Cooperative agreement to a USA nonprofit organization, state government, tribal organization, or health facility to develop the capacity of facilities providing behavioral health care. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take up to several weeks to complete.

The purpose of this program is to establish a national center of excellence for building capacity in nursing facilities to care for residents with behavioral health conditions. The COE-Nursing Facilities program is expected to support focused resource development and dissemination, training and technical assistance, and workforce development to staff in nursing facilities who serve individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), Substance Use Disorders (SUD), or Co-occurring Disorder (COD). SAMHSA expects that this program will help to: (1) strengthen and sustain effective behavioral health practices and achieve better outcomes for nursing home residents with SMI, SED, SUD, or COD; and (2) ensure the availability of evidence-based training and technical assistance addressing mental health disorder identification, treatment, and recovery support services. Training and technical assistance is needed to support facilities in improving care for this population.

The COE-Nursing Facilities will create an array of resources to equip nursing facility staff to provide high quality health care services to residents with SMI, SED, SUD, and COD. The Center will consider the residents' cultural, racial, and ethnic needs, and design products, resources, and need-based learning community experiences. The Center will also have the ability to provide direct consultation to staff at nursing facilities to increase understanding, improve awareness, combat stigma, and build knowledge and skills for effective management of these residents. SAMHSA and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expect that many of the residents who will benefit from these improved services may be under the age of 65.

The goals of the COE-Nursing Facilities are to:

• Increase the awareness, knowledge, and skills of the nursing facilities workforce caring for the needs of residents with SMI, SED, SUD, or COD.
• Ensure the availability and delivery of publicly available, free of charge training and technical assistance to the nursing facilities.
• Accelerate the adoption and implementation of evidence-based interventions and systems level changes allowing for the successful management and care of people residing in a nursing facility who have SMI, SED, SUD, or COD.
• Foster regional and national alliances among culturally diverse practitioners, researchers, policy makers, family members, and residents of nursing facilities to assist in the successful implementation of nursing facilities interventions that promote the care and management of residents with SMI, SED, SUD, or COD. 

For information about allowable activities, see the following link: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/grants/pdf/fy-22-coe-nursing-facilities-nofo.pdf#page=11