Systems-Level Risk Detection and Interventions to Reduce Suicide, Ideation, and Behaviors in Black Children and Adolescents (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA MH 21 186

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 21 186

Systems-Level Risk Detection and Interventions to Reduce Suicide, Ideation, and Behaviors in Black Children and Adolescents (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (RFA-MH-21-186) that supports early-stage, community-grounded pilot studies focused on preventing suicide among Black children and adolescents. The central idea is to fund projects that go beyond individual-level counseling or screening alone and instead design and test multi-level, systems-oriented approaches. These approaches are expected to either improve how suicide risk is detected and predicted within real-world settings, strengthen how Black youth at risk are identified and connected to appropriate services, or do both. The emphasis is on interventions that operate within and across the systems that young people actually encounter, such as schools, primary care, emergency departments, community mental health programs, child welfare, juvenile justice, faith-based organizations, and other community service networks.

This is an R34 mechanism, meaning it is aimed at developing and running pilot work that can demonstrate whether a new or adapted systems-level intervention is feasible and promising enough to justify a later, larger study. Applicants are expected to generate practical, decision-ready evidence about whether the approach works in the field: can it be implemented as intended, will youth and families use it, will providers and organizations adopt it, is it safe, and does it show early signals that it improves identification of risk and timely linkage to effective care and support. The FOA is listed as “Clinical Trial Optional,” which means projects may include a clinical trial component if appropriate, but a trial is not strictly required as long as the study still rigorously pilots the intervention and evaluates key outcomes relevant to suicide prevention and service connection.

A defining requirement is meaningful stakeholder involvement through community or stakeholder advisory boards. These advisory structures are not treated as symbolic add-ons; they are meant to shape the intervention itself, including how risk is identified, how referral pathways work, what services are offered or coordinated, how communication and follow-up occur, and how the program fits local context. Advisory boards are expected to include members of the communities served and may include youth, caregivers, community leaders, providers, school staff, health system representatives, and other local partners. The intent is to ensure the intervention is culturally responsive, realistic to implement, and aligned with community priorities, while also addressing barriers that disproportionately affect Black youth, such as access gaps, mistrust, stigma, and system fragmentation.

The opportunity also references a companion R01 program, which is positioned as the next step for projects that are ready to move from pilot testing to larger-scale efficacy or effectiveness research. In that larger stage, the focus expands to more definitive evaluation of outcomes, but for the R34 the goal is to produce the preliminary data needed to credibly compete for that subsequent level of funding. In practical terms, the R34 is meant to help teams refine the intervention and implementation strategy, demonstrate acceptability and safety, and establish the core procedures and partnerships necessary for a more rigorous, powered study later.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations that can realistically build cross-system partnerships around youth suicide prevention. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) as well as small businesses; and other entities. The FOA explicitly highlights additional eligible applicants such as faith-based or community-based organizations, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them) are not allowed, reinforcing that the funded work must be carried out within eligible domestic contexts.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant in the health funding category (CFDA 93.242) administered under NIH. The original closing date listed is June 29, 2021, and the award ceiling shown is $225,000. Overall, the opportunity is designed for teams that can bring together community partners and service systems to build practical, scalable ways to detect suicide risk earlier and create stronger, more reliable pathways that connect Black youth in crisis or at elevated risk to timely, appropriate, and effective supports.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Systems-Level Risk Detection and Interventions to Reduce Suicide, Ideation, and Behaviors in Black Children and Adolescents (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-04-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $225,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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