DHS Response, Current Funding Opportunities, and Call for POCI Providers

We made it to the end of April! ? Hope you all are taking as best care of yourselves as possible. Please see attached/below:

DHS RESPONSE TO IMPACT OF COVID-19 SUMMARY

Please see attached for the compiled responses from Hennepin County and the Department of Human Services. DHS responded on April 21, 2020. The CMHC Coordinators have added additional references/information to compliment what has been shared by these agencies. Please take the time to read through. Please also note the following comment from DHS:

You’ll notice that there are still questions that are not answered in this document. The agency is receiving these and similar questions from various stakeholders. Our Behavioral Health Division is working on a FAQ document that they will be directing folks to. Unfortunately, that is not yet available. When that is available, we will be directing folks to that as the most up-to-date information.

We will send a link to this FAQ document once it is made available. Another thank you to those that participated in the conversations that led to this communication! We hope it is helpful!

View Document

Funding Opportunities

The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood supports development projects and promising research with potential to significantly enhance the physical and mental health, safety, nutrition, play, social integration, and/or quality of life of children, from infancy through seven years of age. The foundation is inviting Letters of Inquiry in the following categories: Early Childhood Welfare, Early Childhood Education and Play, and Parenting Education.

More information is available on their website.

Letters of Intent must be received no later than May 31. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application.

The Constellation Fund is announcing an open call for applications as part of our COVID-19 Relief Fund. Applications will only be considered from direct-service organizations focused on one or more of these three areas:

  • Direct cash assistance to individuals and families, especially those ineligible for unemployment benefits
  • Shelters and emergency financial assistance with rent and utilities
  • Food shelves and their nonprofit suppliers ensuring food security for vulnerable populations

The open call period ends on May 6th, and Organizations will be notified about grant status by May 15th. Grant sizes will range from $5,000 to $10,000. Please see their website for more information (scroll down to “For Organizations”), application instructions & application form.

Call For Providers

As part of the system of care implementation, the Collaborative is committed to re/building and re/connecting with our children’s mental health provider network to strengthen its representative voices and help inform the effort. The CMHC is especially interested in hearing from providers of color/Indigenous providers about how they are seeing the COVID-19 pandemic impact families of color and their own practice.

We hope to host an online gathering next month for providers to connect. If you identify as a children’s mental health provider of color or Indigenous provider, please email Etonde (etonde@lacroixdalluhnconsulting.com), so you can be included in the invitation! Also contact Etonde with any questions about this effort!

As always, please be in touch with the CMHC Coordinators, Etonde and Laura, any questions, concerns, resource and/or invitations to connect & partner!