Opportunity Overview
Open now. The New York State Office of Mental Health is accepting proposals under MH263029 for capital and program-development funding to create new or expand existing Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities serving children and adolescents. OMH has made up to $20 million available.
Funding and Deadline
Proposals are due September 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST through the Statewide Financial System (SFS), using OMH’s exact deadline wording. Conditional award notifications are anticipated November 5, 2026, with an anticipated contract start of July 1, 2027. The official Q&A confirms that new RTF awards may cover actual capital costs up to $10 million each and expansion awards may cover actual capital costs up to $5 million each. The RFP also preserves a limited scenario in which one qualifying new RTF project could receive actual capital costs up to the full $20 million pool.
Who Can Apply
Applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that currently operate an OMH-licensed psychiatric inpatient, residential, or community-based program for children, adolescents, or transition-age youth with diagnosed mental health conditions, or operate residential programs for those populations under another New York State authority. Existing RTF expansion applicants must also be current on required CFR submissions and demonstrate at least 90% utilization of licensed capacity at the proposed expansion site.
Geography and Award Priority
The eligibility section permits projects in the Central New York, Hudson River, New York City, and Long Island OMH regions. OMH’s Q&A reiterates need in all four regions and states that Hudson River and New York City will be prioritized for award allocation. Applicants should also note that the RFP’s regional award-target section defines Tier 1 and Tier 2 specifically around New York City and Hudson River projects. Central New York or Long Island applicants should therefore read the current RFP and Q&A carefully and confirm how the tiered allocation rules apply before relying on an assumed award position.
Capital, Start-Up and Site Readiness
Funding can support property acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and approved project-development costs. The official Q&A confirms that a new-site applicant does not need to have a site identified at the time of application; a conditionally selected bidder may begin actively searching for a viable site after award. The Q&A also confirms that initial outfitting and start-up costs are available, with the current start-up rate stated as $10,197 per bed, and that all reasonable costs to develop RTF beds should be included in the start-up budget.
Clinical and Education Requirements
RTFs are physician-directed programs. The Q&A confirms that a PMHNP may provide medication-management and health services but may not replace the required physician role. Awardees must meet OMH licensure, approved accreditation, Medicaid and CMS PRTF requirements and must affiliate with an approved New York State private special-education program or establish an approved school-age special-education program on or near the RTF campus.
Submission Controls — Immediate
OMH’s current applicant checklist says applicants should begin working in SFS no later than five business days before the due date and submit no later than 48 hours before the due date so technical problems can be resolved. It also states that New York reserves 5-10 business days to review complete nonprofit prequalification applications, with longer review possible when updates are required. SFS prevents a not-for-profit applicant that is not prequalified from submitting.
Each proposal must cover one distinct project site. An organization may submit more than one site proposal, but no more than two applications total may be submitted under this RFP. Applicants must send notice of intent to the applicable Local Governmental Unit and upload proof in SFS, complete the Provider Contact form and required certifications, combine the Proposal Template and attachments into one PDF for Q1, and leave Appendix C Staffing Plan in Excel for Q2. OMH also warns that file type, size and naming restrictions apply and that noncompliant attachments may not be viewable to reviewers.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 97/100. This is one of New York’s most consequential current pediatric behavioral-health capital opportunities because it directly funds major residential psychiatric capacity expansion and now has unusually useful official guidance on capital size, start-up funding, site timing, clinical requirements and SFS submission controls.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 30/100, conditional. Initial outfitting and reasonable RTF development costs are expressly contemplated, but the solicitation is not a general telehealth procurement. N9+ should only be considered where an eligible RTF applicant can tie the technology directly to the approved clinical model and obtain cost-allowability confirmation.
QC Healthcare Fit: 48/100, conditional. The Q&A describes Purchased Health Services as including contracted MD on-call and response and confirms that RTFs remain physician-directed. This creates a legitimate potential physician-services pathway, but any QC Healthcare role must fit the applicant’s OMH-approved staffing model, physician-supervision requirements, reimbursement structure and allowable cost treatment.
Next Action
Treat this as an immediate submission-readiness window. Eligible organizations should already be working in SFS. Confirm SFS vendor status and nonprofit prequalification now; if prequalification is not complete, the official 5-10-business-day review window makes the September 15 deadline high risk. OMH’s recommended 48-hour-early submission window has now passed. Applicants already pursuing this opportunity should finalize the single-site proposal, LGU notice, Provider Contact form, certifications, proposal PDF and Appendix C staffing workbook and submit as soon as possible rather than waiting for the formal September 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST deadline.
Official source: New York State Office of Mental Health — MH263029.