County Of Sebastian

County of Sebastian, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas, acts as a prime recipient of federal grants focused on behavioral health crisis response and emergency management, with a smaller footprint as a sub-recipient under state and federal grant programs. The county operates through two named subsidiaries: Sebastian Co Prosc Atty and Sebastian County proper. The entity competes on a full-and-open basis and does not hold SBA set-aside designations or federal contract vehicles.

County of Sebastian's federal footprint centers on health and human services grant work. As a prime recipient, the county received a $750 thousand project grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.532). The award funds a behavioral-health-led mobile crisis team serving children, youth, adults, and families experiencing mental health, substance use, suicide-related, overdose-related, and co-occurring crises in Sebastian County. The project, titled Western Arkansas Crisis Response Partnership and conducted in partnership with Western Arkansas Counseling & Guidance Center (a certified community behavioral health clinic), runs through September 29, 2030, with place of performance in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The initiative addresses acute local need: Fort Smith police call volume for behavioral health crises rose from 871 in 2022 to 2,814 in 2024; suicide mortality (18.6 per 100,000) and drug overdose death rates (24 per 100,000) exceed national levels. The mobile crisis team will establish formal partnerships with 988, 911/public safety answering points, law enforcement, EMS, hospitals, and community providers to divert individuals from law enforcement, emergency departments, and jail toward stabilization and care.

The county's sub-recipient activity includes three awards: an Emergency Management grant (October 21, 2024), an Arkansas Unpaved Roads Program sub-award under the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (July 31, 2025), and an EMPG FY25 sub-award (June 2, 2026). The four distinct customer agencies served are SAMHSA, the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance, and state-level programs. Recent activity shows two awards in 2026, following a gap in 2021–2023, with combined dollars obligated across all awards (prime and sub) totaling $5.4 million.