT services (which are more nimble, comprehensive, and sustainable than the limited outpatient services they have been providing) in Fergus. It will also allow them to serve the surrounding rural communities, which currently lack these services. Additionally, SCM will use this project as a pilot that will, if successful, allow them to expand PACT access to other rural communities. Grant funds will offset start-up costs for salaries, vehicle, clinical and administrative support. SCM has some existing staff they will utilize for the rollout but are also recruiting. They will have a blend of onsite and offsite staff to support the model. Partnerships are strong with the leadership from FQHC (One Health), Critical Access Hospital (Central Montana Medical Center), County Commissioners, and the mental health local advisory council actively involved.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

24 month

2024

Tamarack Management, Inc. 2024

Implementation of Integrated Behavioral Health in Pediatrics at Western Montana Clinic

Western Montana Clinic (WMC) is a multispecialty health care organization located in Missoula, providing primary and subspecialty care. WMC’s two pediatric primary care clinics serve 10,000 children from birth through 21 years of age. WMC will recruit and on-board a mental health professional to help implement additional primary care behavioral health screening, provide crisis intervention, community referrals, parenting support, brief intervention, counseling, and follow-up. Grant funds will primarily support the behavioral health staff position, with a portion used for developing and sustaining integrated care in WMC’s clinics. Project partners include Partnership Health Center, The Children’s Clinic of Billings, Community Medical Center, Providence St. Patrick Hospital, and the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. WMC is also building creative partnerships with Missoula County Public Schools as professionals unfold new plans to support students struggling with behavioral health challenges in schools.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

36 month

2024

United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area 2024

Helena Inn Supportive Housing Project

This grant will support United Way of Lewis and Clark County plan to acquire and rehabilitate the former Helena Inn into 48 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units. PSH serves people with complex medical conditions who are chronically homeless. The model links housing with on-site services such as tenancy support, employment assistance, and medical and behavioral health care to improve health outcomes, reduce the need for high-cost emergency services, and help people remain housed. While Helena has a long history of providing scattered-site PSH, this project would represent Helena's first single-site PSH development. MTHF funds will be used to support staff time to lead the development effort and for consulting services from the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) to create a plan for sustainable staffing and operations. Partners include United Way, St. Peter's Hospital, Helena Housing Authority, Pureview (Federally Qualified Health Center), Many Rivers, AWARE, and the City of Helena. United Way currently leads the Helena’s Coordinated Entry System data collection and case conferencing and is well positioned to lead the PSH project development team.

Grant Amount

$40,000

Term

12 month

2024

United Way of Yellowstone County 2024

Permanent Supportive Housing Community Engagement and Development Project

This grant will support United Way of Yellowstone County to plan and develop the community's first single-site permanent supportive housing (PSH). PSH serves people with complex medical conditions who are chronically homeless. The model links housing with on-site services such as tenancy support, employment assistance, and medical and behavioral health care to improve health outcomes, reduce the need for high-cost emergency services, and help people remain housed. Planning activities will include a data match and cost analysis by Montana State University-Billings to help identify the individuals most likely to benefit from PSH; creation of prioritization criteria for placement in PSH; and developing a staffing model and package of services that will be delivered on site. United Way has dedicated staff to overseeing this work. Partners include Homefront (housing authority), the City of Billings, Riverstone (Federally Qualified Health Center), and Intermountain Health (hospital system). Funds from MTHF will be used to conduct a community education campaign to address any questions or concerns about the proposed project, and for predevelopment services with Homeword, an experienced PSH developer.

Grant Amount

$40,000

Term

12 month

2024

Veterans Navigation Network 2024

Warrior Bridge Native Partnership Initiative

Veterans Navigation Network (VNN) is a statewide nonprofit facilitating smooth transitions from military service to civilian life. Through this planning grant, VNN aims to foster health improvement and strong partnerships across eight tribes and five urban Indian organizations in Montana. Specifically, the project will allow VNN to explore with these communities how to help Native veterans navigate and access military benefits in a culturally responsive manner. Partners include the Office of American Indian Health at the Department of Public Health and Human Services and Riverstone Health. Grant funds will support staff time and travel expenses.

Grant Amount

$46,437

Term

12 month

2024

Action Inc. 2023

Butte Permanent Supportive Housing Project

Action, Inc. is the Community Action Program serving Butte-Silver Bow County, providing a wide range of anti-poverty programs, including housing, energy, and case management. This project will support network development, enhance the supportive services package, and develop units devoted to permanent supportive housing. The network will focus on serving people identified in the region's frequent user system engagement (FUSE) list, which generally includes people who are homeless with complex medical needs and who require frequent hospital and emergency services. Funds will support staff time in the network and provide a sustainable services package. Partners include the Public Housing Authority of Butte, St. James/Intermountain Hospital, Butte-Silver Bow County, Southwest Montana Community Health Center, Southwest Montana Continuum of Care Coalition, and the Strategic Alliance for Behavioral Health.

Grant Amount

$25,000

Term

12 month

2023

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 from MHCF will cover the 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 Fork School District 2023

Bigfork School-Strengthing Partnerships to Improve Student Health Outcomes

The Big Fork School District operates three schools serving 956 students in grades K-12. This project will support the school district in hiring a family health liaison who will work closely with students, families, and staff to connect with needed resources, including the school-based health center. It will also provide staff training and education on the multi-tiered support structure systems. Grant funds will be used for the school district staff time to support the project, and for staff training. The primary partner is Logan Health, which operates the school-based health center.

Grant Amount

$50,000

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 Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) and Montana State University Extension used this grant to organize and facilitate six outreach meetings across the southern region of Montana—three in Indigenous communities and three in rural towns—to understand better how restoring passenger rail service on the North Coast Hiawatha/Limited (NCH/L) route might benefit them. The discussions focused on the social determinants of health, such as access to health care services; more efficient and affordable transportation to other services, meetings, employment, and events. A final report summarizing the public input was provided to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in August of 2023. This report led to the FRA and the U.S. Department of Transportation accepting BSPRA into the Corridor Identification and Development Program, which puts the restoration of the NCH/L on track for significant federal funding for planning, design, and engineering. BSPRA has received a $150,000 grant through the Build America Bureau and a $500,000 grant to fund initial planning as part of the FRA's Corridor Identification and Development Program.

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