Request for Proposals: Provide Technical Assistance and Support to Reduce Reliance on Seclusion and Restraint in Texas

Please note: proposals were due online by 1 p.m. central time June 30, 2011.

Overview

Since 1940, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has advanced mental health in Texas. For the past seven years, the foundation has worked to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in a variety of settings across the state in a number of ways, including hosting conferences, seminars, trainings, teleconferences, and workgroup and leadership groups.

The goal of this initiative is to provide technical assistance to residential treatment centers and state supported living centers that are implementing trauma-informed systems of care to reduce their reliance on seclusion and restraint. The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health invites Texas organizations to respond to one or both requests for proposals in this initiative.

The foundation will host a training seminar on trauma-informed systems of care led by national experts from the National Center on Trauma and Justice, which is funded by SAMHSA. This training will be offered to representatives of all residential treatment centers and state supported living centers in Texas in the fall and winter.

Grant recipients will be responsible for providing intensive technical assistance and follow-up support to these centers for up to three years after the training seminar. Proposals must describe the respondents’ plans for designing and providing this technical assistance and support.

Through this initiative, the Hogg Foundation hopes to:

Raise awareness of the prevalence and influence of trauma in the lives of residents in these facilities and the ways in which trauma affects behavior.
Highlight the ways in which seclusion and restraint mechanisms pose the risk of causing further traumatic experiences and examine the complex relationship between trauma and behavior.
Demonstrate the significance of and need for cultural change at every level of an organization in order to successfully implement trauma-informed practices that reduce the use of seclusion and restraint.

Eligibility

Texas-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations and governmental entities are eligible to respond to one or both of these RFPs. Examples of eligible agencies include nonprofit mental health and consumer advocacy organizations, service providers, colleges and universities, and state, regional and local government organizations. Grantees may contract or consult with organizations outside the state or on the national level for needed expertise. Collaboration among organizations is permitted; the lead agency must be a Texas-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization or governmental entity.

Teleconference

The foundation hosted an informational teleconference for potential respondents on June 1, 2011. View the questions and answers page for information discussed in the teleconference.

Application Deadline

Proposals were due online by 1 p.m. central time on Thursday, June 30, 2011.

Notice of Awards

Notice of awards will be made in July 2011. Grant funding is generally released within three weeks of notification.

Inquiries

The foundation’s communication with potential respondents to both RFPs is limited to e-mail correspondence and the Web site. Please send questions about the RFPs by email to Grants Management staff at Hogg-Grants@austin.utexas.edu.