Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program

To provide resources toward community-based suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of Veterans and their families through outreach, suicide prevention services, and connection to VA and community resources.

The purpose of this grant program is to reduce veteran suicide by expanding suicide prevention programs for veterans, through the award of suicide prevention services grants, to eligible entities to provide or coordinate the provision of suicide prevention services to eligible individuals and their families. Suicide prevention services are those services that address the needs of eligible individuals and their families and are necessary for improving the mental health status and wellbeing and reducing the suicide risk of eligible individuals and their families.

• Incorporated private institutions or foundations • A corporation wholly owned or controlled by an incorporated private institution or foundation • Indian tribes • Community-based organizations that can effectively network with local civic organizations, regional health systems, and other settings where eligible individuals and their families are likely to have contact • State or local governments

Eligible individual: Per §201(q)(4) of Hannon Act, an eligible individual is a person at risk of suicide who is one of the following: (1) A Veteran as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101, (2) an individual described in 38 U.S.C. 1720I(b), or (3) an individual described in 38 U.S.C. 1712A(a)(1)(C)(i) through (iv).

Grantees may use the funds to provide the following services: Outreach, baseline mental health screenings, education, clinical services for emergency treatment, case management services, peer support services, assistance in obtaining VA benefits, assistance in obtaining and coordinating other public benefits and assistance with emergent needs, nontraditional and innovative approaches and treatment practices and other services.

Grantees may use the funds to provide the following services: Outreach, baseline mental health screenings, education, clinical services for emergency treatment, case management services, peer support services, assistance in obtaining VA benefits, assistance in obtaining and coordinating other public benefits and assistance with emergent needs, nontraditional and innovative approaches and treatment practices and other services.

Funding is provided after eligible entity are awarded (grantees) are for one year, in which time all funding must be spent. Grantees are to be paid in accordance with the timeframes and manner set forth in the NOFO. Section 201(c)(2)(B) of the Act authorizes VA to establish intervals of payment for purposes of this grant program, and VA will do so in the NOFO, which is consistent with how VA establishes payment in other grant programs. See 38 CFR 62.51. Including such information in the NOFO provides VA with the flexibility to determine the time and manner of payment for suicide prevention services grants that is appropriate for each funding cycle.

Suicide prevention services grant applications will be scored by a VA grant review committee. The grant review committee will be trained on a scoring rubric and follow uniform guidance on application grant review (pursuant to 2 CFR part 200). VA will utilize the ranked scores of applicants as the primary basis for selection. The applicants will be ranked in order from highest to lowest. However, VA will consider preferences for applicants that have demonstrated the ability to provide or coordinate suicide prevention services or experience administering similar programs to Veterans and their families. VA may prioritize grant awards to eligible entities that serve eligible individuals and their families in rural communities, on tribal lands, in U.S. territories, in medically underserved areas, in areas with a high number or percentage of minority Veterans or women Veterans, and in areas with a high number or percentage of calls to the Veterans Crisis Line. To the extent practicable, VA will ensure that suicide prevention services grants are distributed to: 1) provide services in areas of the United States that have experienced high rates of suicide by eligible individuals 2) applicants that can assist eligible individuals at risk of suicide who are not currently receiving health care furnished by VA; and 3) ensure that suicide prevention services are provided in as many areas as possible. Subject to these considerations, VA will fund the highest-ranked applicants for which funding is available.

Applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed for entity eligibility and those deemed eligible will be scored using standardized criteria. A listing of proposed awards will be forwarded to the Office of the Secretary of Veteran Affairs for final approval. Funds will be distributed to awarded entities via an account with the Payment Management Services, which awarded entities will use to access the funds.

Each year a renewal application will need to be submitted. Extensions may be considered, as requested by grantee, to meet the terms of the grant agreement.