The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority

May 15, 2001

Welcome to this List Serve sponsored by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority’s Rural Funding Coordination Project. These messages provide information about current government and private grants and contracts, conference and training opportunities, and potential funding sources.

The Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (DMHDD) is requesting proposals from eligible applicants to deliver Recovery by Choice (RxC) services throughout Alaska. The goal of RxC is to increase the capacity of Alaska’s community-based mental health system by adding a new program to provide intense, ongoing services to persons with chronic and severe mental illness. The purpose of the RFP is two-fold. First, to identify providers throughout Alaska eligible to provide RxC services to persons referred to them by DMHDD and to receive fee-for-service payment. Second, to award advance grants to eligible RxC providers serving the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna borough. The deadline is June 1. For more information, contact Kathryn Carssow at 907-269-7108 or visit www.state.ak.us

The Alaska Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training will be held in Anchorage on June 11-15 at the Hilton Anchorage Hotel. This is a five-day certificated training that will assist participants in building an effective prevention program. Participants will learn about various approaches to prevention research, program planning, human development, facts about drugs, the use of media in prevention, cultural contexts and ethics of the field, and how to develop evaluation plans. To register, contact Elizabeth Gabel at 888-290-3850 or 907-565-1226.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is accepting grant applications for new demonstration projects that will establish, implement and participate in the evaluation of individual Development Accounts for lower income individuals and families. The deadline is June 12. For more information, contact Sheldon Shalit at 202-401-4807.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority is accepting applications for its small projects funding program. Each small project is limited to a maximum of $10,000. The purpose of these grants is to create innovative new program ideas, substantially improve and supplement existing activities, or significantly increase the quality of ongoing projects. The deadline is June 1. For more information, call 907-269-7960 or 800-770-8973 or visit www.mhtrust.org

The Denali Commission was authorized by the Federal Government to deliver services to rural Alaska in a cost-effective manner. The focus of the Denali Commission is to provide training and other economic development services, particularly in distressed communities. Applications are accepted on an on-going basis. For more information, contact Al Ewing at 907-271-1414 or visit www.denali.gov

The Handspring Foundation supports nonprofits dedicated to issues directly related to at-risk children and youth. Preference is given to programs that serve homeless children, abused or neglected children, and children in foster care or juvenile detention. For more information, visit www.handspring.com/company/foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is accepting letters of intent to apply for grants of less than $100,000 for research and evaluation projects through its Substance Abuse Policy Research Program. Proposed projects should identify, analyze and evaluate public and private policies to reduce the harm caused by the use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. For more information, contact David Altman at 336-716-9748

The beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority include those Alaskans who experience mental illness; mental retardation or similar disabilities; chronic alcoholism with psychosis; or Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. You can learn more about the Trust at www.mhtrust.org

If you wish to be removed from the List Serv, please send a “REMOVE FROM LIST” message to dsknjm@pobox.alaska.net. Comments or contributions may also be submitted to the same address.