Kentucky Rural Health Transformation: Crisis Transportation Support
Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, through the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID), is accepting applications from the Commonwealth’s 14 designated Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) for Rapid Response to Recovery — Crisis Transportation Support. This competitive applicant-facing Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding opportunity supports pilots that improve safe, timely, and dignified transportation for people experiencing behavioral health crises in rural Kentucky. It is not a general vendor purchasing solicitation and is not open to every healthcare provider.
Individual applicant award and funding period
Each eligible CMHC may request up to $715,000 total across two budget periods; the award can be lower and is not guaranteed. The RFA recommends budget-period request targets of $450,000 for the initial start-up/operating period and $300,000 for the subsequent operating period, but the $715,000 combined applicant cap controls. A combined application for both periods is preferred, with spending identified separately by period. Initial contracts are targeted to begin January 1, 2027, and the pilot contract period ends June 30, 2028. Continuation funding is not automatic. Kentucky’s $212.9 million overall RHTP first-year state award is not an individual applicant award.
Eligible applicants and required partnerships
Eligible prime applicants are Kentucky’s 14 Community Mental Health Centers (Provider Type 30), which serve as statutory regional behavioral health boards. Each applicant must propose formal working partnerships with relevant law enforcement, EMS or ambulance services, hospitals, qualified transportation organizations, or other approved crisis-system partners. Other organizations may participate as authorized partners or subcontractors, but are not listed as independent primary applicants. CMHCs retain fiscal and program accountability and must complete any required Commonwealth vendor registrations if funded. Involuntary transports must comply with Kentucky law, including KRS 202A.028(3); proposed voluntary transport pathways must be separately defined with lawful clinical, consent, staffing, insurance and safety procedures.
Allowable uses and major restrictions
The RFA permits reasonable, documented costs for transportation program staffing and supervision, round-the-clock response capacity, training and onboarding, coordination and dispatch, accessibility and safety measures, operations and vehicle maintenance, insurance, approved partner agreements, program monitoring, and improvement activities. Approved vehicles, ADA-accessible modifications, and technology may be proposed but vehicles and certain equipment cannot be purchased, leased, retrofitted, or obligated without separate advance written approval. Capital construction is prohibited. Expenses already reimbursed by insurance or other funding streams cannot be charged again; the award must supplement rather than supplant existing support. Indirect costs are allowable only if authorized under final award terms and within the approved cap. The RFA does not specify a universal cash matching percentage; partner contributions and long-term sustainability should be addressed in the budget and narrative.
Application deadline — official-document inconsistency
The Kentucky CHFS current grant opportunities listing, the RFA cover page, and the RFA’s formal timeline all specify November 6, 2026 as the application deadline; no specific cutoff hour or time zone is stated. However, section X (Application Instructions), page 18 of the same RFA, still says October 23, 2026. This is a material inconsistency in the official document. Applicants should contact DBHDID immediately to confirm acceptance under the November 6 date, and must not assume an extension without confirmation. The catalog reflects the currently posted November 6 deadline with this explicit warning rather than silently ignoring the conflicting earlier date.
How to apply
Review the official 24-page Kentucky RHTP Crisis Transportation Support RFA and obtain its Attachment A budget spreadsheet through the Kentucky CHFS grant portal. Email the packet to Breanna.mcginnis@ky.gov. It must identify the organization and primary contacts, include a narrative of no more than 10 pages responsive to the RFA’s required sections A–K, and attach the budget template as a separate spreadsheet. Partner support letters are strongly encouraged. Follow the specified headings, response format, budget and implementation requirements, including partners, compliance, service area, sustainability, safety, staffing, performance measures, and distinctions between BP1 and BP2 activities.
Controlling sources and verification
Verified October 25, 2026 against the Kentucky CHFS current grants listing and the complete 24-page official RFA, including its eligibility section, funding ceiling, allowable costs, restrictions, submission checklist and contradictory deadline instruction. The deadline discrepancy is highlighted above and should be resolved directly with the funder before relying on November 6.