Children and families in the Coachella Valley often face a lack of access to behavioral health services and resources. This request for proposal directly provided funding to organizations to increase access to behavioral health services and resources for children (0-18) and their families.

The following five organizations were approved by the Desert Healthcare District Board of Directors to receive a total funding award of $1,175,817, over two years, under the request for proposals focused on improving Access to Behavioral Health Education and Prevention Services to Children (0-18yrs) and their Families:

• Regents Of The University Of California At Riverside (funds awarded: $500,000)
• Martha’s Village And Kitchen (funds awarded: $99,853)
• Clinicas De Salud Del Pueblo dba Innercare (funds awarded: $150,000)
• Desert Sands Unified School District Educational Foundation (funds awarded: $296,193)
• Transgender Health and Wellness Center (funds awarded: $129,771)

Providing innovative, thoughtful strategies to increase access to behavioral health services and resources is effective in improving the behavioral health of children (0-18 years) and their families in the Coachella Valley.

 What works:

• Increase access to behavioral health services by increasing the number of behavioral/mental health professionals to support Coachella Valley residents.
• Expand the number of days and hours of operation of behavioral/mental health services to support Coachella Valley residents.
• Improve the quality and accessibility of behavioral/mental health services by increasing the geographic dispersion of sites within Coachella Valley.
• Improve accessibility of behavioral/mental health services by increasing available telehealth services and mobile delivery opportunities.
• Increase collaborative efforts with new private psychiatric and community hospitals to improve delivery of community based behavioral/mental health services.
• Increase awareness of behavioral/mental health resources for residents in Coachella Valley.
• Collaborate/Partner with culturally competent training programs to expand primary care residency and nursing programs.

For this request for proposals, the Desert Healthcare District provided grant funding to expert nonprofit organizations to advance the efforts of increasing access to behavioral health services and resources for children (0-18) and their families. The funded nonprofits put their expertise to work to effectively promote and improve behavioral health access, awareness, availability, and education in Coachella Valley. When Desert Healthcare District awarded a grant to an organization, it enters into a grant agreement with the grantee that includes a scope of work, deliverables, evaluation, and performance measures organized within the RBA framework. This grant agreement is legally binding and governs the relationship between the District and its grantees. When the grantee reports back to the Desert Healthcare District (usually twice per year), these performance measures become central organizing categories for their reports. They report to DHCD, in essence, by explaining what they have done, how well they have done it, and what difference it has made in terms of impact. Grantees report other accomplishments, products, anecdotes about individuals who benefit from their services, etc.  The RBA framework is the guiding system for reporting. 

Grantees report other accomplishments, products, anecdotes about individuals who benefit from their services, etc.  The RBA framework is the guiding system for reporting. 

Action Plan: Increase access to behavioral health services and resources and increase the number of clients served