U.S. Drug Czar Awards $60 Million To 565 Drug-Free Communities
Continuation Grantees
New Drug-Free Communities Will Be Announced
in Late August
(Washington, D.C.)—Today, R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy, awarded $60 million in Drug-Free
Communities (DFC) Continuation Grants to 565 Drug-Free Communities coalitions
and five DFC Mentor Continuation coalitions. These grants will assist local
community coalitions as they work to prevent and reduce youth substance use.
"We fully understand the important role local leaders play in preventing and
reducing youth substance use within communities," said Director Kerlikowske.
"Substance abuse issues are best prevented and reduced at the local level, and
that is why the Drug-Free Communities Support Program is so vital. It leverages
the strengths of local communities by increasing neighborhood participation,
encouraging dialogue and focusing attention on saving children's lives."
The Drug Free Communities program is directed by the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in partnership with the Substance Abuse
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The DFC program provides
coalition matching grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community
organizations that facilitate civic participation in local drug prevention
efforts. Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth,
teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business
professionals, law enforcement, and the media. As DFC continuation grantees,
today's awardees are within a five-year cycle, and successfully met the
statutory eligibility, programmatic and fiscal requirements necessary to receive
continuation funding.
"The Drug Free Communities program reaches about 27 percent of America's
youth," said SAMHSA Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S, M.P.H. "These
new grants will expand the power of prevention to additional communities working
to reduce drug abuse and promote healthy, productive lives."
The DFC program was created by the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, and was
reauthorized by Congress in 2001 and 2006. Since 1998, ONDCP has awarded
approximately 1,500 Drug-Free Communities grants to local communities in all 50
states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Palau and the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will be
announcing the awarding of the new Drug Free Communities grantees in late
August. For more information on the DFC Program, please visit: http://www.ondcp.gov/dfc.
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