Systems-Level Risk Detection and Interventions to Reduce Suicide, Ideation, and Behaviors in Black Children and Adolescents (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 21 185

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 21 185

Systems-Level Risk Detection and Interventions to Reduce Suicide, Ideation, and Behaviors in Black Children and Adolescents (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) is an NIH funding opportunity (RFA-MH-21-185; CFDA 93.242) focused on reducing suicide risk among Black children and adolescents by improving how risk is detected and how youth are connected to effective care and supports. The central aim is to fund pilot, community-based research that designs and tests multi-level, systems-oriented interventions. In practical terms, this means projects should look beyond individual-level clinical treatment alone and instead target the real-world systems that touch young people (for example, schools, primary care, emergency departments, community mental health programs, juvenile justice settings, child welfare, faith and community organizations, and other local service networks). The work is intended to both predict or identify suicide risk earlier and strengthen pathways to timely, appropriate services, with the overall goal of preventing suicidal ideation and behaviors.

The announcement emphasizes early-stage but rigorous intervention development and evaluation. Rather than supporting large definitive trials right away, the R01 is positioned to provide resources to determine whether a novel systems-level approach is feasible to implement, acceptable to youth and families and frontline providers, and safe for participants. Applicants are expected to generate preliminary data that would justify and inform a later, larger-scale efficacy or effectiveness study. Because the FOA is labeled “Clinical Trial Optional,” applicants may propose a study that includes a clinical trial component if it fits the aims, but a clinical trial is not strictly required. The key expectation is that the project will test the performance and practicality of a systems strategy in real community contexts, including measurable outcomes related to identification of risk, linkage to care, engagement with services, and reduction of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

A defining requirement is meaningful community partnership through community or stakeholder advisory boards. These boards are expected to include representatives of the communities served and the systems involved, such as youth, caregivers, community leaders, clinicians, school personnel, and other providers. The advisory structure is meant to shape the intervention from the beginning, ensuring that the approach is culturally grounded, responsive to local needs and barriers, and aligned with how Black youth and families actually experience help-seeking, crisis response, and service navigation. This community-engaged design expectation signals that NIH is looking for interventions that are not only theoretically sound, but also implementable and trustworthy within the communities where disparities in access, quality of care, and system responsiveness often exist.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicants such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it clearly restricts foreign involvement: non-U.S. (foreign) institutions cannot apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant mechanism offered by the National Institutes of Health, created on April 16, 2021, with an original closing date of June 29, 2021. The opportunity description notes that there would be a companion R01 announcement as well, reinforcing that NIH is building a coordinated set of awards to move this area of research forward. Overall, the FOA is aimed at accelerating practical, community-informed systems solutions that can spot suicide risk earlier and reliably connect Black youth to effective prevention and treatment services, while producing the feasibility and preliminary outcome evidence needed to scale up to larger services research studies.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Systems-Level Risk Detection and Interventions to Reduce Suicide, Ideation, and Behaviors in Black Children and Adolescents (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-04-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA MH 21 185

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