Mental Health Awareness and Training Program for El Salvador’s Juvenile Justice Institutions

Deadline: 16-Jul-2024

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications for a Mental Health Awareness and Training Program for El Salvador’s juvenile justice institutions.

The purpose of this project is to provide training, education, and mentor programs for health, social care, and criminal justice practitioners to improve awareness, recognition, assessment, intervention, and management of mental health problems for employees across the juvenile justice system and the more than 500 staff and practitioners inside the four reinsertion centers (Centros de Integración Social, CIS), four juvenile temporary detention centers (resguardos), and the three probation department offices, among others.

Project Goal(s) and Objectives

• Project goal: Juvenile justice professionals have improved mental and physical resilience to common stressors among those working with YICL securing a better service and directly impacting the reduction of recidivism, promotion of resocialization and reintegration into society of the YICL.
• Objective 1: Within six months, conduct an initial assessment to identify all available resources for juvenile justice practitioners for mental health and wellbeing. This should include a general assessment of the degree to which practitioners believe work-induced stress affects their personal life and wellbeing.
  • Activity 1.1: Conduct interviews and meetings with a sample group of juvenile justice practitioners to get a sense of the current situation and the mental health and resilience resources available. Review current security mechanisms regarding confidentiality of psychological information and record keeping.
  • Activity 1.2: Provide an executive report with relevant findings. This should be the basis for developing the mental health training sessions.
• Objective 2: Provide group and individual mental health sessions and practical exercises to promote practitioner mental health awareness and wellbeing.
  • Activity 2.1: Within nine months, develop a curriculum for individual and group mental health sessions based on a framework of developing personal and situational awareness. Curriculum should emulate wellness programs like Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) and Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT). Within the curriculum, place emphasis on practices, concrete applicability of such practices to real life scenarios, and information regarding the physiology of stress and trauma. The curriculum should also include the methodology, duration of sessions, adequate group sizes, and an activity schedule.
    • The mental health training sessions should include the physiology of stress responses, directly link the training to juvenile justice practitioners’ performance, and explain how stress management techniques can ameliorate the negative effects of stress. Training implementers must coordinate with the appropriate psychologist(s) and unit director when scheduling the sessions to minimally disrupt operations.
    • Throughout the training sessions, juvenile justice practitioners should be gradually introduced to and practice stress reduction exercises. This includes, but is not limited to, body awareness exercises like sitting meditation, walking meditation, breathing techniques, active body scans, and mindful movements. Class exercises to develop reactivity awareness should also be included (i.e. breath awareness practices).
  • Activity 2.2: Within nine months, based on the report’s recommendations, define and accommodate a dedicated area for mental health sessions (including provision of equipment and furniture) to at least four CONAPINA spaces. The space should create an environment that fosters healing and sustainability.
  • Activity 2.3: Over the course of the first year, conduct at least one individual and one group mental health awareness session with 80 percent of juvenile justice practitioners. Given the highly demanding work schedule of juvenile justice practitioners, provide flexibility regarding the length, time of day, and location based on practitioner convenience. Whenever possible, ensure sessions take place in an environment that fosters healing. For individual sessions, place special attention to those juvenile justice practitioners who have experienced or responded to critical incidents.
• Objective 3: Conduct a follow-up assessment one year after the initial assessment to determine effectiveness and make necessary improvements to the curriculum.
  • Activity 3.1: At the end of each training session, interview juvenile justice practitioners to collect feedback. Within one year of implementation, assess their feedback and identify improvements to make to the curriculum.
  • Activity 3.2: Within one year of implementation, interview juvenile justice practitioners’ psychologists or mental health unitstaff to evaluate any changes perceived in CONAPINA staff’s wellbeing.
  • Activity 3.3: Within fourteen months, provide a written report reflecting all findings to be shared with INL and CONAPINA leadership. The report should include recommendations to improve future training, success stories, as well as an updated status of the resources available for mental health and wellbeing.
  • Activity 3.4: Within eighteen months, promote the institutionalization of the curriculum in CONAPINA and continue to guide and mentor CONAPINA staff throughout the implementation period.

Funding Information

• Total available funding: $600,000.00
• Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $450,000.00 to a maximum of $600,000.00.
• Length of performance period: 24 months
• Anticipated program start date: September, 2024 Number of awards anticipated: 1 award (dependent on amounts)

Project Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Executive report with relevant findings that will serve as the basis for developing the mental health sessions.
• Deliverable 2: Curriculum for the mental health sessions in line with the overall goals and objectives of this program.
• Deliverable 3: Establish at least four dedicated spaces in CONAPINA for mental health sessions.
• Deliverable 4: Written report to reflect the findings of the follow-up assessment. The report’s findings will be shared through a power point briefing to CONAPINA, juvenile justice sector actors, and INL leadership.
• Deliverable 5: Statistic reports on the participants of the juvenile justice practitioners who participated in the individual and group mental health awareness sessions.
• Deliverable 6: Formal proposal for CONAPINA to institutionalize the curriculum on mental health.

Participants and Audiences

• The project will work directly with CONAPINA leadership, juvenile justice practitioners, juvenile court staff, juvenile judges, and others identified in the areas of operation of interest.

Priority Region/Country

• El Salvador

Eligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  • U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
  • U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code or section 26 US 115 of the US 115 of the U.S. tax code;
  • Foreign-based (non-local) non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
  • Foreign-based (non-local) educational institutions

For more information, visit Grants.gov.