510-RTLR Regions The Living Room Program (03)

The Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery, is offering the competitive 510-RTLR Regions The Living Room funding opportunity to support operation of a Living Room Program in East St. Louis. The program is intended for adults age 18 and older who are experiencing a self-defined behavioral health crisis and is designed to divert individuals from psychiatric hospitalization, emergency departments, and jails when a more restrictive level of care is not necessary. The Living Room model provides a voluntary, safe, inviting, home-like crisis respite setting in which guests can process a crisis, receive peer support, learn wellness strategies, and connect with appropriate community services. Peer Recovery Support Specialists, including staff with lived expertise in recovery from mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use, are central to the service model. The Department expects to award approximately $1,400,000 in State funding through one grant award. The anticipated individual award range is $750,000 to $1,400,000. Cost sharing or matching is not required. Indirect costs may be charged when the organization has an approved State or Federal negotiated indirect cost rate or elects the allowable de minimis rate, which may be up to 15 percent. Pre-award costs are not allowable. Grant funds may support necessary and reasonable program costs, including personnel and short-term transportation assistance for guests, subject to applicable cost principles and program requirements. Subcontractor agreements and budgets must be pre-approved by DBHR, and the grantee remains responsible for subcontractor performance and monitoring. The initial grant period is expected to begin no sooner than July 1, 2026 and continue through June 30, 2027, subject to appropriation. Successful applicants may be eligible for two subsequent one-year renewals at the Department's discretion based on appropriations, satisfactory performance, timely reporting, and continued good standing. Eligible applicants include government organizations, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations. Applicants must be registered with the State of Illinois, prequalified through the Grantee Portal before the application deadline, registered in SAM.gov, and maintain an active Unique Entity Identifier. Applicants also must satisfy applicable good-standing requirements and may not appear on the Illinois Stop Payment List, SAM.gov Exclusion List, or Medicaid Sanctions List. This opportunity is geographically restricted to applicants proposing to serve East St. Louis. The Living Room must be staffed and capable of operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. At least two staff members must be on site at all times, including at least one Certified Recovery Support Specialist providing services from the peer perspective, with other direct care staff meeting specified peer support or mental health professional qualifications. Staff also must have immediate access to a Qualified Mental Health Professional. Program requirements include a physical environment with safe, comfortable private and common spaces; peer welcome and engagement; screening for substance use and suicide and homicide risk; referral and linkage to other levels of care and community resources; voluntary on-site peer recovery supports; transportation assistance when appropriate; and short-term follow-up generally within five days after a guest leaves the program. Programs must make Naloxone immediately available, develop outreach and engagement activities, maintain relationships with crisis continuum partners, first responders, health care providers, and social service organizations, and maintain written operating and quality improvement policies that incorporate guest feedback. Living Room staff are subject to DBHR training requirements, including a two-hour DBHR video-based training before beginning work and at least 16 hours of CRSS or CPRS training annually. New awardees without prior DBHR Living Room grant funding must have the program operational on a 24-hour basis beginning November 1, 2026. Applications must be submitted by email to DHS.DBHR.GrantApp@Illinois.gov and must be received by July 15, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time. The complete application packet consists of the Uniform Application for State Grant Assistance, a Program Narrative, the Grantee Conflict of Interest Disclosure, applicable subcontractor budgets, and the Advance Payment Request Cash Budget Form when advance payment is requested. The applicant's FY27 budget must separately be entered, electronically signed, and submitted through the CSA Tracking System by the same deadline. The Program Narrative is limited to eight pages per Living Room location and must address Community Identification and Need, Capacity and Agency Qualifications, Quality and Description of Program Services, and Data Collection, Evaluation and Reporting Criteria. Applications must be submitted as separate PDF documents without passwords and use the required email subject line identifying the applicant entity and the 510-RTLR Regions The Living Room - E. St. Louis program. Applications first undergo a responsiveness review for registration, prequalification, SAM.gov and UEI status, good standing, exclusion and sanction checks, and program-specific eligibility. Responsive applications then undergo competitive merit review. The Program Narrative is scored on Community Identification and Need for 20 points, Capacity and Agency Qualifications for 30 points, Quality and Description of Program Services for 30 points, and Data Collection, Evaluation and Reporting Criteria for 20 points. The Department may also consider factors such as geographic distribution, demonstrated need, and past performance, and it retains final authority over award decisions. The anticipated award announcement date is to be determined. Questions regarding the NOFO were due July 8, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time and were accepted only through DHS.DBHR.GrantApp@Illinois.gov with the required question subject line. The identified agency contact is Rob Putnam at DHS.DBHR.GrantApp@Illinois.gov.

Follow the required Program Narrative organization and place information in the section where it is requested or provide an explicit cross-reference; keep each Program Narrative within the 8-page maximum; demonstrate a detailed 24/7/365 staffing plan with required peer credentials and immediate QMHP access; use community-specific data to establish need in East St. Louis; show measurable goals, milestones, outcomes, outreach, guest feedback, and quality improvement processes; ensure the CSA budget is electronically signed and shows GATA Budget signed and submitted to program review by the application deadline; submit all required PDF documents without passwords to the specified email address and retain proof of timely submission.