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VA » Health Care » Mental Health » Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements

Mental Health

Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements

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Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements

Announcements

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VA has published the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements (SMR-CA). The NOFO can be viewed at https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/354397.

SMR-CA applications need to be submitted electronically within the VA grants management system at https://hmlsgrants-va.mod.udpaas.com/s_Login.jsp by July 24, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Technical assistance webinar recordings, which include information about funding priorities, eligibility, application requirements, the submission process, and scoring criteria, are available below. The slide deck used in the webinar is also available.

VA Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements Webinar: Part 1
Slide Presentation | Webinar
VA Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements Webinar: Part 2
Slide Presentation | Webinar

Last updated: June 25, 2024

About the Cooperative Agreements

The Suicide Mortality Review Cooperative Agreements (SMR-CA) supports states, territories, and Tribal entities in establishing, coordinating, and managing Suicide Mortality Review Committees (SMRCs) to identify and characterize suicide deaths and support the capacity to develop and implement data-informed strategies to prevent suicide, including suicide among Veterans.

Suicide Mortality Reviews (SMRs) are systematic and comprehensive reviews of deaths that are intended to develop recommended strategies to prevent future deaths. SMRs are conducted by SMR Committees, which access multiple sources of clinical and non-clinical information that provide a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding a death. The SMRCs then develop recommendations for action to prevent similar deaths in the future.

SMR-CA aims to establish and increase the capacity of states, territories, and Tribes to collect high-quality uniform suicide death data, expand suicide death reviews, and ultimately translate data into suicide prevention actions at community, state, territorial, Tribal, and national levels. States, territories, and Tribes may identify key counties, cities, municipalities, or other political subdivisions in their own jurisdictions with whom they wish to coordinate for local SMRC development and implementation.

These cooperative agreements are part of a broader Suicide Mortality Review Program within the Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenges to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families Program (Governor’s Challenge). The Governor’s Challenge program is a collaboration between VA and the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration focused on bringing state, territory, and Tribal policy makers and leaders together to develop and implement a comprehensive suicide prevention plan.

Funding applied for under this NOFO is authorized by section 303 of Division V of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), which states that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may enter into agreements with states, territories, and American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes for the development and implementation of veteran suicide prevention proposals through the Governor’s Challenge program.

Frequently Asked Questions

A cooperative agreement is a financial assistance mechanism where VA anticipates substantial involvement with the recipient during the period of performance. Both grants and cooperative agreements are awarded when a federal agency is providing assistance; cooperative agreements occur when substantial involvement by the agency is anticipated.

Organizations that are eligible for this cooperative agreement include American Indian, Alaskan Native Tribal governments, states, and territories (states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa).

Awards made for SMR-CA are anticipated to be funded by September 30, 2024. This is anticipated to be a one-year award with an optional one-year extension possible.

The population focus for this funding opportunity is all people at risk of suicide in a given jurisdiction, with prioritization given to applicants focusing on veterans. VA may also prioritize awards to applicants that intend to focus on SMR activities in rural communities, territories, or Tribal lands.

Scoring criteria is included in the Notice of Funding Opportunity listed on grants.gov.

SSR-CA applications need to be submitted electronically within the VA grants management system at https://hmlsgrants-va.mod.udpaas.com/s_Login.jsp by July 24, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time.