The Rural Behavioral Health Institute

The Rural Behavioral Health Institute, a woman-owned nonprofit based in Livingston, Montana, receives federal grant awards as a prime recipient and as a sub-recipient under federal grant programs focused on rural mental health, behavioral health screening, and suicide prevention. The vendor operates exclusively in the federal grant space — not as a contract prime or subcontractor — and draws funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (Health Resources and Services Administration) and the Department of Justice (Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance).

The Rural Behavioral Health Institute's primary capability centers on school-based mental health screening, intervention, and care navigation for rural youth. The vendor's flagship program, Screening Linked to Care (SLTC), delivers universal digital screening for suicide risk and depression/anxiety symptoms, brief safety interventions for students reporting suicidality, and care navigation services connecting families to mental health providers. SLTC is grounded in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's evidence-based Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) framework and includes targeted school violence prevention and behavioral threat assessment training aligned with the U.S. Secret Service model for school-based threat prevention.

As a prime recipient, The Rural Behavioral Health Institute holds a $250,000 four-year Project Grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (CFDA 93.912, Rural Healthcare Services Programs) effective August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2029. This award funds expansion of the SLTC program across 12 rural Illinois counties, serving approximately 7,500 students in grades 6–12 annually. The vendor also operates as a sub-recipient on two gun violence reduction sub-awards from the Montana Board of Crime Control (both December 12, 2025) focused on school-based suicide and targeted violence prevention in rural Montana, and on a sub-award from the Montana Department of Health and Human Services (July 1, 2024) supporting the MAPP NET initiative. Recent activity shows three awards in 2025 following one award in 2024, with combined dollars obligated totaling $634 thousand. The vendor serves three distinct federal customer agencies, split 25% prime and 75% sub-recipient roles.