Funding Strategy

Statement of Need
Nationally, one in ten children and adolescents suffer from a mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment. Yet, only 20 percent of these youth receive services. In addition to the lack of a unified infrastructure to help these children, stigma and lack of knowledge are often factors in seeking or delaying treatment. Examples of mental disorders affecting children and adolescents include:
* Anxiety Disorders
* Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
* Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders)
* Bipolar Disorder
* Borderline Personality Disorder
* Depression/Mood Disorders
* Eating Disorders
* Elimination Disorders
* Learning and Communication Disorders
* Schizophrenia

It is estimated that by the year 2020, childhood neuropsychiatric disorders will become one of the five most common causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability among children. Unfortunately, most mental health resources have focused on serving the sickest, rather than on prevention. Research shows that developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and family-driven prevention services, offered at very young ages, are critical to helping children with emerging mental health issues. While there are several interventions that have proven to be effective, they are not widely utilized. Social and environmental factors (poverty, racism, and education), service factors (accessibility to and availability or quality, affordable programs), and physical factors (place or residence, housing, and transportation) contribute to or prohibit individuals ’ ability to secure needed services.

Responsibility for providing mental health services is dispersed across multiple settings – schools, primary care, juvenile justice, and child welfare. However, the most important settings – the family and Church – are often overlooked. Currently, there is limited, structured involvement by the faith community. While there are organizations that are rooted or connected with a denomination, efforts to effectively engage members of those denominations in programming are not consistent.

Lutheran Foundation has identified children’s mental health, with an emphasis on prevention and early intervention services, as one of our new funding focus areas. There exists great opportunity to replicate effective programs in our community and, in particular, involve the faith community in the delivery of such services.

Definitions
Lutheran Foundation has adopted the following definitions for this funding focus area:
Prevention: Mental health promotion and prevention efforts that promote social, emotional, and behavioral well-being as an integral part of a child's healthy development. In other words, keeping healthy kids healthy. Services offered to a child with an existing diagnosis as a method to "prevent" future crisis do not qualify under this definition.
Early Intervention: A process aimed at recognizing emerging mental, emotional, or behavioral problems and responding to factors that put individuals at increased risk of developing mental health problems before they become established and more difficult to treat or reverse. Services should be delivered before a formal diagnosis of a mental illness has been made or within one year of diagnosis. Services that primarily focus on positive youth development, while important, do not qualify under this definition, unless offered in conjunction with traditional early intervention activities.

Goal
To support preventive and early intervention children’s mental health services that are comprehensive, coordinated and provided at the community level, ensuring that children and their families receive mental health and supportive services necessary for leading healthy and productive lives.

Objectives, Activities/Funding Priorities, and Outcomes
Lutheran Foundation has established the following objectives, activities/funding priorities, and outcomes for this funding focus area. We are also establishing evaluation methods to determine our success in achieving the outcomes identified.

Successful grant applicants will need to demonstrate how their request supports the following.

Objectives

Funding Priorities

Outcomes

Support preventive and early intervention children’s mental health services that meet the needs of children and youth and their families in an effective, efficient and timely manner.

Overall

Services must be:

Family-driven or focused,
Culturally competent,
Developmentally appropriate, and
Evidenced-based/informed and/or utilize best or promising practices.

Prevention

Identify and serve those children and youth at-risk for future mental health problems and their family and prevent them from progressing into serious long-term situations.
Promote social and emotional learning (e.g., self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, interpersonal and decision-making skills as well as responsible behavior).
Enhance and build organizational capacity to provide effective prevention services.
Promote and support efforts to expand the mental health labor force to ensure a diverse, adequately trained and qualified workforce that meets the needs of children and their families.

Early Intervention

Provide early intervention services for children and youth experiencing life challenges/changes that, if not addressed, could lead to the need for more intensive services.
Provide support services for parents and families whose children are at-risk of being removed from the home, school, programs, etc.
Enhance and build organizational capacity to provide effective early intervention.
Promote and support efforts to expand the mental health workforce to ensure a diverse, adequately trained and qualified workforce that meets the needs of children and their families.

Grantees will:

Short-term:

Increase the availability of services that are: 1) family-driven or focused; 2) culturally competent; 3) developmentally appropriate; and 4) evidence-based/ informed and/or best or promising practices.
Develop connections with other children’s mental health service providers.

Long-term:

Develop the capacity to serve more children and families.
Provide more effective services.
Provide better coordinated services.

Christian congregations and faith-based organizations will:

Be more involved in providing prevention and early intervention services in the area of children’s mental health.

Children and their families will:

Experience increased access to mental health services in a timely manner to help prevent the development of more serious mental health problems.
Receive more comprehensive, higher quality services.
Experience improved mental health outcomes.
Experience decreased family stress.
Experience improved family functioning.

Overview Funding Strategy How to Apply Grant Application Resources