SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith announced that CDPH is accepting proposals for projects that will help reduce mental health disparities across the state.

Through its California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP), the department will award $60 million in contracts and grants over the next four years.

“The mission of Public Health is to ensure all residents have equal opportunities for health and access to the services they need, regardless of race, sexual orientation, or income,” said Dr. Smith. “This opportunity allows Public Health to partner with organizations that are going to make a difference and help bring mental health equity to California.”

CDPH’s Office of Health Equity (OHE) will award the money as part of an effort to reduce mental health disparities across five CRDP-targeted populations (African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, LGBTQQ and Native Americans).

Contractors and grantees will be chosen through 16 solicitations for statewide evaluator, technical assistance providers, population specific capacity building pilot projects, and population specific implementation pilot projects.

“Services that are tailored to the cultural and language needs of the individual receiving care are essential for quality mental health care,” said Dr. Smith. “This project will allow communities to have a voice in the care they receive.”

The Statewide Evaluator and Technical Assistance solicitations release will be followed by the Population Specific Capacity Building and Population Specific Implementation Pilot Project solicitations on August 31, 2015.

Solicitations will be released via BidSync and through CDPH’s OHE web page. Organizations are encouraged to review all solicitations and apply for those that align with the services they provide. Only one award will be given per organization.

A bidders' conference will be held on Sept. 2 for the Statewide Evaluator and Technical Assistance Provider and on Sept. 9 for the Capacity Building Pilot Projects and Implementation Pilot Projects.

During the conferences, prospective bidders can meet with state personnel to review the contents of the solicitations and learn more about the procurement process.

All potential bidders are encouraged to attend the bidders’ conference which will be held at 707 Third St., West Sacramento in the auditorium.

The projects will advance CRDP’s effort to improve quality of care for multicultural communities by providing four years of funding to implement the practices and strategies identified in the CRDP Strategic Plan, which will be available to the public later this year.

More information is available at the CRDP Web site, https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/OHECaliforniaReducingDisparitiesProjectPhaseII.aspx .