Getting There: Helping People With Mental Illnesses Access Transportation

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Potential Sources of Funding for Transportation Initiatives

Some of the programs described in this report have specific funding sources, such as Medicaid transit pass programs, which are funded through the State administrative budgets for Medicaid. Other programs, such as half-fare expansion programs, are funded through the operating budgets of local transit agencies. However, some programs described in this report are supported by a variety of sources, such as foundations, local businesses, and community members. This diversity in funding greatly increases their flexibility in providing transportation.

Some Federal programs that provide funding for transportation can be used to provide transportation for mental health consumers. A 2003 report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations, lists 62 separate Federal programs, administered by various agencies, that provide transportation to people with disabilities, people of low income, and older adults. The report is available at http://www.gao.gov(use report number GAO-03-697 in the search window).

Much Federal funding is distributed to States, which, in turn, allocate the funds according to a local or State plan. For example, the FTA requires each State to designate an agency to handle Section 5310 funds for providing transportation to older adults and people with disabilities, and Section 5311 funds for developing transportation outside of major urban areas. Each major urban area must designate a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for determining how Federal transportation funds will be used. Transportation planning committees also can be found in rural counties and regions. Each State department of transportation is the starting point for learning about the Federal funding opportunities that are administered at the State or local level.

“Regardless of the size of a county, it will be getting Federal and State dollars for transportation for elderly people and people with disabilities. (The planning process is) a great avenue for getting consumers involved.”
—Service provider

Understanding transportation funding sources is important for any organization seeking to provide transportation to mental health consumers or participating in planning infrastructure changes needed to expand access to transportation for mental health consumers.

Several national organizations can provide information about planning strategies and funding opportunities. These organizations also administer funding for pilot transportation projects. Among them are Easter Seals Project Action, the Community Transportation Association of America, and the National Rural Transit Assistance Program of the American Public Works Association. Contact information for each of these organizations is listed in the Resources section at the end of this report.

Federal Funding

Efforts are underway to coordinate Federal funding of transportation initiatives. Of the 62 Federal programs that the 2003 GAO report identified as sources of funding for people who are “transportation disadvantaged” (including people with disabilities), 16 regularly fund transportation. Two programs of particular interest to organizations interested in planning or seeking to provide transportation for mental health consumers are the Capital Assistance Program for Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities (Section 5310) and the Nonurbanized Area Formula Program (Section 5311). Each State designates an agency to administer these programs. (Ask the relevant State department of transportation for contact information.)

The Federal SAMHSA Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, administered by State mental health authorities, also has provided funds for transportation initiatives in several States. All Federal funding sources for domestic programs are described in detail in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, available online at http://cfda.gov. It is the source of the following descriptions:

The Capital Assistance Program for Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities (Section 5310). The purpose of Section 5310 is “to provide financial assistance in meeting the transportation needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities where public transportation services are unavailable [or] insufficient.
. . . The Section 5310 program is designed to supplement the Federal Transit Administration’s other capital assistance programs by funding transportation projects for elderly persons and persons with disabilities in all areas—urbanized, small urban, and rural.”

Generally, Section 5310 funding is reserved for private nonprofit organizations. Government agencies can qualify if no nonprofit organizations are able to provide transportation in a particular area to older adults and people with disabilities. Organizations must apply for funding through the State agency designated by the Governor to administer the program. This agency will evaluate, select, and approve eligible applicants and will submit a program of projects to the FTA.

Nonurbanized Area Formula Program (Section 5311). The purpose of Section 5311 funding is “to improve, initiate, or continue public transportation service in nonurbanized areas by providing financial assistance for operating and administrative expenses and for the acquisition, construction, and improvement of facilities and equipment.” State agencies and local government bodies, nonprofit organizations, and public transportation providers in rural and small urban areas are eligible to apply for Section 5311 funds through the State agency designated by the Governor.

Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC). The purpose of the JARC program is “to provide competitive grants to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and designated recipients of Federal transit funding to develop transportation services to connect welfare recipients and low-income persons to employment and support services. Job Access grants will be for capital projects, to finance operating costs of equipment, facilities, and associated support costs related to providing access to jobs.”

State and local government agencies, nonprofit agencies, and transit providers are eligible to apply for JARC funds. Organizations should submit their applications to the FTA Regional Office.

Community Mental Health Services Block Grants. The purpose of Community Mental Health Services Block Grants is “to provide financial assistance to States and Territories to enable them to carry out the State’s Plan for providing comprehensive community mental health services to adults with a serious mental illness and to children with a serious emotional disturbance.. . . Services under the plan will be provided only through appropriate, qualified community programs (which may include community mental health centers, child mental health programs, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, mental health peer-support programs, and mental health primary consumer-directed programs).” Only State, Territorial, and Tribal governments receive block grant funding; however, nonprofit organizations can apply for funding through the State.

Other Funding Sources

Because providing transportation can be very expensive, many transportation initiatives have put together funding from multiple sources to meet their clients’ needs. Some transportation providers are able to charge other agencies for specific types of rides on a fee-for-service basis. For example, some community transportation providers have contracted to provide transportation for clients receiving vocational rehabilitation, and the vocational rehabilitation agency, in turn, pays the transportation provider a fee for each ride provided.

Other programs have turned to the local community for support. Many transportation initiatives rely on donated vehicles, volunteer efforts, and cash donations from private individuals and businesses. Some programs have sought funding from local merchants and major employers by stressing the impact that transportation can have on their workforce development or sales. Often, transportation providers charge a co-payment for their services to help defray costs.

Many successful programs have received funding from United Way Agencies and private foundations. Membership in the United Way opens the way for raising funds from employees through payroll deductions, as well as for receiving technical expertise from the United Way. Foundations are likely to support community transportation in the areas in which they are located

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