The Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services: Funding Application for
Best Practices Aligned to the Framework
BACKGROUND
This CLF grant program is made available through funding from the Rose Community
Foundation.
Application and Grant Guidelines
The intent of this funding is to advance best practices in social, emotional, and behavioral health
in Colorado school districts and schools to improve student outcomes and school climate and
culture. The initiative seeks to provide guidance, financial resources, technical assistance, and
support to school districts to improve: universal social and emotional learning opportunities,
behavioral health referral systems, partnerships and MOUs between behavioral health
professionals and districts, universal behavioral health screening, and much more. The goal is to
support measurable, sustainable and innovative approaches to social and emotional wellness
because of the clearly established link between healthy students and/or staff, positive school
climate, and improved academic outcomes. These outcomes include but are not limited to:
increased learning readiness, school engagement, improved academic performance, and
decreased absenteeism, behavior issues, and truancy.
The Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services for school districts and schools
was developed to assist school and district leadership or wellness/RtI/PBIS/MTSS teams in the
creation of comprehensive school behavioral health systems. Grant proposals that most closely
align with the Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services will be more
favorably considered for funding. NOTE: Please see the attached one-pager that lists the best
practices that are in the Framework to ensure your proposal aligns with the best practices guide.
The best practices guide along with tools and resources for the Framework will be released in
November.
The Colorado Legacy Foundation will provide ongoing technical assistance to schools as needed
to complete activities related to this funding.
Due November 22nd, 2013, by 5:00 p.m.
Funding available for Colorado K-12 School Districts, Colorado BOCES and Charter School
Organizations
INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
 Funding of at least $5,000/year is available to at least 5 school districts/schools to
develop strategies that promote the positive development of students’ social, emotional,
and behavioral health and that are aligned to the Colorado Framework for School
Behavioral Health Services.
 The grant cycle begins January 2014 and ends December 2014. The grant cycle may be
extended for a second year.
 In order to qualify for funding, school districts must address two or more of the best
practice components of the Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services.
The best practices are listed on the last page of this document.
 School districts can target funding to one or more schools in the district.
 Only one application will be considered per applicant organization.
 Applications must be received on or before November 22nd, 2013, by 5:00 p .m. and can
be submitted by postal mail, e-mail, or hand delivery.
 Grant applications will be reviewed by a committee of experts, and grant award
announcements are planned for December 16th, 2013.
 For those applications that are awarded funding, Grant Progress Reports and Financial
Statements will be due November 14th, 2014. These progress reports and financial
statements are an essential tool for the Colorado Legacy Foundation to monitor the
effectiveness of the grant program and a method for grantees to measure their own
progress.
 The Grant Progress Reports and Financial Statements guidelines and forms will be emailed to you 60 days prior to the report due date.
The Colorado Legacy Foundation welcomes your questions about the reporting process or the
grant guidelines. The CLF staff listed below will be available to answer your questions:
Eryn Elder
Phone: 720.502.4702
Email: eelder@colegacy.org
Eryn Elder
Coordinator, Initiatives
Colorado Legacy Foundation
1660 Lincoln, Suite 2000
Denver, CO 80264
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GRANT APPLICATION FORM
Date
ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
Name of Contact for School District/BOCES/Charter School:
Title:
Name of School District/BOCES/Charter School:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Telephone:
Fax:
Email:
Signature*:
Name of Superintendent, BOCES Director or Charter School Director:
Signature*:
Telephone:
Email:
District(s) served by this application:
School(s) served by this application:
Count(ies) served by this application:
Number of students served through this grant proposal:
Number of employees served through this grant proposal (if applicable):
Total number of students:
Total number of staff:
*If you do not have an electronic signature to import, please print this completed page, sign and
fax, e-mail or mail to:
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Attn: Eryn Elder
Fax: 866.611.7509
E-mail: eelder@colegacy.org
Mail: 1660 Lincoln St., Ste. 2000, Denver, CO 80264
PROPOSAL NARRATIVE – PLEASE LIMIT TO 5 PAGES
Proposal Overview
Please provide brief background information about the students or staff you will be serving with
this funding and explain what need(s) this proposal addresses.
Successes and Challenges
Briefly describe some of your school or school district's greatest successes and challenges in
social, emotional, and behavioral health.
TEAM
Do you have a Wellness Team, Leadership Team, or RtI/PBIS/MTSS Team at the School
District/BOCES/Charter School or school level that is poised to guide this work? Yes
No
If yes, list the titles of the members (i.e. Principal, Parent, Student, Science Teacher, etc.):
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Do you have a Wellness Policy at the district or school level that includes social, emotional, and
behavioral health? Yes
No
How might the outcomes of this proposal inform changes to the district's or school's current
wellness policies?
PROPOSAL SUMMARY
Please summarize in a few sentences, a description of your proposal. Districts/schools must
address two or more of the components of the Colorado Framework for School Behavioral
Health Services. Please refer to the last page of this document for the best practices that are listed
in the Framework.
Please check each of the following areas of focus the proposal addresses:
Social and Emotional Learning Opportunities
Professional Development
Data and/or Accountability
District/School Partnerships with Behavioral Health Professionals
Family-Community-School Partnerships
School Behavioral Health Services
Workplace Wellness
Universal Screening
Mental Health Stigma Reduction
Other
Summary:
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What objective(s) do you hope to achieve?
When answering this question, remember two tips:
Grant proposals that most closely align objectives and activities with the Framework best
practices will be more favorably considered for funding.
Use SMART Objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)
Examples might include, but are not limited to:
 By December 31, 2014, X amount of middle schools in ABC school district will
implement social, emotional skill building opportunities across the curriculum, as
measured by teacher and student surveys.
 By May 31, 2014, District ABC will have created a school behavioral health services
team that focuses on implementing strategies X and Y from the Framework and will
measure the impact of strategies through interviews and surveys.
 By December 31, 2014, X amount of school professionals will be trained in Mental
Health First Aid Youth Curriculum, and school staff will be surveyed about how they use
the strategies in their classrooms.
 By December 31, 2014, school X will have a partnership with a Community Mental
Health Center, School-Based Health Center, or other behavioral health professional, and
data will be tracked to determine how many students received services.
 By December 31, 2014, X amount of schools in ABC school district will be using a
universal screening system, and data will be tracked to decipher how many students
screened at elevated levels and how many students received appropriate interventions.
 By December 31, 2014, district school behavioral health professionals will partner with
the Community Mental Health Center to conduct two community-wide mental health
stigma reduction trainings, and participants will be surveyed and interviewed about the
effectiveness of the training.
Objectives:
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Action Steps: What activities will be completed to accomplish the objective(s)?
Describe the plan for evaluating your proposal. i.e. How will you know you have
accomplished your objectives?
SUSTAINABILITY
How will you sustain the outcomes of the proposal beyond the grant term?
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BUDGET INSTRUCTIONS
In the space below, please create a proposal budget that accounts for all of your projected costs
based on your proposal. The below budget spreadsheet is an example of possible direct costs.
Please feel free to change/add/delete line items.
Direct Costs
Proposal Expenses
Description/Justification
Expense
PERSONNEL
PROGRAM COSTS
TRAVEL/MILEAGE
CONFERENCES/MEETINGS
TRAINING
OTHER
Grand total costs ($5,000)
GRANT SUBMISSION
Please make sure all sections of this grant application are complete before submitting.
All sections of this proposal, including the signature pages, must be received by November 22nd,
2013, by 5 p.m.
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The Best Practices in the Colorado Framework for School Behavioral Health Services
*District and school teams guide the behavioral health work.
Foundation – Best Practices
 Districts and schools have strong family-school-community partnerships.
 District, school, and community leaders ensure pointed efforts to reduce the stigma around mental
health.
 Staff professional development opportunities address: working within a comprehensive school
behavioral health system; creating trauma-sensitive and culturally-responsive schools;
understanding child and adolescent development; and promoting staff self-care.
 District and school leaders prioritize a positive school climate and culture.
 Social, emotional, and behavioral health efforts are included in accountability systems.
 Schools use data-based decision making to guide their behavioral health efforts.
Tier 1 Services – All Students – Best Practices
 Positive behavior supports are implemented across the district.
 Evidence-based/practice based1 social, emotional learning opportunities are included across
classes and curriculum.
 Schools include universal behavioral health screening.
 Districts and schools have a formal referral process in place.
Tier 2 Services – Some Students – Best Practices
 Schools offer evidence-based group and/or individual interventions.
 Progress monitoring is integrated into the school day.
Tier 3 Services – Few Students – Best Practices
 Schools offer opportunities for individual and group counseling/therapy during the school day.
 Schools have a re-entry program for students transitioning back from hospitalization or residential
treatment.
 Schools have a crisis response plan in place.
Specialized Services Delivery Best Practices that Link with 1 of 3 Specialized Services Delivery Models:
School-Based Health Center Services, School-Based Services, or Community-Based Services
 Schools ensure adequate information sharing between the behavioral health professional, other
youth-serving agencies, families, and necessary school staff.
 Constant and effective communication loops exist between the behavioral health professional and
the team leading the behavioral health work.
 Schools ensure opportunities exist for “warm hand-offs” between school staff and behavioral
health professionals.
 Wraparound services are available for students with Tier 3 needs.
 School leaders ensure youth-guided services and family partnerships for students with Tier 2 and
Tier 3 needs.
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CLF also promotes practice-based work in schools. These practices are created within a district or school, based
on local need and show positive results.