Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team Partnerships
🏛 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis (HHS-SAMHS-SAMHSA)
Can you apply?
This grant is for state, county, municipal, and tribal governments, as well as nonprofit organizations including community health centers and behavioral health providers, seeking to establish or expand mobile crisis team partnerships. Eligible organizations must demonstrate capacity to coordinate mobile crisis response services, provide 24/7 availability, and serve individuals experiencing behavioral health crises as an alternative to emergency department or law enforcement response. The program is open to applicants nationwide. Funded activities include establishing or enhancing mobile crisis teams, providing crisis counseling and de-escalation services, training staff in trauma-informed crisis response, and developing partnerships between mental health and substance use disorder providers and local emergency response systems.
Program description
The purpose of this program is to establish new, or enhance existing, mobile crisis teams that serve children, youth, and adults experiencing mental health or substance use crises. Its focus is the expansion of behavioral health crisis response capacity and the development of structured partnerships that reduce reliance on law enforcement and emergency departments for behavioral health crises.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- Community Health Center
- County Government
- Tribal Organization
Demographic focus
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- Project narrative (typically 15–20 pages) describing community need, intervention model, partnerships, and implementation timeline
- Detailed budget and budget narrative (itemized personnel, equipment, operations, training)
- Organizational capacity documentation (board resolutions, nonprofit status verification, experience in crisis services)
- Letters of commitment or memoranda of understanding from law enforcement, 911 dispatch, emergency departments, and other key partners
- Evidence of community need (data on crisis calls, ED utilization for behavioral health, crime statistics related to mental health)
- Staffing plan including qualifications and organizational chart
- Evaluation plan describing how outcomes will be measured (response times, call volume, ED diversion, police collaboration)
Program contact
- 👤 Justin Powlison
- 📧 Justin.Powlison@samhsa.hhs.gov
- 📞 202-960-5537
Funding track record
No recent recipient data available for CFDA 93.532 in our database.
This can happen for newer programs, programs that use non-standard award types (loans, direct payments, fellowships), or those funded through sub-agencies under different codes.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.532). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2026 est. | $945,000,000 |
FAQ
Who is eligible to apply for this grant?
State, county, and municipal governments; tribal nations and tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations including community mental health centers, substance abuse treatment providers, and community health centers; and coalitions of these entities. Organizations must have existing infrastructure or capacity to implement crisis response services.
What activities can be funded under this grant?
Typical activities include establishing or expanding mobile crisis response teams, purchasing equipment (vehicles, communication technology), training staff in crisis intervention and trauma-informed care, developing 24/7 response protocols, creating referral partnerships with emergency services, and implementing data tracking systems for crisis calls and outcomes.
What is the typical funding range for this program?
Award amounts are typically in the range of $300,000–$500,000 annually, though this varies by funding year and competition. Multi-year funding commitments are common.
What is the application process and timeline?
Applications are submitted through Grants.gov. The agency typically requires a project narrative, budget narrative, organizational capacity documentation, letters of commitment from partner agencies, and evidence of need. Exact deadlines vary annually.
How competitive is this grant?
This is a moderately to highly competitive program. Successful applications typically demonstrate strong partnerships with law enforcement and emergency services, clear evidence of community need, feasible implementation plans, and commitment to serving underserved populations. Programs showing innovation in crisis response are favored.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Establish documented partnerships with local law enforcement, 911 dispatch centers, emergency departments, and other emergency response agencies before applying; the agency heavily weights multi-sector collaboration.
- Provide detailed evidence of need in your community, including statistics on emergency department visits for behavioral health crises, law enforcement mental health calls, and rates of criminalization of people with behavioral health conditions.
- Use the budget to show realistic staffing costs (mobile crisis teams typically require paramedics, mental health clinicians, and peer specialists) and operational expenses like vehicles and communication systems.
- Describe your 24/7 availability plan explicitly, including how you'll staff nights, weekends, and holidays. Many applications fail by underestimating dispatch and coordination costs.
- Include letters of commitment from every partner organization (police, sheriff, EMS, ED, 988 hotlines) that demonstrate these agencies will actively refer crisis calls to your mobile team rather than police or emergency response.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications often fail because they overstate capacity to achieve 24/7 response without adequate staffing or budget detail, or because partnerships are listed but lack specific referral protocols and commitment letters. Many organizations underestimate the infrastructure needed for integration with 911 dispatch systems and law enforcement workflows, which are essential to the program's success. Applicants frequently lack clear data on community need or fail to demonstrate how the mobile crisis model will reduce reliance on emergency departments and law enforcement.
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