The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) is releasing this solicitation for applications on behalf of the Office of Justice Program’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the State Justice Institute (SJI). This 12-month planning initiative will support individual practitioners or cross-sector teams from the same community or region interested in adopting bold solutions and reimagining how diverse organizations and agencies with different missions can engage with one another to address the persistent challenge of substance use and misuse among justice-involved individuals in rural communities.

The Reaching Rural initiative is designed for rural agency leaders or mid-level professionals working in counties, cities, or tribes as justice, public safety, public health, or behavioral health practitioners. Selected participants will bring a diversity of expertise and experiences, a desire to learn and contribute, and a passion for addressing substance use and misuse in their rural communities.

Applicants may apply to participate in the Reaching Rural initiative as an individual practitioner or as a member of a cross-sector team from the same community or region. All selected participants, whether they participate as an individual or a team, will:

• Assess local or regional opportunities for systemic change around addressing the impacts of SUD.
• Build leadership skills to facilitate cross-sector collaboration.
• Explore the implementation of evidence-informed strategies in diverse rural settings.
• Identify opportunities for different sectors (e.g., law enforcement, child welfare, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation, judges, public health, behavioral health) to effectively align efforts.
• Prioritize opportunities and strategies and commit to action.
• Build a roadmap for local implementation.
• Identify resources to support the implementation of the roadmap.
• Commit to a project or individualized learning opportunity in month 5 of the project and devote focused time during months 6 through 11 to that effort. This portion of the planning initiative will be developed in collaboration with assigned site coaches.

Participation in the planning initiative includes:

• Travel and per diem reimbursement to participate in three required in-person meetings: an orientation, a field visit to observe the implementation of evidence-informed practices in a rural setting, and a closing session.
• Monthly mentorship and guidance aimed toward your local needs.
• Monthly assignments that help you apply core concepts to your local community or region.
• Access to a diverse network of peers, innovative rural communities (including the Rural Justice Collaborative’s Innovation Sites), and technical assistance (TA) providers.
• Formal recognition for completing the planning initiative.
• At the conclusion of the planning period, the opportunity to apply for an implementation grant of up to $100,000 for up to 15 months to launch a project planned during the Reaching Rural fellowship.

Eligibility

All proposed activities supported under this solicitation are designed for rural communities. To determine if your community is defined as “rural,” use the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, a tool maintained by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). If you believe your community is rural but not identified as such by the HRSA tool, you will be asked to provide documentation that your community has been designated rural by an alternative state or federal agency.

We aspire to recruit a diverse group of rural practitioners with different skills and backgrounds committed to learning from others and exchanging ideas. We encourage anyone interested to apply, regardless of their previous level of experience or exposure to this topic. We aim to engage rural practitioners who do not have prior cross-sector strategic planning experience but are enthusiastic about the opportunity to participate in this effort with other practitioners from their community and practitioners from other rural communities.

Please see the solicitation for additional eligibility information.

Full Details of Opportunity

Full details of this opportunity—including additional information about individual and cross-sector team eligibility requirements, the time commitment associated with this initiative, and the selection process—can be found at https://www.cossup.org/Content/Documents/Funding/Reaching_Rural_Advancing_Collaborative_Solutions_Oct2024.pdf.

How to Apply

All application components must be submitted via online application no later than 5:00 p.m., ET, on December 16, 2024.

The cross-sector team application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/RR3-Team

A PDF version of the questions on the cross-sector team application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/e8DhJzAP

The individual application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/RR3-Individual

A PDF version of the questions on the individual application can be found here: http://s.iir.com/ahdq2U48

A template for the letter of commitment can be accessed here: http://s.iir.com/qfpp76pH

Curious to Learn More?

If you want to learn more about this initiative and application process, an informational webinar was held on November 6, 2024, and can be viewed here.

Questions

If you have any questions about the application process, please email info@COSSUP.org.

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research, is continuing to provide direct training and technical assistance to jurisdictions across the nation to better support people with behavioral health needs who are involved in the criminal justice system. The GAINS Center is seeking applications from jurisdictions interested in collaborating with subject-matter experts on Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts through a Criminal Justice Learning Collaborative (LC).

The primary goal of the Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts LC is for court-based teams to develop strategic plans to advance policies and practices in trauma-informed treatment court programs. This LC will bring together teams from various local jurisdictions and states to create coordinated strategic plans. These plans will address implementation strategies for integrating the principles of trauma-informed systems and associated practices into the everyday processes of their treatment court(s). The teams selected for this LC will work intensively to determine optimal ways to implement best practices and define success indicators, working with subject-matter experts during the implementation process and to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing.

Selected teams will work together to learn and complete their implementation work, while at the same time, sharing with other jurisdictions and receiving an array of technical assistance from subject-matter experts across the country. Through this LC, participating treatment court teams will work locally and collaboratively to examine their court-specific policies and practices and identify those that need to be revised to be trauma-informed. Additionally, teams will be encouraged to include a local evaluator on their team who can suggest metrics and processes to collect, maintain, analyze, and report data of interest to the team and the larger community.

Selected treatment court teams will be expected to work with both existing and new partners across the Sequential Intercept Model, such as other criminal justice system professionals, behavioral health providers, and peer/recovery support providers. Throughout these components, subject-matter experts in treatment courts and trauma-informed practices will be available for consultation and technical assistance. This LC aims to foster a more effective, trauma-informed approach within treatment courts to improve participant and program outcomes. Teams will refer to the recently developed publication, Recommendations for the Implementation of Trauma-Informed Approaches in Treatment Court Settings, which will be released shortly.

Application and Selection Process for the Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts LC

• Applications for the Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles and Practices in Treatment Courts LC are due by December 6, 2024.
• The application process consists of two requirements:
  • Complete the Microsoft Forms application.
  • List key partners who will participate in the team.

All applicants will receive notification via email regarding the status of their application by January 12, 2025.

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is currently soliciting applications from communities interested in Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) Mapping Workshops. SIM Mapping Workshops are designed to bring together a local, cross-system, multidisciplinary group from a particular jurisdiction (typically a county) to facilitate collaboration and to identify and discuss ways in which barriers between the criminal justice and behavioral health systems can be reduced through the development of integrated local strategic action plans. SIM Mapping Workshop participants are expected to be drawn, in large part, from local criminal justice and behavioral health agencies and organizations.

Available SIM Mapping Workshops

Option 1: Traditional SIM Mapping Workshops

The GAINS Center is soliciting applications from communities interested in “traditional” SIM Mapping Workshops that focus broadly on identifying and responding to the needs of adults with mental and substance use disorders who are involved or at risk for involvement in the criminal justice system. Download the traditional SIM application at here.

Option 2: SIM Mapping Workshops to Develop Comprehensive, Community-wide Strategic Plans for Addressing Opioid and Other Substance Use

The GAINS Center is also soliciting applications from communities that are particularly interested in developing comprehensive, community-wide strategic plans for addressing opioid and other substance use, and better identifying and responding to the needs of adults with substance use disorders who are involved or at risk for involvement in the criminal justice system. Applications submitted in response to this solicitation should emphasize resources, gaps and opportunities, as well as commitment among key vested parties to address these issues. Download the substance use-focused SIM application here.

Workshop Delivery

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center will provide the SIM Workshops free of charge to selected applicants between February and August 2025. There are no fees for registration, tuition, or materials associated with these workshops. The GAINS Center will cover all costs associated with pre- and post-workshop planning and coordination, travel and lodging, facilitation, data collection and analysis, and report development.

The GAINS Center plans to conduct all the SIM Mapping Workshops in person.

Application Instructions

Interested applicants should select the one workshop option that is most relevant or of greatest interest. To apply for either SIM Mapping Workshop option, please download the corresponding solicitation and application for the chosen option and submit a completed application form no later than October 18, 2024.

Informational Webinar

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center will hold an informational webinar on September 23, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., ET, on what this opportunity includes and how to submit your strongest application. Register for the webinar here.

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), known nationally for its work regarding people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system, is soliciting applications from communities, agencies, and organizations interested in developing a capacity to provide trauma-informed training. Apply for this opportunity to train a cadre of professionals in trauma-informed responses.

Please visit SAMHSA’s GAINS Center to find out more about How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses.

The GAINS Center is offering a series of Train-the-Trainer (TTT) events to teach local trainers to deliver its How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses curriculum. The target audiences for this training are community-based adult criminal justice system professionals, including reentry staff, drug court personnel, community corrections officers (probation, parole, and pretrial services), and law enforcement officers (including local Crisis Intervention Team trainers), and mental health and substance use disorder treatment service providers and peers who work with justice-involved adult populations. While not required, priority will be given to sites that have not previously completed the training, and whose prospective participants include those working in drug courts or as staff in a reentry program. Preference may also be given to applicants that serve marginalized and/or underserved populations. The GAINS Center will offer these TTT events free of charge to selected applicants between January and August 2025. Apply by October 18, 2024.

Download the solicitation.

Review the application questions.

Complete your application online.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance seeks to deliver training and technical assistance to correctional institutions to improve justice and health outcomes for reentering individuals by leveraging financing mechanisms, including new and existing Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program opportunities.

Eligible Applicants:

• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• 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

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Deadline extended! New deadline: August 28, 2024, no later than 5:00 p.m., ET

Solicitation: https://www.cossup.org/Content/Documents/Funding/Planning_Initiative_to_Build_Bridges_to_Increase_Access_to_Opioid_Use_Disorder_Treatment_Options_in_the_Nations_Jails_Final.pdf

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) is releasing this solicitation for applications to the program on behalf of OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). BJA, in partnership with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will lead the support for this 9-month planning initiative to help communities develop a comprehensive continuum of care that targets individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) in jails and builds bridges to increase access to treatment both in custody and with community-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) providers upon release. Under this solicitation, up to 15 communities will be selected to participate in the planning initiative.

The planning initiative is designed to assist local communities by:

• Increasing stakeholder understanding of evidence-based and promising practices in the use of all three forms of FDA-approved medications to support MAT in jails and community-based settings.
• Increasing stakeholder understanding that the availability of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) means that withdrawal or detox is no longer the default for people with OUD.
• Increasing understanding of the federal requirements associated with administering or dispensing FDA-approved MOUD in a correctional setting.
• Building a comprehensive plan for initiating or expanding a MAT continuum of care within the jail and from the jail to the community that may include, if and where appropriate, providing exceptions to certain federal requirements. For example, in areas where staffing shortages compromise a jail’s ability to implement an opioid treatment program (OTP), a waiver for some staffing requirements may be requested, depending on the scope of practice and state regulations.
• Developing effective partnerships between jails and community-based MAT providers to provide pre-release or post-release services.
• Planning for the logistics associated with providing MAT in the jail setting.
• Planning for continuity and coordination of MAT during transitions into jails and reentry into communities.

The ultimate goal of this initiative is to get people who are incarcerated in local jails the care they need to treat their OUD, reduce risk of overdose and overdose death, reduce recidivism, and increase engagement in evidence-based OUD treatment by developing a continuum of care for individuals in jail and in the community post-release.

This effort is part of BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP).

Eligibility

Applicants are limited to units of government and federally recognized Indian tribal governments (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior), with priority given to jurisdictions that demonstrate high need (based on overdose rates in the community and/or prevalence of OUD in the jail) and a commitment to making a significant advancement in access to MAT in the jail. Jurisdictions that do not have open or active federal grants to support implementation of MAT will also be prioritized.

Benefits if Selected

Communities that are selected for the planning initiative will:

• Receive full travel scholarships for five team members to participate in two face-to-face meetings that will be held in Washington, D.C., between December 2024 and May 2025. These meetings will be approximately 2 days in length. The scholarships will be managed as travel reimbursements, meaning that attendees will pay for their travel and be reimbursed for their eligible expenses according to federal travel guidelines after each training.
• Have a meaningful opportunity to learn from experts and from one another. Over the course of 9 months, there will be a site visit conducted by subject-matter experts, virtual peer-to-peer exchanges, monthly coaching calls with subject-matter experts, and tailored technical assistance for strategic planning.
• Be supported in the interpretation and application of federal requirements for OTPs and the development of a strategic plan to support the implementation or expansion of an MAT program in the jail and continuation of OUD treatment and provision of other recovery supports in the community after release from incarceration.
• Be eligible for potential additional funding and technical assistance to support implementation of the plan developed through this opportunity to increase access to MAT in jails and in communities upon release, which may include obtaining waivers of or exceptions to certain federal requirements for OTP licensure.

Applicant Requirements

Applicants must meet three requirements:

• Applicants must demonstrate the commitment of a multidisciplinary team made up of representatives who oversee and provide MAT services to all individuals in custody with OUD and to continue that care in the community.
• Applicants must agree to work toward a plan to implement an MAT program in their jails that provides at least two forms of FDA-approved medications for OUD or expand an existing MAT program in the jail to offer at least two, preferably all three, forms of medication, and to support continued access to MAT in the community upon release. Applicants must be committed to making a significant advancement in access to MAT services in their jails (e.g., implementing an MAT program in a jail that has no MAT program, expanding an MAT program that previously only continued medications to offering induction, expanding an MAT program that only induces people on naltrexone to offer induction on buprenorphine and/or methadone, or shifting from use of a community-based OTP to a jail becoming a licensed OTP).
• Applicants must identify a project coordinator who can devote at least 6 hours per week of their time during the 9-month planning period.

Commitment of Multidisciplinary Team

All communities selected for this planning initiative must identify a team of at least five (and no more than eight) local stakeholders. If selected, each team member must agree to participate in both virtual and in-person meetings with the other selected sites.

Individuals selected to serve on the planning team should plan on serving for the entirety of the 9-month planning process to ensure continuity. The selected individuals should have the authority and support of their home agencies to actively participate in the planning meetings and drive change in their agencies.

Full Details of Opportunity

Full details of this opportunity—including mandatory planning team members, optional team members, project coordination, and selection criteria—can be found at https://www.cossup.org/Content/Documents/Funding/Planning_Initiative_to_Build_Bridges_to_Increase_Access_to_Opioid_Use_Disorder_Treatment_Options_in_the_Nations_Jails_Final.pdf.

How to Apply

All application components must be submitted via an online application at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7886061/Building-Bridges-3-Application.

A Word version of the questions on the application is available at https://www.cossup.org/Content/Documents/Funding/Building_Bridges_3_Application.doc.

The application deadline is no later than 5:00 p.m., ET, on August 28, 2024. Applicants will receive a notice of submission upon completion of the application within the application software. For issues with submission, please email info@cossup.org.

Final award decisions will be made by IIR and BJA and are expected to be announced by September 23, 2024.

To Learn More

Should you have any questions about the application process, please send an email to info@cossup.org. Answers to frequently asked questions and other updates that arise during the open solicitation period will be posted periodically on the COSSUP Resource Center at https://www.cossup.org/Program/Funding.

With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks to support a National Community and Schools Youth Drug Prevention Program for the purpose of delivering substance use prevention programs in schools in partnership with local law enforcement and community coalitions. The successful national organization will provide funding and training and technical assistance (TTA) to local non-profits who will be required to build community coalitions in partnership with law enforcement to educate youth in schools and in extracurricular programming on drug prevention. Community coalitions consist of community leaders that organize to meet the local prevention needs of the youth and families in their communities. Partnerships among non-profit organizations, community coalitions and law enforcement ensure that communities implement comprehensive approaches to prevent youth substance use.

Solicitation Webinar

On July 16, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. ET, OJJDP personnel will hold a webinar to provide a detailed overview of this solicitation and allow interested applicants to ask questions. Register to participate.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to fund state, local, and tribal governments to enhance or implement evidence-based activities or services to improve reentry and reduce recidivism by expanding and/or increasing access to housing for people who are currently or formerly involved in the criminal justice system. Prior to the release from incarceration, individuals will be screened, assessed, and identified for program participation. The program will help jurisdictions assess their reentry systems, identify strengths and gaps, and then build capacity for improved housing options for adults released from prison or jail.

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Other units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)

Solicitation Webinar

BJA will hold a webinar to provide a detailed overview of this solicitation and allow interested applicants to ask questions. Registration details will be included here when available.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

This program provides for the development, operation, and management of a training and technical assistance (TTA) program for justice-focused community-based organizations directly serving communities disproportionately impacted by crime, violence, and victimization. The TTA provider will facilitate the delivery of national-scale, high-quality TTA to increase the administrative, financial, and programmatic capacity of justice-focused community-based organizations designed to primarily serve historically marginalized and underserved communities, including rural communities; increase awareness of Office of Justice Programs (OJP) funding opportunities to targeted organizations and provide skill-building and other TTA to support the ability for these organizations to apply for and maintain OJP funding, if received; improve the quality of their programming and service delivery; and build support for their infrastructure and administrative and financial controls to successfully meet OJP program goals and objectives to strengthen their role as coproducers of safety and justice.

Eligible Applicants

• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• 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

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance seeks to fund reentry services and programs focused on strengthening education and employment outcomes for individuals returning to their communities after a period of incarceration.

The purpose of this program is to support fair chance opportunities to improve education and employment outcomes for individuals currently incarcerated with 2 years or less before release into the community. For this solicitation, fair chance opportunities refer to reentry services and programs designed to increase access to in-demand jobs and meaningful careers for justice-impacted people upon and following their release from incarceration. Program contents may be education or employment focused.

Funding Categories

• Category 1: Improving Reentry Education Outcomes
• Category 2: Improving Reentry Employment Outcomes

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• 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

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider with expertise in working with communities to improve access to integrated treatment for justice-involved individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. The provider will work with BJA to lead a national TTA program and administer subawards to local demonstration sites. The program will promote cross-system collaboration among justice stakeholders, behavioral health service providers, and community support organizations.

Eligible Applicants

• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• 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

Solicitation Webinar

On June 10, 2024, at 1:00 p.m., ET, BJA will hold a webinar to provide a detailed overview of this solicitation and allow an opportunity for interested applicants to ask questions. Register to participate.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to increase access to treatment to individuals with substance use or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders during detention or incarceration and to improve continuity of care during and after reentry by delivering community-based treatment and other broad-based aftercare services.

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program funds may be used to implement four different types of programs/activities:

• Prison-based residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment
• Jail-based residential SUD treatment
• Aftercare
• Jail-based pretrial SUD treatment programs

Eligible Applicants

• State governments

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to support the development and testing of new or innovative approaches to improving community safety and trust that are alternatives to traditional enforcement mechanisms for neighborhoods experiencing high rates of less serious and low level criminal offenses.

This model will involve coordination with law enforcement entities to improve public safety and community residents’ perceptions of law enforcement and procedural fairness and legitimacy. This solicitation also supports funding for national training and technical assistance to support site-based grants and the field in building capacity and partnerships essential to this work.

Solicitation Categories

• Category 1: Reimagining Justice Project Sites
• Category 2: Reimagining Justice Training and Technical Assistance

Eligible Applicants

• Category 1:
  • Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  • Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
  • Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
  • 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
  • Other: Local non-law enforcement government agencies
• Category 2:
  • Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  • Private institutions of higher education
  • Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
  • Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
  • 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

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

BJA is seeking applications to respond to illicit substance use and misuse; reduce overdose deaths; promote public safety; and support access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services in the community and justice system. Awards will be made in two categories for the following amounts:

Category 1: Local Applications

• Subcategory 1a—An urban area or large jurisdiction with a population greater than 500,000: up to $1,600,000
• Subcategory 1b—A suburban area or medium-size jurisdiction with a population between 100,000 and 500,000: up to $1,300,000
• Subcategory 1c—A jurisdiction is considered rural as defined by the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer; this includes counties that are either entirely rural, or any urban or suburban county that contains rural census tracts; all federally recognized Indian tribes must also apply under this subcategory: up to $1,000,000

Category 2: Statewide Applications

• Applications from states on behalf of up to six local jurisdictions: up to $7,000,000

Period of performance start date: October 1, 2024

Period of performance duration: 36 months

Grants.gov Deadline: 8:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 1, 2024

Application JustGrants Deadline: 8:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 8, 2024

In FY24, applications must be submitted in a two-step process:

• Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/register
• Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application, including attachments, in JustGrants at JustGrants.usdoj.gov. To be considered timely, the full application must be submitted to JustGrants by the JustGrants application deadline.

Visit https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/O-BJA-2024-172128.pdf for solicitation information, eligibility details, and application guidelines.

Webinar 

BJA hosted an informational webinar about the FY24 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Site-Based Program (COSSUP) Competitive Grant Solicitation and application process on June 12, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern).

A recording of the webinar is available on the COSSUP Resource Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions submitted during the June 5, 2024, informational webinar and associated answers related to the FY24 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Site-based Program solicitation will be compiled into a document and posted here after the webinar.

Examples of Successful Applications

To assist in preparing your COSSUP funding application, examples of successful applications are provided for your reference at https://cossup.org/Program/Funding.

With this solicitation, OJJDP seeks applications for funding to support cross-system collaboration to improve responses and outcomes for youth under the age of 18 or youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system with mental health disorders (MHD) or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (MHSUDs) who come in contact with the juvenile justice system. This program supports public safety efforts through partnerships with youth justice, mental health, and substance use agencies to enhance responses to justice-involved youth with MHD and MHSUDs.

The goal of the program is to increase public safety by facilitating cross-system collaboration among youth justice, mental health, and substance use treatment agencies to improve response and outcomes for justice-involved youth with MHDs and MHSUDs.

Eligibility

The following entities are eligible to apply:

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American Tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• Other: Agencies with a different legal status (e.g., nonprofit or for-profit mental health agencies) are eligible to apply only if they meet the following two requirements:
  • the applicant is designated by the state mental health authority to provide services as a unit of the state or local government and
  • the applicant must attach documentation to support this designation

Solicitation Webinar

On June 6, 2024, at 1:00 p.m., ET, OJJDP personnel will hold a webinar to provide a detailed overview of this solicitation and allow interested applicants to ask questions. Register to participate.

Description

Community courts are neighborhood-focused court programs that combine the power of the community and the justice system to address local problems. They connect persons committing less serious crimes—often misdemeanor cases—to judicially supervised substance use disorder treatment, alternative sanctions, and other community-based services. Community courts enhance public safety by addressing underlying issues that lead to criminal behavior, including substance use and mental health conditions.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to support efforts by state, local, and federally recognized American Indian tribal governments to establish and enhance community courts in their jurisdictions.

Solicitation Categories:

• Category 1: Planning and Implementation
• Category 2: Enhancement

Eligible Applicants

The following entities are eligible to apply for both categories:

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Other: Public or private entities acting on behalf of a single treatment court through agreement with state, city, township, county, or tribal governments
• Other: Units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state

Past Successful Applications

See the Successful Applications section of our site for examples of project narratives associated with applications that have successfully received funding through this and other BJA programs. Also see the Grant Writing Resources section of the National Treatment Court Resource Center site for additional application samples.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to provide financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments to plan, implement, and enhance the operations of veterans treatment courts (VTC), including service coordination, participant service and supervision coordination, fidelity to the VTC model, and recovery support services.

VTCs effectively integrate evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, mental health disorder treatment, treatment for co-occurring disorders, mandatory drug testing, incentives and sanctions, and transitional services in judicially supervised criminal court settings that have jurisdiction over veterans with treatment needs in order to reduce recidivism, increase access to treatment and recovery support, and prevent overdose.

Solicitation Categories

• Category 1: Planning and Implementation
• Category 2: Enhancement
• Category 3: Statewide

Eligible Applicants

• For Category 1 and Category 2, the following entities are eligible to apply:
  • State governments
  • Special district governments
  • City or township governments
  • County governments
  • Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
  • Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
  • Other:
    • Public or private entities acting on behalf of a single treatment court through agreement with state, city, township, county, or tribal governments
    • Units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state
• For Category 3, the following entities are eligible to apply:
  • State agencies such as the State Administering Agency, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the state substance abuse agency
  • State criminal justice agencies and other state agencies involved with the provision of substance use and/or mental health services, or related services for court and related criminal justice programming

Past Successful Applications

See the Successful Applications section of our site for examples of project narratives associated with applications that have successfully received funding through this and other BJA programs.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Description

This opportunity is for health centers funded by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act to apply for funding under Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Quality Improvement Fund – Transitions in Care for Justice-Involved Populations (QIF-TJI).

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to strengthen transitions in care for individuals who will soon be released from incarceration, increasing their access to community-based, high-quality primary care services. Through this one-time investment, health centers will build upon existing evidence-based models to pilot innovative approaches that connect or reconnect justice-involved individuals reentering the community (JI-R) to in-scope health center services that address critical health and health-related social needs. FY 2025 QIF-TJI award recipients will pilot models of care that increase access to and engagement with health center services for JI-R individuals as they prepare for release from incarceration and return to living in the community. Your proposed QIF-TJI activities must align with the Health Center Program Scope of Project Policy Manual (Scope Policy Manual). A list of in-scope services for JI-R individuals is included in Appendix C. Carceral authorities are obligated to provide medical care to incarcerated individuals within the carceral setting. Health centers may not use QIF-TJI funding to replace the obligations of carceral authorities to provide medical care or for any activities that are not specifically focused on engaging JI-R individuals with health center community-based primary health care to support transitions in care. In addition, health centers cannot use QIF-TJI funding to provide medical care to individuals who are more than 90 days from scheduled or expected release from incarceration or activities that are not aligned with associated guidance in this NOFO and its appendices. For more details, see Program Requirements and Recommendations.

Eligible Applicants

Your organization must be a Health Center Program award recipient with an active H80 grant award to apply. Health Center Program award recipients are organizations funded under Section 330(e), (g), (h), and/or (i) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. See Section III.1 of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO)—downloadable at https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/353479—for complete eligibility information.

Additional Information on Eligibility

Your organization must be a Health Center Program award recipient with an active H80 grant award to apply. Health Center Program award recipients are organizations funded under Section 330(e), (g), (h), and/or (i) of the Public Health Service Act.

Grantor Contact Information

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration via email at BPHCfunding@hrsa.gov.

Contact Stephanie Cerritos at (301) 594-4300 or email BPHCfunding@hrsa.gov.

Description

With this solicitation, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) seeks to enhance and expand mentoring services for children and youth impacted by opioids and other substance misuse. This program supports mentoring programs to reduce juvenile delinquency, substance misuse, and problem and high-risk behaviors such as truancy.

This program supports the implementation and delivery of mentoring services to youth who are currently misusing or dependent on substances (including opioids, stimulants, and other licit or illicit substances), youth at risk for misusing substances, and youth with family members who are currently misusing or dependent on substances. Mentoring services can be one-to-one, group, peer, or a combination.

Category 1: Mentoring Strategies for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse (Project Sites)

• Eligible organizations are those that have been in existence for at least 3 years at the time of application, and have been directly delivering a structured mentoring program model.

Category 2: Statewide and Regional Mentoring Strategies for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse

The following entities are eligible to apply:

• States
• Federally recognized Tribal governments
• National organizations (defined as organizations that have active affiliates or subawardees in at least 45 states)
• Organizations having statewide reach that provide mentoring services

Description

With this solicitation, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) seeks to build the capacity of states, state and local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized Tribal governments to implement new and innovative approaches to enhance existing juvenile drug treatment courts (JDTC) and improve outcomes for youth with substance use disorder or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, including those with histories of trauma.

This solicitation will seek applications in two categories:

• Category 1: Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Planning and Implementation Program
• Category 2: Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Enhancement Program

Eligibility

• State governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American Tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Native American Tribal organizations (other than federally recognized Tribal governments)

The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Collaborative Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT) Program provides funding to help strengthen your agency’s crisis intervention capabilities and build a stronger relationship with the community you serve.

Through this program, your agency can receive funding to implement crisis response and intervention training that will support law enforcement, correctional, probation and parole, and sheriff’s department officers in effectively partnering with mental health, substance use, and community service professionals and agencies to make sure that appropriate responses are provided to individuals in crisis who have behavioral health conditions or intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities, and/or traumatic brain injuries.

BJA encourages applicants to explore the enhancement of existing academy training efforts focusing on disability awareness and crisis response. BJA similarly suggests applicants develop or expand programs that incorporate BJA’s CRIT Curriculum along with trauma-informed best practices designed to increase understanding of behavioral health conditions and disabilities, navigate community resources, and improve de-escalation skills within the applicant organization and among patrol and facility-based staff.

Funding Categories

• Category 1: Training Program for Law Enforcement Officers, including campus-based police; law enforcement agencies, including probation and parole (field-based); and sheriff's departments (patrol-based)
• Category 2: Training Program for Correctional Officers, Probation and Parole (facility-based), and Sheriff Departments (facility-based)

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• City or township governments
• Public or state-controlled institutions of higher education (with on-campus police departments, public or state-controlled hospitals with on-campus police departments)
• County governments
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities (with public safety/peace officers or campus police)
• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Other: Units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), on behalf of the State Justice Institute (SJI), is pleased to announce a peer exchange opportunity on June 13–14, 2024, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP). Up to six communities will be selected to receive travel scholarships through SJI to participate. These travel scholarships will allow each community to send a team of three to four practitioners to participate in the structured, 2-day peer exchange at no cost.

The peer exchange will be based in Montgomery County, Ohio, a community in the western part of the state that includes the city of Dayton. Throughout the 2-day site visit, the six visiting teams will have the opportunity to learn about and observe the many successful aspects of Montgomery County’s comprehensive, multidisciplinary substance use response.

Through this peer exchange, visiting teams can discuss and share best practices, exchange ideas and knowledge, and engage in peer networking events.

Visiting teams also will be provided opportunities to meet and process the information as a team. To learn more about Dayton/Montgomery County’s and other communities’ efforts to increase collaboration to address substance use, please read Cross-sector Collaboration Between Law Enforcement, Courts, Child Welfare, and Schools to Address the Impact of Substance Use Disorders on Children and Families in the United States.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this technical assistance opportunity, a community must meet the following criteria:

• Assemble a cross-sector team that includes at least three of the four sectors identified in the technical assistance request requirements—a representative from law enforcement, courts, child welfare, and/or the local school system.

Please see the solicitation for additional eligibility information and peer site visit request requirements.

Full Details of Opportunity

Full details of this opportunity—including additional information about individual and cross-sector team eligibility requirements, the time commitment associated with this initiative, and the selection process—can be found at https://www.cossup.org/Content/Documents/Funding/Cross-Sector_Collaboration_Site_Visit_Opportunity_Final.pdf.

How to Apply

Request forms will be reviewed and approved on a rolling basis, with submissions received by May 2, 2024, receiving priority consideration. Submissions will not be accepted after May 16, 2024. Interested sites should submit their requests by completing this form. Once sites have completed the form and submitted their responses, they will receive a confirmation of receipt.

If needed, a PDF version of the questions is available here.

Questions

If sites have any questions about completing this form or have submission issues, they should email COSSUP@iir.com.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks applications for funding programs that support cross-system collaboration to improve public safety responses and outcomes for individuals with mental health disorders (MHDs) or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (MHSUDs). BJA provides grant funding to help organizations prepare, create, or expand comprehensive plans and then implement these collaborative projects to target people who qualify.

For the purposes of the FY24 solicitation, the program will focus on pretrial, prosecution, courts, probation/parole, and addressing the needs directly related to the criminal activity of adults with mental health conditions, living in homelessness or marginalized communities with minimal access to treatment, needing wrap around services, in the criminal justice system and leaving incarceration.

Funding Categories

• Category 1: Criminal Justice System Collaboration: Pretrial, Prosecution, Courts, Behavioral Health
• Category 2: Community Justice and Collaboration: Jails and Prisons, Probation and Parole, Behavioral Health

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• County governments
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Other: Agencies with a different legal status (e.g., nonprofit or for-profit mental health agencies) are eligible to apply only if they meet two requirements:
  1. The applicant is designated by the state mental health authority to provide services as a unit of the state or local government.
  2. The applicant must attach documentation to support this designation.

Past Successful Applications

See the Successful Applications section of our site for examples of project narratives associated with applications that have successfully received funding through this and other BJA programs.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Description Solicitation

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to support state, local, and tribal governments, as well as community-based nonprofit organizations, to establish, expand, or improve treatment and recovery support services for people with substance use disorders during their incarceration and upon reentry into the community.

This program seeks to reduce crime and recidivism, expand access to evidence-based treatment, and promote long-term recovery for people leaving incarceration, and, in the process, improve public safety and public health.

Solicitation Categories

• Category 1: Units of state, local, and tribal governments
• Category 2: Nonprofit organizations

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• 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

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

This program supports law enforcement–behavioral health cross-system collaboration to improve public health and public safety by improving responses to and outcomes for individuals with mental health disorders (MHDs) or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (MHSUDs). Through this opportunity, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provides grant funding to help entities prepare, create, or expand comprehensive plans and then implement these collaborative projects to target people who qualify.

Please note that the Connect and Protect Program is under the umbrella of BJA's Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP). Per the authorizing statute, JMHCP requires a two-phase process consisting of planning and then implementation activities during which grantees will develop a coordinated approach to implementing or enhancing services for individuals with MHDs or MHSUDs who come in contact with law enforcement. Applicants must submit one application that proposes detailed activities for both a planning phase and an implementation phase.

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• Public- and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• County governments
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Other: Agencies with a different legal status (e.g., nonprofit or for-profit mental health agencies) are eligible to apply only if they meet two requirements:
  1. The applicant is designated by the state mental health authority to provide services as a unit of the state or local government.
  2. The applicant must attach documentation to support this designation.

Past Successful Applications

See the Successful Applications section of our site for examples of project narratives associated with applications that have successfully received funding through this and other BJA programs.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Description

This program supports activities that foster positive family engagement between incarcerated parents and their children within detention and correctional facilities, including juvenile detention and correctional facilities with young parents and implements programs and services that support the children of incarcerated parents to reduce the likelihood of antisocial behaviors and future involvement in the juvenile justice system.

The goal of this program is to develop or expand services within juvenile and adult detention and correctional facilities to improve outcomes for incarcerated parents and their minor children by implementing programs and services to reduce recidivism and support responsible parenting that lead to healthy child development, resiliency, and improved interactions among incarcerated parents and their minor children, and family and community members.

Description

This solicitation is composed of two grant categories. Applicants must clearly designate the category for which they are applying. The following entities are eligible to apply:

Category 1: Improving Youth Reentry

• State governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American Tribal governments (federally recognized)

Category 2: Strengthening Community-Based Youth Reentry Programs

• 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

Description

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance seeks to provide state, local, and tribal community supervision agencies with resources and training and technical assistance to assess and improve responses to client behavior in accordance with the principles of swiftness, certainty, and/or fairness. Guided by one or more of those principles, supervision agencies will engage in collaborative problem solving with stakeholders using data and research-informed strategies to improve supervision outcomes and promote the fair administration of justice.

Under this solicitation, “community supervision agencies” include adult probation, parole, or pretrial supervision or their equivalents such as prosecutor-led post-adjudication diversion.

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Other: For the purposes of this solicitation, “other” refers to an organizing body or association of supervision agencies that may submit a single application for a project engaging more than one supervision office, district, or agency (“entity”). The applicant must have capacity to administer the award and include a Memorandum of Understanding or Letter of Intent from each entity’s chief executive.

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance seeks applications for funding from community-based non-profit organizations and federally recognized tribal governments to enhance or implement evidence-based responses to improve reentry, reduce recidivism, and support successful transitional planning for individuals who are currently, or were formerly, involved in the criminal justice system.

Objectives for this program are to:

• Develop comprehensive individualized case management plans that directly address criminogenic risks and needs, as identified by validated assessments/tools, and deliver or facilitate services in a manner consistent with participants’ learning styles and abilities.
• Demonstrate increased collaborations between community-based organizations and corrections, community supervision, law enforcement, and other local reentry stakeholders.

Eligible Applicants:

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Description

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to support state, local, and tribal governments, as well as community-based nonprofit organizations, to support cross-system collaboration between criminal and juvenile justice agencies, mental health and substance use agencies, community-based organizations that provide reentry services, and community-based behavioral health providers to improve clinical stabilization pretrial, during confinement, and support continuity of care and recovery during the transition to the community through clinical and other evidence-based activities or services for individuals with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders.

The goal of these efforts is to minimize potential for experiencing crisis and improve recovery outcomes for people with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders who are currently involved with the criminal or juvenile justice systems or reentering the community from these systems.

Funding Categories

• Category 1: State and local governments
• Category 2: Nonprofit organizations and tribal governments

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• 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

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Description

Under the Pay for Success model, a government entity forms a partnership with a service provider that ties payment for services to reaching agreed-upon goals. This initiative provides funding to state, local, and tribal governments to price, write, negotiate, fund, and manage contracts that pay for reentry services in a way that ensures accountability of the contract service providers, and incentivizes improved performance over time.

With this solicitation, the Bureau of Justice Assistance seeks to provide funding to state, local, and tribal governments to use performance-based or outcomes-based contracting to enhance or implement clinical services and other evidence-based responses to improve reentry, reduce recidivism, and address the treatment and recovery needs of people with mental health, substance use, or co-occurring disorders who are currently involved in the criminal justice system or were formerly involved.

Funding Categories

• Category 1: Performance-based and Outcomes-based Contracting for Reentry Services
• Category 2: Performance-based and Outcomes-based Contracting for Permanent Supportive Housing

Eligible Applicants

• State governments
• Special district governments
• City or township governments
• County governments
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

See the solicitation for additional opportunity and eligibility details, as well as directions on how to apply.

Applications to the State Reentry Learning Collaborative are due by Friday, April 26, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET. To apply, complete the application form and submit it to Tier McCullough (tmccullough@nashp.org).

The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), in collaboration with The Health and Reentry Project (HARP) and with support from Arnold Ventures, will convene states for a State Reentry Learning Collaborative. Reentry, the time when a person is transitioning to the community after a period of incarceration, is an extremely risky time for people’s health and well-being. Formerly incarcerated people experience elevated rates of mortality, rearrests, and reincarceration. States recognize the gaps in continuity of health care for individuals released from prisons and jails to communities and coordination of care for other health-related social needs. The federal government has begun making historic changes to the Medicaid program, including allowing states for the first time to provide Medicaid coverage for adults for non-emergency services prior to release through Medicaid waivers.

The 18-month learning collaborative will be available to up to five states with a pending or approved section 1115 demonstration waiver request that includes demonstrations to improve care transitions for incarcerated individuals exiting public institutions. The goal of the learning collaborative is to support states with strategies to improve outcomes for people navigating transitions from incarceration to the community. States selected for the State Reentry Learning Collaborative will be part of a unique opportunity to receive timely targeted technical assistance from national experts and engage with a cohort of states leading the way in this groundbreaking work. This project includes supporting policy, programmatic, and resource alignment (across Medicaid, health and human services, corrections, and with local partners) to prepare for implementation of pending and approved reentry waivers. Technical assistance will focus on strengthening cross-agency and state-local partnerships; logistical and operational specifics of implementing pre-release coverage; meaningfully engaging directly impacted individuals; fostering a quality continuum of care among health and human service providers, correctional settings, reentry planning, and the community; developing stronger information-sharing systems and practices; and aligning accountability, oversight, and evaluation, among other topics.

This project is a partnership between NASHP and The Health Reentry Project (HARP).

Application and Selection Process

1. Each state team must complete an application form and submit it to Tier McCullough (tmccullough@nashp.org) by Friday, April 26, 2024, at 8:00 p.m., ET/5:00 p.m., PT.
2. NASHP will review states’ application forms and select states to participate in the learning collaborative. All states that applied will receive notifications the week of May 13, 2024.

Any questions about the application process should be directed to Tier McCullough (tmccullough@nashp.org).

State Reentry Learning Collaborative Timeline

• Tuesday, March 19, 2024: Application form released
• Thursday April 4, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., ET/11:00 a.m., PT: Informational webinar for interested states
• Monday April 8, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., ET/1:00 p.m., PT: Informational webinar for interested states
• April 26, 2024, by 8:00 p.m., ET: Application forms due to NASHP
• Week of May 13, 2024: Selected state teams notified
• May 2024: Learning collaborative kick-off
• TBD, June/July 2024: In-person kick-off meeting
• May 2024–October 2025: Individual state technical assistance, convenings, multi-state learning calls, and webinars

What Will States Gain During the Institute?

Learning collaborative participants will have access to a unique opportunity for states that are leading this groundbreaking work to collaborate, learn from each other, and work with national experts, including The Health and Reentry Project (HARP). Specific opportunities and resources will include:

• Facilitated peer-learning opportunities
• National, state, and local subject matter experts
• State-specific technical assistance
• Tools and resources to support policy and implementation

Learning collaborative activities will include:

Individual Technical Assistance

Each state team will develop a state-specific strategic work plan, including priorities, goals, action steps, and timelines to be completed during the learning collaborative. Each state team will participate in every other month (and as-needed) technical assistance Zoom calls with NASHP staff and HARP experts to facilitate cross-sector execution of the work plan. States will have the opportunity during these calls to identify and address emerging technical assistance needs. States will have ongoing access to NASHP and HARP staff, who will provide a timely and actionable response to all inquiries, including connections to external experts when necessary to support initiative planning, development, and implementation.

Possible technical assistance topics include but are not limited to:

• Strengthening cross-agency and state-to-local partnerships to implement a whole-of-government approach
• Logistical and operational specifics of implementing Medicaid-covered pre-release services, such as:
  • Building systems and processes for determining Medicaid eligibility and enrolling beneficiaries pre-release
  • Operationalizing release dates
  • Considering and addressing operational and logistical differences for implementation in prisons, jails, and juvenile justice facilities
  • Provider criteria and selection
• Strategies to meaningfully engage individuals directly impacted by the policies, programs, and implementation approaches into the policymaking and implementation process
• Fostering a quality continuum of care across the correctional health care system, state and local health and human services system, corrections, public safety, and community supervision systems to facilitate seamless transition from corrections to communities
• Fostering relationships with community-based organizations to support the continuum of care and to meet the health-related social needs of people transitioning to their community
• Developing, advancing, and beginning to implement strategies for data sharing, including for automated information exchange
• Building provider capacity and addressing workforce needs in corrections, state, and local agencies, and for those providing direct services
• Developing oversight and accountability strategies and aligning with evaluation approaches

State-to-State Learning Calls

State-to-state learning calls will be held approximately quarterly and will include virtual learning opportunities to allow states to hear about work going on in other states, identify areas of shared need, discuss emerging challenges, exchange with people who are directly impacted, and receive expert technical assistance. Topics for each group learning opportunity will be developed collaboratively to meet priority technical assistance needs identified by participating states. There is also the opportunity for affinity group breakouts for cross-state exchange to supplement state-specific calls.

In-Person Meetings 

Participating state teams will be invited to attend two in-person convenings that will provide additional opportunities for shared learning, teamwork, and expert-informed peer discussion. Meetings will take place during each project year (exact time and location to be determined). Up to four core team members are expected to attend in person, and funding will be available to cover associated travel and meeting expenses. State teams may bring additional members at their own expense.

Expectations of Participation

By committing to this initiative, each state team will be expected to:

• Maintain a core team of state officials with decision-making authority from the state’s Medicaid agency, mental health and substance abuse (or combined behavioral health) agencies, corrections agencies, and any other agencies required to implement the state’s goals, and/or prominent county leads. States are welcome to have additional team members (see below).
• Develop a project plan and work toward accomplishing goals and actionable steps to achieve these goals.
• Participate in every other month individual team technical assistance calls with NASHP and HARP staff to further implementation, share opportunities and barriers, and identify any emerging technical assistance needs.
• Participate in multi-state convenings (in person and virtual).

State Teams

Teams must include:

• At least one team member from senior Medicaid leadership
• At least one team member from senior mental health and substance abuse (or combined behavioral health) agency leadership
• At least one team member from senior corrections/ justice agency leadership
• At least one team member with decision-making authority that represents other agencies with resources and/ or programs relevant to the state goals (for example, juvenile justice, public health, human services, education, workforce and jobs, children and family, etc.)
• [Optional] Others based on state’s project focus (for example, governor’s office, secretary or director of health and human services, key sheriff partners and/or county officials, community supervision, courts, data analytics, community/economic development, and/or state legislature, people with lived expertise).

Interested state teams should complete and submit an application by 8:00 p.m., ET, on April 26, 2024. Accepted state teams will be notified the week of May 13, 2025.

Questions and applications should be directed to Tier McCullough (tmccullough@nashp.org).

The program recognizes the need for treatment instead of incarceration for individuals with SUDs. Recipients are expected to provide prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services for individuals with SUD involved with the courts. With this program, SAMHSA aims to improve abstinence from substance use, housing stability, employment status, social connectedness, health/behavioral/social consequences, and reduce criminal justice involvement.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are States and Territories, including the District of Columbia, political subdivisions of States, drug courts, Indian tribes, or tribal organizations (as such terms are defined in Section 5304 of Title 25), health facilities, or programs operated by or in accordance with a contract or award with the Indian Health Service, or other public or private nonprofit entities.

Award Information

Funding Mechanism: Grant

Anticipated Total Available Funding: $24,400,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: 61

Anticipated Award Amount: Up to $400,000 per year

Length of Project: Up to 5 years

Cost Sharing/Match Required?: No

Proposed budgets cannot exceed $400,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) in any year of the proposed project. Annual continuation awards will depend on the availability of funds, grantee progress in meeting project goals and objectives, timely submission of required data and reports, and compliance with all terms and conditions of award.

Contact Information

Program Issues

Jon Berg

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

Division of Service Improvement

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

(240) 276-1609

TreatmentDrugCourts@samhsa.hhs.gov

Grants Management and Budget Issues

Office of Financial Resources, Division of Grants Management

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

(240) 276-1940

FOACSAT@samhsa.hhs.gov

The purpose of this program is to: 1) advance family-based services for pregnant and postpartum women with a primary diagnosis of a substance use disorder (SUD), emphasizing the treatment of opioid use disorders; (2) help state substance use agencies provide outpatient treatment and recovery support services for pregnant and postpartum women with SUD; and (3) promote a coordinated system of SUD care within each state.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are Single State Agencies (SSA) for Substance Use. The District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are also eligible to apply.

Award Information

Funding Mechanism: Grant

Anticipated Total Available Funding: $3,600,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: 4

Anticipated Award Amount: Up to $900,000 per year per award

Length of Project: Up to 3 years

Cost Sharing/Match Required?: No

Proposed budgets cannot exceed $900,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) in any year of the proposed project. Annual continuation awards will depend on the availability of funds, grantee progress in meeting project goals and objectives, timely submission of required data and reports, and compliance with all terms and conditions of award.

Contact Information

Program Issues

Amy Smith

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

(240) 276-2892

amy.smith@samhsa.hhs.gov

Grants Management and Budget Issues

Office of Financial Resources, Division of Grants Management

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

(240) 276-1940

FOACSAT@samhsa.hhs.gov

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognizes the great need for emergency services in rural areas and the critical role EMS personnel serve across the country. Recipients will be expected to train EMS personnel on SUD and COD, trauma-informed, recovery-based care for people with such disorders in emergency situations and, as appropriate, to maintain licenses and certifications relevant to serve in an EMS agency. With this program, SAMHSA aims to develop the capacity of EMS staff to support residents in rural communities.

Applications submitted by the due date will be reviewed and funding decisions will be made by the end of the fiscal year.

Applicants that do not receive funding are eligible to apply for the following fiscal year.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are rural emergency medical service agencies operated by a local or tribal government (fire-based and non-fire based) and rural non-profit emergency medical service agencies.

Award Information

Funding Mechanism: Grant

Anticipated Total Available Funding: $10,400,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: 52

Anticipated Award Amount: Up to $200,000 per year per award

Length of Project: Two (2) years

Cost Sharing/Match Required?: Yes

Additional Award Information: Proposed budgets cannot exceed $200,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) in any year of the proposed project. Annual continuation awards will depend on the availability of funds, grantee progress in meeting project goals and objectives, timely submission of required data and reports, and compliance with all terms and conditions of award.

Contact Information

Program Issues

Humberto Carvalho
National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory (Policy Lab)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(240) 276-2974
humberto.carvalho@samhsa.hhs.gov

Grants Management and Budget Issues

Office of Financial Resources, Division of Grants Management
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(240) 276-1940
FOACSAT@samhsa.hhs.gov

FentAlert: Empowering Youth to Safeguard Against Fentanyl  ♦  Elevating Youth Voices to Increase Awareness About the Risks of Fentanyl

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is seeking the best ideas from U.S. youth, aged 14-18, on a community strategy to increase youth awareness, education, and prevention around the dangers of fentanyl, especially the hidden dangers of fake pills and other contaminants that can lead to drug overdose deaths.

The top six ideas will each be awarded a $5,000 prize, and up to 25 youth will receive a $2,000 honorable mention prize. The deadline for submission is February 26, 2024.

These are the facts:

• Among adolescents age 10-19, from 2019 to 2021:
  • Monthly drug overdose deaths increased 109%.
  • Deaths involving illicitly manufactured fentanyls increased 182%.
  • About 90% of these deaths involved opioids and 84% involved illicitly manufactured fentanyls.
  • Counterfeit pills were present in nearly 25% of these deaths.
  • Two-thirds of those who died had one or more potential bystanders present, but most didn't provide an overdose response (many bystanders were in another room or did not know that the drugs were being used).

Please encourage the youth in your life to pitch ideas to educate their peers. Ideas could include any innovative ways to reach youth on this topic like social media posts, vlogs, podcasts, video journals, etc.

Read more about the challenge at https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/offices-centers/csap/fentanyl-awareness-youth-challenge.

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc., is known nationally for its work regarding people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system. The GAINS Center is now soliciting applications from experienced trainers (individuals) who are interested in developing their capacity to provide trauma-informed training in their local agencies/communities via the How Being Trauma Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses curriculum. Selected applicants will learn to facilitate the training via a virtual train-the-trainer (TTT) event and subsequently deliver the training program in their local communities.

While not a requirement to apply to this opportunity, this year’s selection process will place special emphasis on applicants who provide training to drug courts and/or reentry programs. Preference will be given to applicants that serve marginalized and/or underserved populations.

The GAINS Center’s TTT virtual event is designed to train participants on both in-person and virtual delivery of the training described above and to equip participants with the skills and resources necessary to effectively deliver the training themselves in either format.

If this TTT event for individuals is of interest to you, please review the solicitation and submit your completed application form to the GAINS Center no later than February 20, 2024.

Learn More and Apply Today: https://bit.ly/3Hf1FwB