Date: 1/21/2010
Media Contact: SAMHSA
Press Office
Telephone: 240-276-2130
ONDCP and SAMHSA Accepting Applications for $18.75 Million to Harness the
Power of Drug Free Community Coalitions
WASHINGTON,
DC--The White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA), has announced the availability of new Drug Free Communities (DFC)
Support Program funding. ONDCP expects to award approximately $18.75 million
for 150 new competing grants to support the efforts of community coalitions
working to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. The deadline to submit
DFC grantee applications is Friday, March 19, 2010.
The DFC Support Program is a
collaborative Federal program sponsored by ONDCP and administered in partnership
with SAMHSA. The program aims to establish and strengthen communities, private
nonprofit agencies, and Federal, state, local, and tribal governments and
entities to collaborate and support community-based efforts to prevent and
reduce youth substance use. The DFC program was created in 1997 under the Drug
Free Communities Act, and was reauthorized in 2001, and again in 2006. The
latest reauthorization extends the DFC Program until 2012. The DFC Program
provides grants of up to $125,000 per year for up to five years, with a 10-year
maximum limit.
“The Drug Free Communities
Program reflects the Obama Administration’s commitment to preventing youth
substance abuse,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control
Policy. “Community problems need community solutions, and when local leaders
organize around their specific drug issues, we know they can make a difference
in creating safer and healthier communities.”
“The Drug Free Communities
Support Program is one of the great foundations of our efforts to prevent and
reduce substance abuse throughout our Nation,” said SAMHSA Administrator, Pamela
S. Hyde, J.D. “These new resources will strengthen and revitalize these
community efforts and promote healthy, productive lives.”
The DFC Program aims to achieve
two major goals:
-
Establish and
strengthen collaboration among communities; public and private nonprofit
agencies; and Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to support the
efforts of community anti-drug coalitions
-
Reduce substance abuse among youth and, over
time, reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing a range of risk and
protective factors that impact substance abuse
In order to assist potential Drug
Free Communities Support Program applicants through the grant process, ONDCP, in
partnership with SAMHSA, has scheduled three live application workshops in the
following cities:
-
January 26:
Fort Worth,
Texas
-
January 28:
Salt Lake City,
Utah
-
February 12:
National Harbor,
Maryland
At the
Salt
Lake City and
National
Harbor sites, Native American/American
Indian Support Sessions are also being held.
All workshops are free and open to the public. Applicants do not have to
attend a workshop in order to apply for a grant. To register, visit http://www.ondcp.gov/dfc/fy10_RFA_workshops.html.In
addition to these live workshops, ONDCP will post an online workshop and
PowerPoint slides on www.ondcp.gov/dfc by
January 29, 2010.
WHO CAN APPLY: Community-based
coalitions that are focused on addressing youth substance use and meet all of
the DFC eligibility requirements.
HOW TO APPLY: Applications for No.
SP-10-005 are available by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at
1-877-SAMHSA7 or by downloading the application http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2010/SP-10-005.aspx.
Applicants may apply online using http://www.grants.gov/.
APPLICATION DUE DATE: All applications
are due by March 19, 2010.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Applicants with
questions about program issues should contact Olivia Shockey, Public Health
Advisor, CSAP at 240-276-1270 or by email at dfcnew2010@samhsa.hhs.gov; or
Barbara Orlando, Grants Management Specialist, Office of Program Services at
240-276-1422, or by email at barbara.orlando@samhsa.hhs.gov.
For information on DFC and
upcoming application workshops, visit the Program’s Web site at www.ondcp.gov/dfc.
Ref:
SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of
Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the
accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse
prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery
system.
