Written by Mary Givens, CCBHC Program Manager

On the SAMHSA website there is a page called “Post Award Amendments for Discretionary Grants”. About two-thirds of the way down on the page there is a subtitle called “No-Cost Extensions” (NCE). In talking with one of our CCBHC customers, I learned the value of this option and decided to share it with you today in case you are not aware of it.  

Grant recipients are allowed to submit a one-time post award amendment to request an extension of up to 12 months on their project. The NCE should be used to ensure completion of the originally approved project, or to permit an orderly phase-out of a project that will not receive continuation support. 

A NCE can be written asking for up to 12 month. Important to note is that it does not include any additional federal funds.  

A NCE may be granted for a federally supported project based on one of the following situations: 

• To ensure completion of the originally approved project goals. 
• To permit an orderly phase-out of a project that will not receive continuation support (i.e., the project is in its last budget year and has not received a continuation award). 

The NCE request must be submitted 60 days prior to the end of the project period. SAMHSA will not approve late requests or requests for additional funding or authorize changes to the project scope or objectives (such as new positions or new services), with a NCE request. Another important caveat of the NCE is that SAMHSA will not approve a NCE request if the primary purpose is to permit the use of an unobligated balance of funds. 

I was talking with one of our many CCBHC customers (130+), named Maggie Brown, the CCBHC Project Director at the Family Resource Center in Ohio, and she shared that their CCBHC wrote an NCE and applied for and was granted a short extension for their CCBHC expansion grant. Maggie explained that the brief 3 month extension (NCE) was needed to work on some goals that had gotten a late start. Family Resource Center just needed a little more time to get some very specific initiatives up and going. This NCE provided Family Resource Center the 3 month window needed for them to meet the remaining goals.  

For a list of exactly what information, forms, and documents must be submitted for an NCE, please visit the SAMHSA webpage found here. For more information on the NCE in general, reach out to your assigned Government Project Officer (GPO).  

Mary Givens, MRA
CCBHC Program Manager
Qualifacts  

Mary Givens has been with Qualifacts for 13 years. She has a Masters in Rehabilitation Administration from the University of San Francisco. Before coming to Qualifacts, Mary was the CEO of a non-profit organization that served IDD, she was the Director of Client Services and a Director of Supported Employment for people with SPMI. Since coming to Qualifacts, she has been a Project Manager for Implementation and a Program Manager of Meaningful Use, and is currently the CCBHC Program Manager.