Today, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced an additional round of 42 new grants for its Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, bringing the total number of total grants awarded with Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funds to 719.
The DFC Program provides grants to community-based coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use. Recognizing that local problems need local solutions, DFC-funded coalitions engage multiple sectors of the community and employ a variety of environmental strategies to address local substance use problems.
“A critical element of the government’s approach to tackling the drug crisis is stopping substance use among our youth before it starts. The hundreds of Drug-Free Communities our office administers across the country implement effective, localized prevention programs to ensure the next generation understands the dangers of substance misuse. We will continue investing in the DFC Program both because it is a critical part of our mission to save lives and its success in reducing past 30-day substance use among youth,” ONDCP Director Jim Carroll said.
The 42 additional grants announced today, combined with the 150 new grants announced in October, represent a total Federal investment of approximately $24 million to new community coalitions alone with FY 2019 funds.
In June, ONDCP released the 2018 Executive Summary and End-of-Year Report for its DFC grant recipients, which demonstrate the DFCs are effective in reducing youth substance use rates in their communities.
