The Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois (CBHA), in partnership with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, released the controlling Notice of Funding Opportunity for Overcoming Geographic Barriers to Care, Mobile Healthcare Innovation for Rural Illinois. CBHA states that it is administering up to $7.99 million in Year 1. The NOFO anticipates 15–30 awards; no binding minimum or maximum award has been established, but CBHA anticipates that most awards will fall between $200,000 and $1,000,000. First-year funds must be expended by June 30, 2027, with renewal opportunities for up to four subsequent years to be addressed separately.
Applications open September 23, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CT and are due October 23, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Applications must be submitted through Euna Solutions. Applicant questions are due October 13, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CT. The optional informational webinar is September 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT. Awards are anticipated by December 1, 2026, and funded activities are expected to begin January 4, 2027.
Eligibility: the lead applicant must be an Illinois Community Mental Health Center, Behavioral Health Clinic, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, or Substance Use Treatment Facility licensed or certified by HFS or IDHS/DBHR. The organization may be located inside or outside a designated rural area, but grant-funded activities must exclusively benefit residents of federally or state-designated rural Illinois communities. Applicants may use co-applicants and partners, but the eligible behavioral health provider remains the lead and is responsible for fiscal management, reporting, compliance, and project oversight. Applicants must maintain SAM.gov registration and UEI, complete GATA prequalification and the current-year Internal Controls Questionnaire, remain in good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State when applicable, and not appear on relevant exclusion, sanction, or stop-payment lists.
Cost sharing is not required. Indirect costs may be charged using an applicable negotiated rate or a de minimis rate of up to 15% of modified total direct costs. Each applicant may submit only one application under this NOFO and may not submit the same proposed project under another RHT Program funding notice.
The NOFO expressly supports development, deployment, expansion, modernization, and sustainability of mobile behavioral health models. Allowable project elements include mobile crisis teams, home-based behavioral health services, school-linked and telehealth-enabled models, mobile substance-use treatment and recovery, workforce and supervision, mobile connectivity, mobile documentation and telehealth capabilities, care-coordination platforms, interoperability, remote patient monitoring and communication technologies, screening and referral workflows, mobile service equipment and vehicles, data analytics, AI-enabled operational tools, and equipment and technology needed for virtual and mobile care. Capital expenditures, certain equipment purchases, vehicle acquisitions, infrastructure investments, mobile connectivity, and similar costs may require prior written approval from CBHA, HFS, and/or CMS before obligation or expenditure.
Funds may not replace reimbursable clinical services, existing federal/state/local funding, or a HITECH-certified EMR already in place as of September 1, 2025. New construction is not allowable. Minor renovations or equipment upgrades may be allowable when directly tied to program goals. Clinician salary support is prohibited for facilities that subject clinicians to noncompete contractual limitations. Third-party contracts paid with grant funds remain subject to GATA, 2 CFR Part 200, CBHA-supplied contract provisions, and CBHA pre-approval of subcontractor agreements and budgets.
N9+ fit is exceptionally strong but conditional. The controlling NOFO directly authorizes telehealth capabilities, remote patient monitoring, mobile clinical technology, equipment, connectivity, and capital equipment needed to support approved mobile-care models. A defensible N9+ strategy exists where an eligible applicant uses the platform for telehealth-enabled clinical encounters, guided physical examinations, vitals, remote assessment, or mobile integrated-care workflows that are necessary, reasonable, allocable, project-specific, and approved under applicable capital/procurement rules. N9+ should not be introduced in initial applicant outreach. Product-specific allowability, procurement treatment, clinical governance, interoperability, privacy/security, and any required prior approval must be confirmed in the applicant-specific budget and project design before commitment.