County grants staff outline $2.25 million behavioral health plan for 2026, prioritize housing
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Summary
Grants staff presented a $2.25 million budget framework for 2026 that would allocate $1.55 million through a notice of funding opportunity—about $1.125 million for shelter and permanent housing and $425,000 for other behavioral health priorities; staff said the NOFO will be released in January and include multiple emerging-opportunity rounds.
County grants staff briefed the council on a proposed $2.25 million behavioral health funding plan for 2026 and the process for distributing the money through a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
Marita (staff) introduced Ashimi, grants program manager for behavioral health coordination, who said the team began outreach and data collection in November and December and planned to release the NOFO in January. "Our overall budget is $2,250,000, of which for the 2026 core notice of funding opportunity we plan on allocating 68.9% or $1,550,000," Ashimi said.
Ashimi recommended directing $1,125,000 of the NOFO to shelter and permanent housing and $425,000 to other priorities aligned with the McLean County Behavioral Health Action Plan. She also listed other allocations being considered: about $50,005 for 988 crisis-service marketing, $200,000 for skills-based professional development and a modest portion for emerging opportunities distributed in March, June and September.
Staff emphasized that the NOFO will require applicants to indicate which sections of the behavioral health action plan their proposals address. The grants team said they expect more detailed applicant proposals and will clarify review criteria once the NOFO is released.
Next steps: the grants team will finalize the NOFO for release in January, include application guidance linking projects to the behavioral health action plan, and convene BHCC stakeholders to refine 2027 priorities.
