Behavioral Health Promotion Community Grants

The Behavioral Health Promotion Community Grants funding opportunity is administered by North Dakota Health and Human Services (ND HHS) through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The opportunity is supported under Public Law 119-21, which established a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve rural health outcomes and modernize rural health care delivery systems. North Dakota developed a statewide RHTP plan focused on four initiatives: Make North Dakota Healthy Again, Strengthen and Stabilize Rural Health Workforce, Bring High-Quality Health Care Closer to Home, and Connect Tech, Data, and Providers for a Stronger North Dakota. This grant opportunity specifically supports Initiative 1, Make North Dakota Healthy Again, by promoting behavioral health prevention and community wellness strategies designed for rural and tribal populations throughout North Dakota. The purpose of the funding opportunity is to support evidence-based behavioral health promotion projects that focus on mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and substance use or misuse prevention. ND HHS emphasizes that promotion and prevention activities should proactively strengthen protective factors and reduce behavioral health risks before treatment becomes necessary. Applicants must demonstrate that proposed activities are evidence-based, data-driven, and aligned with the socio-ecological model that recognizes how environmental and social factors influence individual behavior. Projects are required to collaborate with existing prevention organizations and community partners to avoid duplication and maximize community impact. Priority consideration will be given to projects aligned with the Parents Lead initiative or recommendations from the North Dakota Suicide Fatality Review Commission. Eligible applicants include hospitals, clinics, home care providers, tribal governments and tribal health organizations, nonprofit organizations, local public health units, political subdivisions, education systems, faith-based organizations, libraries, youth organizations, child care providers, and other community organizations. Applicants must serve rural or tribal North Dakota residents. While organizations located in Grand Forks, Fargo, West Fargo, and Bismarck are generally considered urban and therefore ineligible, those entities may still qualify if at least 50 percent of the population served by the proposed project consists of rural North Dakota residents or if the project specifically benefits rural populations. The program encourages broad community partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration. Applicants are also required to ensure that at least one staff member completes the Strategic Prevention Framework Application for Prevention Success Training within six months of award unless they completed the training within the previous five years. Approximately $1.6 million in federal funding is available during the first year of the grant program. ND HHS expects to issue approximately ten awards averaging about $160,000 each, although applicants may request any amount necessary to support their project. The funding period begins after execution of the grant agreement and concludes on September 30, 2027, with all awarded funds required to be fully expended by that date. The program may offer additional years of funding depending on ND HHS approval. Funds are governed by 2 CFR Part 200 and 2 CFR Part 300 requirements. Allowable uses include behavioral health promotion activities, workforce development, prevention programming, and minor facility alterations connected to project outcomes. Significant restrictions apply to capital expenditures, vehicle purchases, construction projects, lobbying activities, replacement of existing funding sources, and certain health care reimbursement activities. Indirect costs are capped at 10 percent, and provider payments generally may not exceed 15 percent of total funding in a budget period. The application process requires submission through the Qualtrics platform by May 29, 2026, at 5 p.m. Central Time. Applications must include background information, a project narrative, an action plan, and a detailed budget using ND HHS templates. The project narrative must describe the identified community need, target populations, SMART goals, evidence-based strategies, measurable outcomes, sustainability planning, and alignment with federal RHTP objectives. Applicants are expected to provide data demonstrating local behavioral health challenges and explain how proposed activities will improve measurable outcomes such as reductions in suicide attempts, poor mental health indicators, underage alcohol use, binge drinking, and suicidal ideation. The action plan must include implementation timelines, milestones, staffing details, metrics, and reporting plans. Applications will be reviewed and scored based solely on the materials submitted by applicants using a formal scoring tool developed by ND HHS. The state reserves the right to negotiate budgets, request supplemental information, and modify project proposals to align with CMS cooperative agreement requirements. Successful applicants must comply with extensive reporting obligations including reimbursement requests, progress reports, impact stories, and potentially up to five years of post-award reporting depending on CMS guidance. ND HHS also reserves authority to require project modifications and additional technical assistance participation. A technical assistance conference call was scheduled for May 7, 2026, and recordings, FAQs, and additional guidance materials are made available through the Rural Health Transformation Program website. Questions regarding the funding opportunity may be submitted to ND HHS through the RHTP FAQ Survey or directed to the program email at rhtp@nd.gov. The funding opportunity is fully supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a financial assistance award totaling more than $198 million for North Dakota's Rural Health Transformation Program. The grant is expected to recur as part of North Dakota's multi-year RHTP implementation strategy, with additional phased funding opportunities anticipated over the five-year program period.

Emphasize evidence-based prevention strategies tied to measurable behavioral health outcomes; demonstrate collaboration with existing prevention organizations to avoid duplication; clearly document rural or tribal population impact; align goals with SMART framework requirements; include sustainability planning showing how activities continue after grant funding ends