Grant awards for the 2024 Behavioral Health Services Impact Fund Grant Program were approved Tuesday by the Board of Larimer County Commissioners during their Administrative Matters meeting.

Behavioral Health Services [BHS] is the administrator of funds generated through a ballot initiative for the expansion of behavioral health services in Larimer County. BHS invests those funds into the community through the Impact Fund Grant Program and other initiatives to support countywide needs.

“Thanks to all of these folks who are going to be awarded these important impact grant funds for their tireless work in the community…you are making a difference,”  Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally said.

The 2024 grant awards were approved by the Behavioral Health Policy Council before receiving final review and approval by the Board of Larimer County Commissioners.

Targeted Grant areas for the Impact Fund are determined by the BHS Technical Advisory Committee and the Consumer Advisory Committee.

Targeted Grants are designed to address gaps in behavioral health care with concentrated focus and funding and include:

•       Care Coordination & Systems Integration
•       Workforce Expansion & Support
•       Alternatives & Interventions in Criminal Justice
•       Services in Diverse Settings
•       Expansion of Child & Youth Services

Responsive Grants are awarded to organizations that identify a behavioral health need and propose solutions that fall outside of Targeted Grant areas but align with BHS funding priorities.

This year, BHS received 84 applications and over $7.4 million in funding requests, far exceeding requests from previous years.

BHS is awarding 41 grants to diverse programs serving county residents with a total funding distribution of $3,000,426. This reflects a one-time increase of $200,426 for award, which includes $155,000 of redistributed funds from the previous grant cycle.

The grant awards span diverse communities across Larimer County, demonstrating a broad geographic impact.“I think when the sales tax initiative for supporting behavioral health efforts was passed the second time in 2018, one of the key elements was to help people understand that it wasn't just a Fort Collins thing but was trying to impact the entire region. So I think we're making good progress there,” Larimer County Commissioner John Kefalas said.

2024 Grant Recipients:

The prestigious 2024 Gary A. Darling Grant is awarded to The Matthew’s House. The award will be used to expand on The Matthews House’s successful Parent Café program and integrated case management in the Larimer County Jail and Community Corrections to provide a continuum of care for parents involved in the criminal justice system as they transition back into the community and reunite with their families.