15036-0 Q A Final.docx
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- Attached to
- Yard Debris Grinding Services
- Solicitation number
- S-C25102-00015035
- Issued by
- Marion County, Oregon
About this file
Summary: Questions & Answers for HB 2024 Behavioral Health Workforce Incentives Grant (RFGA 44300-00015036)
This document is a comprehensive Questions & Answers file issued by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) regarding the HB 2024 Behavioral Health Workforce Incentives Grant, a Request for Grant Applications (RFGA). The grant provides funding to behavioral health organizations meeting specific eligibility criteria to establish or expand educational incentive programs for their workforce. Eligible applicants must be team-based high acuity Medicaid providers with a Certificate of Approval (COA) from OHA, must bill Medicaid, Medicare, or serve uninsured populations for at least 50 percent of their billable hours, and can include contracted psychiatric providers to satisfy staffing requirements. Organizations may submit multiple applications across different counties if they operate multiple programs, with funding caps of $225,000 for large organizations, $180,000 for medium organizations, and $150,000 for small organizations. All grant funds must be expended by June 30, 2027, with the four primary fund allocation categories being scholarships, loan repayment/forgiveness, tuition assistance, and stipends. Administrative costs are capped at 12 percent of the total grant award and must directly support grant implementation.
The grant allows organizations to offer educational incentives that expand employee capacity to provide behavioral health services, including tuition assistance for training leading to licenses or certifications; scholarships for graduate behavioral health degrees; loan repayment for existing providers as a retention tool; and stipends exclusively for graduate students pursuing behavioral health degrees. All incentives must include service commitments of a duration determined by the organization. Funds can support clinical supervision, childcare, housing, testing and examination fees, and licensure costs but cannot supplement existing wages, fund mandatory organizational trainings, support non-employees, or reimburse costs incurred prior to the grant award date. Stipends can only be used for graduate students and cannot be stacked with salaries as wage supplements. Organizations must survey their workforce to estimate participant numbers and anticipated incentive amounts per provider. The application is completed entirely through a Smartsheet form accessible via a provided link, with budget templates uploaded directly to Smartsheet rather than through OregonBuys, and all questions and answers were to be posted on OregonBuys by November 25, 2025.
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Questions & Answers
RFGA 44300-00015036
| Q: | RFGA Amendment 1: Under the definition of “Team-based High Acuity Medicaid Provider,” one qualifier is: On-staff psychiatric provider. Does this psychiatric provider need to be a direct employee of the agency, or can a contracted provider fulfill this requirement? |
| A: | Contracted is ok |
Q: Please clarify whether multiple applications from one organization is acceptable if that organization operates multiple programs across different counties.
· For example, if an organization operates multiple behavioral health programs (residential and outpatient) in each of three different counties, may the organization submit three applications, one per county?
A: Yes, that’s ok
· If yes, how should the organization account for size to determine the allowed total funding request? Would organization size in each application response be based on the total number of employees in each respective county?
A: We should determine this based on total number of employees in each county or assigned to each county.
Q: Please clarify if either option below represents the intention of this RFP:
1. The total funding request is capped at $225K per large organization regardless of number of programs, services or geography or, A: This is correct
1. Large organizations can submit program- or region-based funding requests based on the program or region’s respective employee counts resulting in multiple small ($150,000) and/or medium ($180,000) funding requests.
If this question is unclear, we are happy to provide further clarification.
| Q: | RFGA Section 13.8 p22 & Section 1.4.3 p7: Regarding the Priority Provider Group/Area, ‘Mobile Crisis team providers/Organizations that operate mobile crisis intervention or mobile response.)’, please confirm that providing in-house crisis response independently, such that the County’s mobile crisis team does not need to respond to the crisis, qualifies. |
| A: | This should be ok |
| Q: | RFGA Section 13.8 p23: Regarding the Priority Provider Group, ‘Providers serving individuals involved in the criminal justice system (Providing Forensic Behavioral Health Services or Court Appointed Services)’, please confirm a program that is not contracted specifically as a forensic program, but supports mental health clients with criminal justice involvement/mental health court and the Aid and Assist population, would qualify as a priority provider. |
| A: | Yes, they would get the points if they articulate that clearly in their essay |
| Q: | RFGA Section 13.8 p23: Regarding the Priority Provider Group, ‘Providers in Withdrawal Management or Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs’, if a program offers MAT maintenance (continued prescriptions) but does not conduct MAT induction (new prescriptions), does that qualify? |
| A: | Yes, this still qualifies |
| Q: | RFGA Exhibit A, Part I, Section 3.a.(4) p39: Please provide a definition for Stipends (and a listing of examples) as it relates to incentives available in this RFGA to students enrolled in graduate programs. |
| A: | Stipends can be used for any expenses a grad student might need like clinical supervision, childcare, housing, testing and exam fees. |
| Q: | RFP Section 13.4 (pp. 20-21) lists some additional required information to be included in the proposal response related to service commitment expectation. Please clarify whether this information should be included in the two essay responses, or if there is another place this information should be described. |
| A: | Service commitment details need to be explained in the essay |
| Q: | Please provide a downloadable version of the Smartsheet application form that includes all the possible question response fields. |
| A: | Please follow instructions as noted in the RFP for these. |
| Q: | Are there any formatting restrictions in the Smartsheet response fields? For example, may bullet points be used? |
| A: | Bullet points are ok |
| Q: | In Budget Table 1, the Administrative Costs (line 10) are not automatically calculated into the TOTAL (line 11). Are the Administrative costs included in the maximum allocation (based on program size) or are they in addition to the maximum allocation? |
| A: | Yes, this was an error they can use the attached instead. Also, we will upload the corrected sheet to OregonBuys. |
| Q: | Since the grant allows for funding to be used for stipends, I was curious as to what would be considered a "stipend" for the purposes of this grant. We are hoping to be able to utilize a portion of this funding for various educational trainings and continued education for our providers; however, we are unsure which budget category these activities should be listed under. |
| A: | Tuition assistance would fit this scenario the best. Tuition assistance can be for any training that leads to a license, certification, or a credential that leads or expands the providers ability to provide behavioral health services. Stipends can also be used for trainings, clinical supervision or anything the individual might need financial assistance with (childcare, housing etc.), however stipends can only be used for folks in grad school. |
| Q: | Similarly, the RFGA notes that academic materials such as exam fees and licensure costs are acceptable uses of grant funds, and I would like to make sure we budget this in the correct category as well. |
| A: | Correct, these are allowable expenses and should be budgeted into your calculations if you chose to use funds towards this. |
Q: Would both education-related expenses and exam/licensure costs fall under stipend funding, or possibly scholarship funding?
| A: | Tuition, scholarships and stipends could be used, as long as stipends are only used for graduate students. |
| Q: | My understanding from Section 6.1 of the RFGA is that stipends are only intended for providers who are currently enrolled in graduate behavioral health programs, so I want to be certain we are interpreting this correctly. |
| A: | correct |
| Q: | With respect to the stipends category, we pay our graduate mental health interns minimum wage for all their client-facing hours. I completely understand the longer-term service commitment component. Let’s assume that will take place (they continue to work here post-graduation). Are we allowed to pay them a stipend in addition to the minimum wage or might that be considered “supplementing their compensation”? If we can pay them a stipend, could we consider paying a flat monthly stipend? |
| A: | Yeah in this context it’s ok. They cannot use stipends to supplement their wage |
they are already paying, but on top of what they already are paying is fine.
| Q: | If a student would be eligible in two categories, for example tuition assistance and stipend, would we or they have to pick one or the other? |
| A: | No they can utilize multiple incentives for one individual if they want. So tuition + stipends for a grad student that has signed a service obligation to work for the employer is a strong incentive. |
| Q: | For graduate mental health interns who would be their second (final) year, would we be able to pay them a stipend as intern and then when they come to work for OCP post-graduation also provide some amount of loan repayment? That is, are these “stackable” and if so, to what extent? |
| A: | Yes, they can utilize multiple incentives for one individual, they just need to describe that intention in their essay responses. |
| Q: | Is the loan repayment category only for graduate degrees? Could it also encompass undergraduate degrees? We have Skills Trainers and Peer Support Specialists who have undergraduate degrees, and the positions don’t require graduate degrees. Any student loan debt is fair game! |
| A: | As long as the skills trainers and peers provide direct behavioral health services, which is defined in the RFGA. |
| Q: | With respect to the admin 12%, I realize that the 12% total encompasses both of the bulleted points. Would like to confirm (or understand better if not) that the first bullet is specific to manage and implement the educational incentives grant while the second budget is more broadly for overall grant management and implementation. Am I understanding that correctly? |
| A: | Yes, this is correct |
| Q: | I’m working on the budget for Grant # S-44300-00015036. I downloaded the most current Budget Template from Oregon Buys. (Attached). I noticed that the formula for the Total in Cell #11 does not include the Admin Costs listed in Cell #10. |
The RFGA notes that we should not alter any formulas or we may risk disqualification, so I want to make sure we handle this correctly.
Are we expected to leave Admin Costs (Cell #10) out of the Total (Cell #11) as currently calculated, or should those costs be included in the final total?
| A: | This is a mistake in the formatting. We do want to include the Admin costs in the final total so please edit accordingly. I have uploaded a REVISED Budget Template in OregonBuys. |
| Q: | As I don't have certainty today about how many candidates I will have in total who will be eligible and interested in using incentive funds, I find myself unsure how to outline the number of providers to be supported. |
| A: | That’s ok, just do your best to estimate the anticipated incentive per provider, and the number of providers that you believe will utilize the incentive. It might be helpful for them to survey their workforce to have a better idea. All behavioral health staff are eligible for incentives as long as the incentives lead to the working being able to provide behavioral health services or expand on their ability to provide behavioral health services. The only one that doesn’t do that is loan repayment, which are for individuals already providing behavioral health services, but used as a retention tool. |
| Q: | Will an agency be able to re-delegate funds that are unused for one position or credential if another employee could use them toward remaining costs associated with their credential? |
| A: | yes |
As an example:
HYFS's application allocated $20,000 in scholarships toward a qualifying master's degree and $5,000 toward a CADC. The CADC candidate would benefit from additional funding and there are funds yet unused in the $20,000 category for a master's degree. Could we shift money to the CADC if the grant's intent is still met (recruiting and retaining BH providers)?
A: Yes
Q: p. 15, Section 6.1 Acceptable use of funds includes but is not limited to:
To facilitate certain types of groups in our residential facility, providers are required to be certified Feedback Informed Treatment providers, as well as certified in Trauma-Informed Care. Could grant funds be used for hosting a trainer to conduct a group training of providers in these approaches, or conducting a Training of Trainers session?
A: No, these incentives cannot be used for any trainings the entity would require of all staff or for specific teams of staff. These incentives must be made available to staff that are interested in these educational incentives, not required or mandated from their employer.
Q: p. 13, Section 3.1.3 Project Specific Definitions – “Scholarships” Could we provide scholarships to people who are not current staff (but who are previous clients) to get credentialled in Behavioral Health? We would not be able to guarantee employment for them at the end of their course of study.
A: No, the intention of these incentives is to recruit and retain providers to become fully employed providers at their site(s).
| Q: | Because these incentives would be considered additional “compensation” under Oregon law, will awardees need to ensure compliance with the Oregon Equal Pay Act when structuring the incentives? |
| A: | Yes |
| Q: | Gambling services in the state of Oregon are free and thus we do not bill any clients through Medicaid or Medicare. We do have a COA. With this information, would we qualify? |
| A: | If those billable hours annually indicate at least 50% or more towards Medicaid, Medicare, or uninsured populations then they should be good |
| Q: | Our medical office is qualified to provide medication-assisted treatment, but our behavioral health clinic does not currently have a certificate of approval (COA). |
Also, we are not currently certified by the OHA’s Addictions and Mental Health Division. Please advise if we are qualified to apply for this grant or next steps to becoming certified.
| A: | I’m sorry but you will need a COA to qualify. |
| Q: | The RFP states, "Application means a response to this RFGA submitted through OregonBuys by the Applicant," and "Responses to this RFGA will be completed in OregonBuys, utilizing the HB 2024 RFGA Application located at: |
https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/d1548bd7f02b455fbdeaea5225a92295."
However, it appears that the entire application is through the Smartsheet, and we do not express interest or complete any submission in OregonBuys. Is that correct?
A: That is Correct.
| Q: | We are interested in applying for funding under the Request For Grant Applications (RFGA) under OregonBuys Bid Number S-44300-00015036 for Behavioral Health Workforce Incentives Funds but are unsure of the award period. Is this a multi-year award? If yes, is there a timeframe (2, 3, 5 years)? |
| A: | All grant funds awarded under this Agreement must be fully expended no later than June 30, 2027. |
| Q: | I would like to ask if our organization can use grant funding to help graduates with a Master's degree in behavioral health obtain H-1B visas. This support is crucial because we serve Asian populations and have internal students applying for behavioral health positions, but they are ineligible to work in the U.S. for a year after graduation. Providing this assistance could help us retain culturally specific professionals in a field where only 3% of MSW students identify as Asian, thereby addressing the low representation of Asians in behavioral health. |
| A: | Unfortunately, HB 2024 is pretty cut and dry on what funding can be used for. License renewals is not listed as what funding can be used for, so we cannot have any flexibility on that. If a person is enrolled in a behavioral health graduate program then stipends could be used for licensure/certification exam fees or board registration fees if applicable. |
| Q: | We are currently in the process of applying for a COA from OHA and wanted to inquire if we could apply for the HB 2024 Incentive Grant despite not having the COA completed yet. We would be happy to provide proof of our application status if needed. | |
| A: | Unfortunately, you will need the COA to qualify for this Grant application. |
| Q: | We serve many, many individuals with criminal justice involvement, including many on probation and parole. May we list and describe this work for priority points? Or is it ONLY Forensic or court-appointed services that count? |
| A: | If you serve a large clientele of justice involved please describe that in your essay, and they will most likely qualify for priority points. |
| Q: | Could you help us understand how the loan forgiveness component is awarded if grant funds are not to be used for reimburse incurred prior to the grant award date (Section 7.6). Wouldn't all student debt be incurred prior to the grant award date? |
| A: | this stipulation pertains to if you already spent money helping someone with their student loans before receiving the grant funds, meaning we cannot reimburse what you might have already paid out for in incentives. You can absolutely use these dollars to help folks that have already accrued student loan debt. |
| Q: | Are we able to designate funds to be distributed to staff beyond the duration of the grant, or do all funds need to be distrusted within a set duration? |
| A: | Funds need to be spent out before 6/30/27, however that doesn’t mean their education needs to be completed by 6/30/27. A good example would be scholarships or tuition assistance, where the individual might not be done with schooling until 2028, but they can still receive these incentives to help them get to that eventual 2028 graduation date. |
| Q: | I would like to ask if our organization can use grant funding to help graduates with a Master's degree in behavioral health obtain H-1B visas. |
| A: | Yes, the grant funds can be used to help graduates with a Master's degree in behavioral health obtain H-1B visas. |
Q: We currently have a paid internship program that has been a pilot program for 2 years. We are evaluating how successful it has been in keeping these interns as employees when they are done with their educational program. So far it is looking promising. As it stands at the moment, they are set up as employees and receive an hourly rate. They are similar to how we have on call employees set up.
Would we be able to use these potential grant funds to pay them in this way still or would we need to change from an hourly rate to a stipend based form of payment?
A: Stipends are not intended to supplement income but rather should be viewed as a payment that can assist with specific needs. They also need to be solely for graduate students, which it sounds like most are but want to reiterate that. They could be used on top of their income in ways to support supervision hours, licensing/testing fees or other costs they might need assistance with (housing/childcare etc.)
| Q: | When must all grant funds be spent by? |
| A: | June 30, 2027 |
| Q: | Can funds be earmarked to spend outside of the grant period? |
| A: | No |
| Q: | Can these funds be used to strengthen an existing incentive program or must they be used for new incentives? |
| A: | They must be used for new incentives. |
Q: Our understanding from the Information sessions, and from section 7, below, of the OHA Request for Grant Application (RFGA), is that 12% of the grant could be used for indirect costs, which are defined in 2 CFR 200 as “costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than one cost objective and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefitted, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved” (unallocable costs of doing business). Section 6.1, below, from the RFGA, however, seems to indicate the grant allows 12% for administrative, etc. costs directly allocable to the grant implementation.
Could you please clarify if the grant allows for 12% indirect costs or if the 12% is only allowable for other direct administrative costs?
A: 7.1 highlights how these funds cannot be used for any costs outside of costs directly tied the incentive programs. The intent of all the section 7 statements is trying to outline how no indirect costs may be used with these grant dollars.
The 12% allowance described in Section 6.1 of the RFGA refers to direct administrative costs that are specific and necessary for implementing this particular grant (e.g., staff time for grant management and reporting, supplies or technology directly supporting the incentive program).
So while the federal definition of indirect costs (2 CFR 200) applies broadly, in this case the 12% cap is intended for administrative costs directly related to this project, not general organizational overhead.
| Q: | Is there a timeframe for spending the funds? |
| A: | Funds will need to be spent in their entirety by 6/30/27. |
There are four buckets for using the funds – are those examples or we can specifically use them for Scholarships, Loan Repayments, Tuition Assistance and Stipends
Q: Are there any forward plans or suggested plans for the retention part?”
A: We will require all incentives to come with a service obligation, subject to determination of length by the entity. So if they receive tuition, they would need to sign a service contract that keeps them at their site for 1,2, 3 years – or whatever they determine.
| Q: | Section 4.1.2 Indicates the Budget Table should be submitted via OregonBuys, however the Smarsheet link requests the budget template be uploaded there. Can you please confirm where we should upload the budget? | |
| A: | You should upload the budget table to Smartsheet. |
| Q: | Is the end date for the funding June 30, 2027? This date was mentioned in the information meeting but I couldn’t locate it in the RFGA. |
| A: | The 6/30/27 date is when all funds from this grant need to be spent for any organization awarded. |
| Q: | Does an organization serving SPMI populations (including bipolar disorder, major depression, autism, and OCD) but not currently billing Medicaid or Medicare qualify for this funding opportunity? If not, could such an organization be considered under Section 13.9 (“OHA May Award Based on Community Need”) or another provision that allows flexibility for non-Medicaid outpatient behavioral-health programs serving high-acuity clients? |
| A: | Unfortunately the House Bill is very specific when it comes to eligible entities, and the 50% uninsured, Medicaid and Medicare is required for all entities to apply for this solicitation. |
Q: RFGA Section 6.1 - Acceptable uses of funds suggests that "Stipends for students enrolled in graduate behavioral health care educational programs" are allowable.
We have been providing "stipends" in the form of hourly wages to graduate and undergraduate students who need to complete internships in order to complete their clinical degrees. Can you confirm whether or not this is not allowable under this grant program?
A: Your current process of offering stipends would not fit the intended goal of these graduate stipends. Stipends cannot be used to supplement an employer’s means of paying salaries for any employee.
The only way we’d be willing to consider this is if they would have a service commitment tied to it and it’s clear the stipends are on top of their current salary, not to supplement it. And stipends can only be used for graduate students. It’s unfortunate, but the language is very specific for graduate stipends in the House Bill.
| Q: | Could you clarify how stipends differ from scholarships, loan forgiveness/repayment, and tuition assistance? |
| A: | Stipends cannot be used to offset any costs the employer might be paying towards grad students. Stipends need to be thought of as payments to grad students for anything they might need (child care, housing), or they could be used for a specific purpose for all like licensing and testing fees, clinical supervision etc. |
Q: I've visited the RFP in OregonBuys but am not finding where you might be posting the questions asked during the online meeting and follow ups with answers. I would like to review them before finalizing our application. Is there a location where I can review these?
A: All Questions and Answers will be posted on OregonBuys on November 25. 2025.
| Q: | Hello, do you know when the latest webinar will be posted online? I was not available to attend. I am a small organization, less than 10 employees, but have plans to expand in Central Oregon, and South/Central Oregon. Would I apply for partial funding? Any information would be helpful. |
| A: | All instructions and information on the Request for Grant Application is posted on OregonBuys. All questions and answers will be posted November 25, 2025 on OregonhBuys as well. |
Here is the link: https://oregonbuys.gov/bso/ The webinars were posted on the following website:https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/AMH/Pages/HB2024.aspx
| Q: | Will you please confirm whether or not an organization whose staffing model is to have behavioral health care providers as 1099 contractors is eligible to apply for this funding opportunity? |
| A: | You cannot incentivize a “1099 employee” using HB 2024 grant funds unless that contract states that it is for a certain amount of time like a service commitment. |
| Q: | Where on the budget table should costs associated with training for existing licensed staff to receive new certifications and credentials be placed? Would this go under the “tuition assistance” category? |
| A: | Yes tuition would probably be the best category. Wherever they put it, it’s more important it’s clear in the budget and aligns with their essays. |
| Q: | Do we need our own OCA to be eligible? |
| A: | Yes |
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