Teen Mental Health First Aid for All Tenth Graders

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) announces the availability of funds for the expansion of Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) training to be available for all tenth-grade students in New York State. [1] Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) teaches teens ages 14-18 years old how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges in their friends and peers. The training provides the skills to recognize common signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges, the impact of bullying and school violence on mental health, how to have impactful conversations with peers about mental health concerns, and how to seek the help of a responsible adult. Under tMHFA guidelines, it is required that for youth in a school or agency to receive tMHFA training, at least 5% of the adult staff have been trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) prior to offering a tMHFA training. YMHFA is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. New York State’s goal is to ensure that all tenth-grade students receive or have access to training in tMHFA (and corresponding adults trained in YMHFA), including building sustainable capacity through certifying new tMHFA and YMHFA instructors. This funding is allocated for an entity to meet the following expected deliverables: 1. Coordinate and support the certification of YMHFA and tMHFA Instructors, including through direct certification of Instructors as applicable. 2. Incrementally increase the delivery of tMHFA (and corresponding YMHFA) training annually, ensuring training opportunities for tenth grade students at all schools. 3. Complete required data collection and reporting. 4. Subcontract with and/or execute MOUs or contracts with partnering entities to meet the above deliverables as appropriate. [1] For the purposes of this RFP, ‘school’ is defined as: public schools; charter schools; Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES); State-operated and State-supported school pursuant to articles 85, 87 and 88 of the Education Law; in-state private residential or nonresidential schools for the education of students with disabilities (Article 89 or 81 of Education Law) and in alignment with 8 NYCRR Part 599; or nonpublic school that is religious or independent school located in NYS that provides secondary education. The full RFP can be found at: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/ All applicants must be Prequalified by the due date/time of the RFP. All applications/proposals must be submitted through the Statewide Financial System. Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: None Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) SDVOB Goal: 0.00% Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE) MBE Goal: 0.00% WBE Goal: 0.00% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE) DBE Goal: 0.00%