Welcome to the Innovation Grants Program

Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Innovation Funding

MHSA Innovation funding is intended to provide mental health systems with an opportunity to learn from innovative approaches. Funding is provided for an 18 month period, with the expectation that a grant recipient will submit a report of findings before the end of that period. Innovation Grant Program funding is not designed to support existing or ongoing programs or services, but rather to provide our system with innovative demonstration projects that will support system change and improve client/consumer outcomes.

The Innovation Grant Program

Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (BHCS) developed an Innovation Grants Program to solicit, fund and learn from community proposals. The first round of funding focused on community-defined strategies and the second round is underway and focused on recommendations stemming from the BHCS African American Utilization Report. For this third round, BHCS Leadership identified two target populations with specific needs:

Isolated Adults and Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, Two Spirit (LGBTQI2S) Clients/Consumers

In 2011, in anticipation of potential MHSA Innovation Grants Program funding, BHCS commissioned two consulting projects, to conduct a demographic analysis and provide a summary of the significant behavioral health care needs for these target populations. The purpose of these projects was to provide BHCS with an analysis of the specific needs of each target population, which would inform the development of learning questions for potential inquiry funded by Innovationn grants; to recommend outreach and engagement strategies; and to provide other pertinent information regarding the target population.

Innovation Grants Round Three Consultation Reports:

last updated 02/11/2013