The New York State Office of Mental Health has issued a Request for Application (RFA) for a minimum of one-hundred twenty (120) OMH Community Mental Health Loan Repayment Program (OMH CMHLRP) awards with the purpose of recruitment and retention of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners (NPs), and psychiatric physician assistants (PAs).

For licensed programs, the OMH CMHLRP is awarding State Aid grants for loan repayment for both eligible existing or newly hired psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and psychiatric physician assistants in designated community mental health settings throughout New York State as follows:

• For psychiatrists, the OMH CMHLRP provides up to $120,000 in loan repayment over a three-year period.
• For psychiatric nurse practitioners, the OMH CMHLRP provides up to $30,000 in loan repayment over a three-year period.
• For psychiatric physician assistants, the OMH CMHLRP provides up to $30,000 in loan repayment over a three-year period.

A total of $3 million annually is available to fund the OMH CMHLRP during FY 2024-25. These funds will support a minimum of 120 awards. During the FY 2023-2024, Round 2 continued to fund additional awards to eligible psychiatrists and NPs in designated community health settings thought New York State and expanded to include eligible psychiatric physician assistants (PAs).

For the 2024-2025 FY, $3 million annually remains available to fund additional awards for the OMH CMHLRP during FY 2024-25. These funds will support a minimum of 120 awards for psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatric physician assistants. Providers of licensed community mental health programs in one of the two below specified program categories may apply on behalf of eligible staff:

• Inpatient/CPEP: Licensed providers of Article 28 hospital inpatient psychiatric units, Article 31 freestanding inpatient hospital programs, Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Programs (CPEPs), and Residential Treatment Facility – Children & Youth.
• Outpatient: Licensed providers of Article 31 outpatient programs including Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams, Continuing Day Treatment (CDT), Children’s Day Treatment, Partial Hospitalization (PH), Personalized Recover Oriented Services (PROS), Mental Health Outpatient Treatment and Rehabilitative Services (MHOTRS) and Crisis Stabilization Centers (Intensive & Supportive) or licensed providers of crisis residence programs including Children’s Crisis Residence, Intensive Crisis Residence, and Residential Crisis Support.

OMH has assigned an Issuing Officer for this project. The Issuing Officer or a designee shall be the sole point of contact regarding the RFA from the date of issuance of the RFA until the issuance of the Notice of Conditional Award. To avoid being deemed non-responsive, an applicant is restricted from making contact with any other personnel of OMH regarding the RFA. Certain findings of non-responsibility can result in rejection for a contract award. The Issuing Officer for this RFP is:

Carol Swiderski
Contract Management Specialist 3
New York State Office of Mental Health
Contracts and Claims
44 Holland Avenue, 7th Floor
Albany, NY 12229
carol.swiderski@omh.ny.gov

For additional information and requirements please refer to the Request for Application (RFA) Office of Mental Health Community Mental Health Loan Repayment Program (OMH CMHLRP) issued by the New York State Office of Mental Health. The OMH CMHLRP RFA can be found at: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/.

The Office of Mental Health, in partnership with the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, is seeking proposals from not-for-profit organizations to operate Enhanced Step-Down Programs for adults with co-occurring mental health and intellectual and/or development disabilities. The program includes a specialized model of Critical Time Intervention and transitional housing to support safe discharges from inpatient units and emergency departments.

People with moderate to severe behavioral issues associated with cooccurring mental health disorders and intellectual and/or developmental disabilities often have high utilization of emergency and inpatient psychiatric services. These settings are often not well prepared to address the myriad clinical and systems issues this population presents, leading to frequent presentations to emergency settings and lengthy stays in emergency settings or inpatient services. OMH and OPWDD are committed to investing in community-based services that will reduce demand for these hospital-based settings and improve the quality of life among this population.

OMH intends to fund projects that can demonstrate an ability to provide the appropriate needs based Enhanced Step-Down services and will be able to complete the capital project for the Transitional Residential Setting in a timely manner. Both capital funding for the development of the Transitional Residential Setting and operating funding for both the Specialty Critical Time Intervention Team and the Transitional Residential Setting will be available to selected applicants. This may include acquisition, construction, and/or rehabilitation of the site.

OMH intends to award five programs throughout the State, serving:

• New York City
• Western New York
• Central New York
• Hudson River
• Long Island

The full RFP can be found at: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp/2024/esdp/index.html. Applications must be submitted through the Statewide Financial System.

We invite interested providers to join us for an optional Bidders’ Conference at 12 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2024.

Meeting Link and Call-In Information:

Enhanced Step-Down Program Bidders’ Conference Webex Link

Meeting number: 161 025 5379
Password: Ze7vm3P2DgD
Join by phone +1-518-549-0500 US (English Menu)
Access code: 161 025 5379

The NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) announces the availability of funds to support the implementation of HealthySteps.  Our goal is to promote an intentional focus on prevention activities by identifying and implementing evidence-based and data-informed preventive practices.  HealthySteps is an evidence-based program that serves both young children ages birth to three and their families in a pediatric healthcare setting, which is non-stigmatizing and offers universal access.

OMH is offering this opportunity as a REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA). This procurement process is streamlined to ensure both efficiency and efficacy for the applicant. Please access this opportunity in the New York Statewide Financial System to understand what this process entails.

All applicants must be registered with the New York Statewide Financial System. Please do not delay registration into this system.  In order to avoid potential difficulties with this system, OMH strongly suggests that all applicants complete this process as soon as possible.  Please be advised there will not be any exceptions to the deadline posted for this RFA. If you require additional assistance navigating the New York Statewide Financial System, please contact:

SFS Help Desk:
Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Phone: (518) 457-7737 or (877) 737-4185 toll-free
Email: helpdesk@sfs.ny.gov

It is anticipated that OMH will make up to 50 awards across the state, contingent upon the availability of funding. This funding is specifically designated for new sites, with the goal to expand the capacity of pediatric and family medicine practices to implement HealthySteps.

OMH has assigned an Issuing Officer for this project. The Issuing Officer or a designee shall be the sole point of contact regarding the RFA from the date of issuance of the RFA until the issuance of the Notice of Conditional Award. The Issuing Officer for this RFA, who shall coordinate on behalf of OMH is:

Amanda Szczepkowski
New York State Office of Mental Health Contracts and Claims
44 Holland Avenue, 7th Floor Albany, NY 12229
OMHLocalProcurement@omh.ny.gov

For additional information and requirements please refer to the Request for Applications (RFA) HealthySteps issued by the New York State Office of Mental Health.  HealthySteps August 2024 Expansion can be found at: https://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/rfp

All applications for this RFA must be submitted through the New York Statewide Financial System.