Agencies Shop $19 Million in Drug Prevention Grants
SAMHSA and the White House Office of National Drug Control will brief potential applicants this week about $19 million in 150 new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants that are now available. Community drug prevention coalitions nationwide must apply by March 21 to have a shot at the money.
"The DFC program is aimed at helping American communities, be it in the inner cities, suburbs, or rural areas, identify local problems and solve them with local solutions," said ONDCP Director John Walters. "By leveraging the best a community has to offer, the DFC program organizes and mobilizes community efforts against youth substance use in true partnership with the federal government. Community by community, we can continue the successful gains against youth drug use -- 24 percent reduction over the past six years -- and continue to push back against illicit drugs."
DFC is a federal program sponsored by ONDCP and administered with SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within HHS. The program tries to establish and strengthen communities, private nonprofit agencies, and federal, state, local, and tribal governments and entities to support community-based efforts to prevent substance abuse.
"The Drug-Free Communities Support Program is the foundation of our efforts to continue to prevent and reduce substance abuse in our nation," said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline. "This community-wide approach promotes safe and healthy environments where families can raise children free from the ravages of substance abuse." The DFC application workshops begin Wednesday in New Orleans, moving from there to Los Angeles (Jan. 29), Chicago (Jan. 31), Denver (Feb. 5, 6), and Washington, D.C. (Feb. 15). For more information, visit www.ondcp.gov/dfc.