Application Information Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
Request for Applications (RFA)
Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity for Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts
(Short Title: SAMHSA Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts)
(Initial Announcement)
Request for Applications (RFA) No. TI-10-004
Posting on Grants.gov: December 1, 2009
Original Receipt date: February 23, 2010
Announcement Type: Initial
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 93.243
Key Dates:
Application Deadline |
Applications are due by February 23, 2010 |
Intergovernmental Review |
Applicants must comply with E.O. 12372 if their State(s) participates. Review process recommendations from the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) are due no later than 60 days after application deadline. |
Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS)
/ Single State Agency Coordination |
Applicants must send the PHSIS to appropriate State and local health agencies by application deadline. Comments from Single State Agency are due no later than 60 days after application deadline. |
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2010 Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts (short title: SAMHSA Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts). The purpose of this program is to expand and/or enhance substance abuse treatment services in “problem solving” courts which use the juvenile drug court model in order to provide alcohol and drug treatment, recovery support services supporting substance abuse treatment, screening, assessment, case management, and program coordination to juvenile defendants/offenders. Priority for the use of the funding should be given to addressing gaps in the existing continuum of treatment.
Grantees will be expected to provide a coordinated, multi-system approach designed to combine the sanctioning power of juvenile treatment drug courts with effective treatment services to break the cycle of criminal behavior, alcohol and/or drug use, and incarceration or other penalties.
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Treatment Drug Courts use regular appearances of the client before a judge (who is part of, or guided by, a team of relevant professionals) in order to monitor compliance with court ordered conditions and substance abuse treatment.
There is a significant disparity between the availability of treatment services for persons with alcohol and drug use disorders and the demand for such services. According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22.3 million individuals needed treatment for an alcohol or illicit drug use problem. Only 10 percent of these individuals received treatment at a specialty facility in the past year. This disparity is also consistent for criminal justice populations, as estimates show only 10 percent of individuals involved with the criminal justice system who are in need of substance abuse treatment receive it as part of their justice system supervision. By providing necessary treatment services, this program is intended to reduce the health and social costs of substance abuse and dependence to the public, and increase the safety of America’s citizens by reducing substance abuse related crime and violence.
Treatment Drug Courts are problem-solving courts, often used as an alternative to incarceration, that quickly identify substance abusing offenders and place as under strict court monitoring and community supervision as well as the participant with effective treatment services. They are being created at a high rate with over 2,100 in existence in 2008, but many lack sufficient funding for substance abuse treatment. Treatment Drug Courts represent the coordinated efforts of the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities to actively intervene and break the cycle of substance abuse, addiction and crime. Stakeholders work together to give individual clients the opportunity to improve their lives, including recovery from substance use disorders, and develop the capacity and skills to become fully-functioning parents, employees and citizens.
One model of problem-solving courts that developed from the adult treatment drug concept is the juvenile treatment drug court. The juvenile treatment drug court is a special court docket approach that builds community partnerships and enhances the capacity of the partners to assist in rehabilitating substance-abusing youth through an innovative, integrated approach that reflects the community’s norms, values, resources, and needs. (For more information on the key elements of a juvenile drug court, see Appendix F of this RFA.)
SAMHSA Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts is one of SAMHSA’s services grant programs. SAMHSA’s services grants are designed to address gaps in substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment services and/or to increase the ability of states, units of local government, American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes and tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations to help specific populations or geographic areas with serious, emerging mental health and substance abuse problems. SAMHSA intends that its services grants result in the delivery of services as soon as possible after award. Service delivery should begin by the 4th month of the project at the latest.
SAMHSA Juvenile Treatment Drug Court grants are authorized under Section 501 (d)(18) and 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2010 focus area 26 (Substance Abuse).
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
SAMHSA/CSAT is restricting eligibility to existing individual Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts or their Tribal/State or local governmental proxies who may apply on their behalf.
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Therefore, in addition to direct application by an individual Juvenile Treatment Drug Court, units of Tribal/State/local government such as the Tribal Court Administrator, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Single State Agency for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the designated State Drug Court Coordinator, or local governmental unit such as county or city agency with direct involvement with the drug court may apply on behalf of an individual juvenile treatment drug court. When the Tribe/State/local governmental unit is the applicant, all grant funds awarded must be dedicated to the individual juvenile treatment drug court with the exception of a small set aside, not to exceed two percent of the total award, that is permissible to cover the cost of administration and oversight of the grant. Grantees from the FY 2009 cohort for the Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity for Juvenile Drug Courts program are not eligible to apply.
Eligible juvenile treatment drug courts must have demonstrated relationships and agreements with existing community-based substance abuse treatment providers in order to create the necessary networks to successfully implement these grants. Public and private nonprofit organizations such as substance abuse treatment providers have a pivotal supporting role in treatment drug court programs and may be sub-recipients/contractors to the applicant. However, they are not the catalysts for entry into drug court and are therefore restricted from applying.
In those cases where a Tribe/State/local unit of government (city/county) applies on behalf of a drug court, the Tribe/State/local governmental unit will be the award recipient and the entity responsible for satisfying the grant requirements. Although funding is intended for individual drug courts, SAMHSA recognizes the scarcity of treatment resources in some rural communities. Therefore, it is allowable for contiguous rural counties in one State to apply as a multi-county partnership to serve more than one drug court within the identified counties. However, in such situations, one county unit of government must assume the role of lead applicant, which will oversee and administer the grant for the multiple jurisdictions.
This grant program is not intended to provide start-up funds to create new juvenile treatment drug courts. Applicant drug courts must be operational for at least one year at the time of application. Operational is defined as a judge being designated as a “drug court” judge with a “drug court” docket of cases and seeing defendants in “drug court” on a regular and recurring basis for at least one year prior to the submission of the grant application. By signing the cover page (SF 424 v2) of the application, the authorized representative of the applicant organization is certifying that the Juvenile Treatment Drug Court applying for funds is operational, as defined above, for at least one year at the time of application.
Applications submitted by entities other than the State Substance Abuse Agency (SSA) must include a letter from the SSA Director or designated representative that provides support for the application and confirms that the proposal conforms to the framework of the State Strategy of Substance Abuse Treatment. If applicable, this letter must be included in Attachment 4 of your application or it will not be reviewed and you will not be considered for an award. A listing of the SSAs can be found on SAMHSA’s Web site.
You must provide letters of commitment or formal contractual agreements from collaborating organizations (in Attachment 1 of your application) and a letter from the SSA Director, if applicable, (in Attachment 4 of your application) as outlined in Section I-2,or your application will not be reviewed and you will not be considered for an award.
Award Information
Funding Mechanism: | Grant |
Anticipated Total Available Funding: | $8.8 million |
Anticipated Number of Awards: | Up to 27 grants |
Anticipated Award Amount: | $325,000 per year |
Length of Project Period: | Up to 3 years |
Proposed budgets cannot exceed $325,000 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.
This program is being announced prior to the appropriation for FY 2010 for SAMHSA’s programs, with funding estimates based on the President’s budget request for FY 2010. Applications are invited based on the assumption that sufficient funds will be appropriated for FY 2010 to permit funding of a reasonable number of applications solicited. All applicants are reminded, however, that we cannot guarantee that sufficient funds will be appropriated to permit SAMHSA to fund any applications.
Supplemental Awards Based on Performance: Section VI-2, Administrative and National Policy Requirements, of this RFA discusses a grantee’s proposed performance targets and explains that failure to meet stated goals and objectives may result in suspension or termination of the grant award, or in the reduction or withholding of continuation awards. Conversely, a Juvenile Treatment Drug Court grantee that exceeds its performance targets or demonstrates efficiencies may receive a supplemental award based on performance to maintain its high level of performance. In year 2 of the Juvenile Treatment Drug Court grant program, CSAT will review each grantee’s Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data submissions and assess whether a grantee has:
1) exceeded its target for the number of clients served by 25 percent or more;
2) met or exceeded the 80% target for 6-month follow-up rates; and
3) provided services within approved cost bands.
Any grantee that has demonstrated appropriate financial management of the grant and has exceeded its targets for the number of clients served by 25 percent or more, met or exceeded the 80% target for 6-month follow-ups, and provided services within allowable cost bands, may receive a supplemental award of up to 5 percent of the third year requested amount based on performance. Supplemental award amounts will be determined on a sliding scale based on availability of funds and the grantee’s achievement of performance goals and demonstration of sound fiscal management. Applicants should be aware that SAMHSA/CSAT does not plan to make supplemental awards to all grantees, and that is it possible that no grantees will receive supplemental awards based on performance.
Eligible grantees will be asked to submit a narrative and budget justification for the supplemental award that maintains the increase in its targets during the final year of the project. The supplemental award based on performance is for the purpose of the grantee maintaining, at a minimum, the additional number of clients for the remainder of the project.
A grantee receiving a supplemental award based on performance may be subject to additional site visits and/or audits to verify the accuracy of the client data reported.
Contact Information
For questions on program issues, contact:
Robert M. Vincent, MS.Ed., CPP, CDP
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Division of Services Improvement
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 5-1002
Rockville, Maryland 20857
(240) 276-1582
robert.vincent@samhsa.hhs.gov
For questions on grants management and budget issues, contact:
William Reyes
Office of Program Services, Division of Grants Management
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 7-1095
Rockville, Maryland 20857
(240) 276-1406
william.reyes@samhsa.hhs.gov
Documents needed to complete a grant application:
1. REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)
YOU MUST RESPOND TO THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE RFA IN PREPARING YOUR APPLICATION.
- Download Complete RFA Announcement TI-10-004 in PDF format (file size 110 kbytes)
- Download Complete RFA Announcement TI-10-004 in MS Word format (file size 230 kbytes)
YOU MUST USE THE FORMS IN THE APPLICATION KIT TO COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION.
Additional Materials
For further information on the forms and the application process, see Useful Information for Applicants
Additional materials available on this website include:
- Technical Assistance and Training for SAMHSA Grant Applicants
- Grants Management at SAMHSA: Useful Information for Grantees
Last updated: 01/26/2010