Jail Based Mental Health Services Grant Program

The Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery, is offering the competitive 834 Jail Based Mental Health Services funding opportunity using State funds. The program is intended to address the mental health needs of individuals who have been found Unfit to Stand Trial and are awaiting inpatient admission to a State Operated Psychiatric Hospital. Individuals in this status may remain in county jails that have little or insufficient mental health service capacity, which can contribute to worsening psychiatric symptoms and management challenges for jail personnel. Through this program, IDHS intends to establish clinical staffing and dedicated co-ed treatment capacity at the McHenry County Jail, Franklin County Jail, and Kankakee County Jail, while permitting referrals and transfers from other county jails statewide. Funded programs are expected to provide comprehensive jail-based mental health services for DHS-remanded program participants. At a minimum, staffing must include a licensed psychiatric provider capable of providing in-person and telehealth services and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, or Licensed Clinical Psychologist responsible for daily programming, clinical monitoring, and mental health crisis intervention. Required activities include comprehensive mental health assessments upon program admission, medication management and administration, individual and/or group therapy and milieu therapy, weekly mental health status monitoring, crisis intervention and emergency evaluations during business hours, collaboration with the DHS Forensics Bureau and community resources, training for jail personnel, court-process education and assistance for participants, discharge recommendations, and collection and reporting of utilization and outcome data. Capacity is expected to include up to 25 dedicated beds at Kankakee County Jail and up to 12 dedicated beds each at McHenry County Jail and Franklin County Jail. Approximately $1,420,000 in State funding is expected to support approximately three awards. The anticipated award range is $300,000 to $450,000 for the McHenry County program, $300,000 to $450,000 for the Franklin County program, and $350,000 to $520,000 for the Kankakee County program. No cost sharing or matching contribution is required. Pre-award costs are not allowable. Indirect costs are permitted, provided the applicant has or elects an appropriate indirect cost rate, including a State negotiated rate, Federal negotiated rate, or an allowable de minimis rate of up to 15 percent. Program costs must comply with applicable cost principles, including 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E, and proposed expenditures must be reasonable, necessary, allocable, allowable, and adequately justified. Successful applicants may be eligible for two subsequent one-year renewals at the discretion of IDHS, subject to appropriations, satisfactory performance, timely reporting, continued qualification, and the absence of outstanding compliance issues. Eligible applicants include government organizations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations. Applicants must be registered with the State of Illinois, prequalified through the applicable Grantee Portal requirements before the application deadline, registered in SAM.gov when required, possess a valid Unique Entity Identifier, remain in good standing when Illinois Secretary of State registration applies, and not appear on applicable Stop Payment, SAM.gov Exclusion, or Medicaid Sanctions lists. Applicants must propose services for the forensic UST population awaiting admission to a State Operated Psychiatric Hospital in one of three designated geographic areas: McHenry County Jail using suffix L01, Franklin County Jail using suffix L02, or Kankakee County Jail using suffix L03. More than one application per entity is not permitted. A complete application must be submitted electronically by email to DHS.DBHR.GrantApp@Illinois.gov. Required materials include 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 if advance payment is requested. The FY27 budget must be entered, electronically signed, and submitted separately through the CSA Tracking System by the same deadline as the application. The Program Narrative may not exceed 12 pages and must follow the required formatting instructions, including Times New Roman 12-point type, single spacing, one-inch margins, and 8.5 by 11-inch PDF pages. Application documents must be submitted as separate PDF files and may not be password protected. The email subject line must identify the applicant entity and the 834 Jail Based Mental Health Services program. Applicants that do not receive a submission-receipt email must notify the Department within 48 hours of the deadline. Merit review is based on four scored areas totaling 100 points: Community Identification and Need for 10 points, Capacity and Agency Qualifications for 40 points, Quality and Description of Program Services for 35 points, and Data Collection, Evaluation and Reporting for 15 points. Applicants should directly address the requested information within the designated narrative section because reviewers will not consider material placed elsewhere unless an appropriate cross-reference is provided. IDHS may also consider geographical distribution, demonstrated need, and past performance as a State awardee, and the Department retains final authority over award decisions. A responsiveness review will first determine whether applicants satisfy registration, SAM.gov, UEI, good-standing, exclusion-list, sanctions-list, and program-specific geographic requirements. The opportunity was posted February 2, 2026, and full applications were due March 3, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. No letter of intent, pre-application, or white paper was required. An optional technical assistance session was scheduled for February 17, 2026, at 2:30 PM Central Time, and questions were due February 24, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. The anticipated award and program start date was July 1, 2026, with an initial performance period running through June 30, 2027, subject to appropriation. The FY27 Internal Control Questionnaire for awardees was due March 10, 2026, at 12:00 PM Central Time. Questions regarding the opportunity were to be directed to Rob Putnam at DHS.DBHR.GrantApp@Illinois.gov. The source does not state that this competitive NOFO is issued on a recurring annual or other regular schedule; potential one-year grant renewals for successful awardees are distinct from recurrence of the application opportunity.

Follow the required narrative section structure because reviewers will not consider information placed elsewhere unless an appropriate cross-reference is included; keep the Program Narrative within 12 pages because excess pages will not be reviewed; directly address the highest-value Capacity/Agency Qualifications and Quality sections; ensure the CSA budget status shows it has been signed and submitted to program review; submit every required document because IDHS will not contact applicants for missing items; use separate non-password-protected PDFs; submit before the last minute and preserve proof of timely submission.