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FY 2005 Grant Funding Opportunity

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Downloadable files

Department of Health and Human Services

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Notice of Funding Availability 

Download NOFA

TI-05-005:

Word Document

Acrobat Document

Funding Opportunity Title:

Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts

(Short Title:  Drug Courts) 

Announcement Type: Initial

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 93.243  

Due Date for Applications: April 15, 2005 

[Note: Letters from State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) in response to E.O. 12372 are due June 14, 2005.]

SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), announces the availability of FY 2005 funds for Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts.   A synopsis of this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), as well as many other Federal Government funding opportunities, is also available at the Internet site: www.grants.gov

SVC 05 
SAMHSA Services Grants

For complete instructions, potential applicants must obtain a copy of SAMHSA's standard Services Grants Program Announcement, SVC-05 PA, and the PHS 5161-1 (Rev. 7/00) application form before preparing and submitting an application.  The SVC-05 PA describes the general program design and provides instructions for applying for all SAMHSA's Services Grants including the Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts grants.  SAMHSA's Services Grants provide funds to expand and strengthen effective, culturally appropriate substance abuse and/or mental health services at the State and local levels. Additional instructions and specific requirements for this funding opportunity are described below.

I.      Funding Opportunity Description

Authority: Section 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended and subject to the availability of funds.

The Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts (Drug Courts) Grant Program is one of SAMHSA's Services Grants programs.  The purpose of Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts grants is to provide funds to be used by treatment providers and the courts to provide alcohol and drug treatment, wrap-around services supporting substance abuse treatment, assessment, case management, and program coordination to those in need of treatment drug court services.  Priority for the use of the funding should be given to addressing gaps in the continuum of treatment.

Grantees will be expected to provide a coordinated, multi-system approach designed to combine the sanctioning power of courts with effective treatment services to break the cycle of child abuse/neglect or criminal behavior, alcohol and/or drug use, and incarceration or other penalties.  Drug courts use regular appearances of the client before a judge who is part of, or guided by, a team of all relevant professionals.  Family treatment drug courts provide services to parents who have been charged with child abuse and/or neglect, and also to the children and other important family members.  Juvenile treatment drug courts provide services to juveniles who are found delinquent, and can also provide services to the parents, siblings, and other important family members.  For the purposes of this program, juvenile treatment drug courts may include those courts that deal with juveniles in pre-adjudicated or adjudicated status, or under post-detention judicial supervision (such as Reentry drug courts).

Background:  Drug courts are being created at a very high rate, but without sufficient funding for substance abuse treatment.  A long-term goal of this program is to build sustainable systems of care for persons needing treatment drug court services.  A September 2003 survey of drug courts ( American University ) found that there are 86 family treatment drug courts, with 69 more being planned.  The same survey found there are 286 juvenile treatment drug courts, with 110 being planned.  

Treatment drug courts are problem-solving courts, where all stakeholders work together to give individual clients the opportunity to improve their lives, including recovering from substance use disorders and developing the capacity and skills to become full-functioning parents, employees, and citizens.  Further, treatment drug courts help participants avoid penalties such as losing parental rights or being sent to a prison or detention facility. Generally speaking, substance-using offenders benefit substantially from involvement with treatment drug courts.  

Consequently, it is in SAMHSA's interest to actively support and shape treatment drug courts, so that clinical needs are met, and clients are treated in ways consistent with the disease model and the problem-solving model, rather than with the traditional court case-processing model.

Required Activities:  Allowable activities/purposes are stated in Section I-2.2, Services Delivery, of the SVC 05 PA.

As provided below, Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts have several well-defined elements that must be addressed in the application in V.1. Evaluation Criteria, Section C:  Proposed Implementation Approach.  Both juvenile and family treatment drug court applicants must include the following 11 key elements in their program design.  Further required elements are delineated below for juvenile treatment drug court applicants (only) and family treatment drug court applicants (only).

• 11 Key Elements of Juvenile and Family Treatment Drug Courts

1. A Steering Committee composed of key stakeholders to provide advice in the design and operation of the Treatment Drug Court .

2. Alcohol and other drug treatment services that are integrated with justice system case processing.

3. Use of a non-adversarial approach, with prosecution and defense counsel promoting public safety while protecting participants' due process rights.

4. Early identification and prompt placement of eligible participants.

5. Access to a continuum of alcohol, drug, and other related treatment and rehabilitation services.

6. Frequent staffings (team meetings), where each client's progress, strengths, obstacles, and options are discussed individually, and case plans are updated as needed.

7. Frequent alcohol and other drug testing.

8. A coordinated strategy that governs drug court responses to participants' compliance.

9. Judicial interaction that is ongoing with each drug court participant.

10. Interdisciplinary education that promotes effective planning, implementation, and operations.

11. Partnerships among drug courts, public agencies, and community-based organizations.

• Juvenile Treatment Drug Court applicants only must also include the following 3 key elements in their program design:

1. Strategies to motivate juvenile offenders to change.  Juveniles who use alcohol and drugs may not have progressed to abuse or dependence and are less inclined to think they have a problem.  Juvenile offenders often feel invulnerable; they lack maturity, and are in different developmental stages.  These motivational strategies must also help adolescents deal with often-powerful negative influences of peers, gangs, and family members.

2. A continuum of family-based treatment and ancillary services using a strength-based approach.

3. Appropriate confidentiality requirements that are specific to juveniles under court supervision.

• Juvenile Treatment Drug Court applicants (only) are encouraged (but not required), when appropriate for their setting, to use the following assessment instrument and an intervention from one of the following treatment protocols as their evidence-based service/practice.  Applicants who propose to implement the following assessment and an intervention from one of the following treatment protocols are considered to have met SAMHSA's evidence-based service/practices requirements.  The assessment instrument, the treatment protocols, and other supporting materials are available at http://www.chestnut.org/LI/APSS/CSAT/protocols/. If you experience any difficulty accessing this site, please contact Leanne Welch at 309-820-3543, ext. 8-3429 or by e-mail at lwelch@chestnut.org.
  

• Comprehensive bio-psycho-social assessment:  the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN-I, version 5.3.6, the initial instrument; and GAIN M, version 5.3.5, the follow-up instrument).  The majority of CSAT's grantees providing services to youth are using this standardized comprehensive bio-psycho-social assessment.  The cost for licensing, software, training, and certification will be borne by CSAT for successful applicants who choose to use this assessment instrument.  There will be no additional cost to the successful applicant.  Successful applicants who use this instrument will also have the opportunity to participate with other grantees in ongoing studies on youth treatment outcomes. 
  
• And an intervention from one of the following treatment protocols: 
  • Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT has 5 treatment interventions)
  • Adolescent Treatment Models (ATM has 10 treatment interventions)
  • Assertive Continuing Care (ACC)

  These adolescent treatment services interventions range from brief outpatient through long-term residential models.  Training and technical assistance for implementation of these treatment interventions will be available from CSAT and at no cost to successful applicants.

  If you choose not to implement the services/practices described, you must identify the evidence-based service/practice you propose to implement in your application as required in the SVC 05 PA at V.1. Evaluation Criteria Section B., Proposed Evidence-Based Service/Practice.

• Family Treatment Drug Court applicants only must also include the following 5 key elements in their program design:

1. Practices and procedures to ensure that the safety and welfare of the abused and neglected child is placed above the needs of the adult client.

2. A continuum of family-based treatment and ancillary services using a strength-based approach.

3. Training, education, and counseling, as required, to meet the developmental needs of the children.

4. Appropriate and timely permanent placements for children consistent with the requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act.

5. Appropriate confidentiality requirements that are specific to individuals under court supervision.

II.    Award Information

1. Estimated Funding Available/Number of Awards:  It is expected that up to $6.3 million will be available to fund up to 16 awards in FY 2005.  Approximately $3.15 million will be available for about 8 awards for family treatment drug courts, and approximately $3.15 million available for about 8 awards for juvenile treatment drug courts.  The maximum allowable award is $400,000 in total costs (direct and indirect) per year for up to 3 years.  

Proposed budgets cannot exceed the allowable amount in any year of the proposed project.  The actual amount available for the awards may vary, depending on unanticipated program requirements and the number and quality of the applications received.  Annual continuations will depend on the availability of funds, grantee progress in meeting program goals and objectives, and timely submission of required data and reports.

Supplemental Awards Based on Performance:  Section VI-2, Administrative and National Policy Requirements, of SVC-05 PA 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 Drug Court grantee that exceeds its proposed performance target may receive a supplemental award based on performance to maintain its high level of performance.

In year 2 of the Drug Courts grant program, CSAT, based on a review of each grantee's Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data submissions, will assess whether a grantee has exceeded its target for the number of clients served by 25 percent or more, and whether the grantee has exceeded its target for 6-month follow-ups by 25 percent or more.  (The follow-up rate must be at least 80 percent of the number of clients actually served.)  Any grantee that has exceeded both its targets for the number of clients served and 6-month follow-ups by 25 percent or more will be eligible for a supplemental award based on performance equal to 5 percent of its annual grant award.

The 5 percent supplemental award based on performance will be included in the grantee's continuation award for the third and final year of the Drug Courts project.  As part of the third-year non-competing continuation application, eligible grantees will submit a narrative and budget justification for the supplemental award that maintains the 25 percent 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 life of the project.

A grantee receiving a supplemental award based on performance is subject to site visits and/or audits to verify the accuracy of the client data reported.  Supplemental awards based on performance will depend on the availability of funds.

2. Funding Instrument: Grant

III.   Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants:  All entities listed in Section III-1, Eligible Applicants, of the SVC-05 PA, and individual treatment drug courts are eligible applicants.  It is the intention of this program to provide funding to support individual drug courts. Some State or County Court integrated/consolidated systems require that individual drug courts apply through the State or County.  This approach is permitted, but all grant funds awarded must be dedicated to the individual drug court.  If the State or County is the applicant, it will be the award recipient and the entity responsible for satisfying the grant requirements.

The purpose of this program is to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of treatment services in existing family and juvenile treatment drug courts.  It is not intended to provide start-up funds to create new treatment drug courts.  Therefore, it is essential that drug courts are operational 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.  By signing the cover page (SF 424) of the application, the authorized representative of the applicant organization is certifying that the Family or Juvenile Treatment Drug Court for which grant funds are requested is operational as defined immediately above.

Applications for SAMHSA Services Grants must include evidence of experience and credentials as described in Section III-3.2 of the SVC-05 PA. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching is not required.

3. Other:  Applicants must also meet certain application formatting and submission requirements or the application will be screened out and will not be reviewed.  These requirements are described in Section IV-2 below as well as in Section IV-2.3 of the SVC-05 PA.

PHS 5161-1

and 

SF 424

IV.  Application and Submission Information:  

1. Address to Request Application Package:

Complete application kits may be obtained from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 1-800-729-6686.  When requesting an application kit for this program, the applicant must specify the funding opportunity title, "Drug Courts," and the funding opportunity number (TI-05-005).  All information necessary to apply, including where to submit applications and application deadline instructions, is included in the application kit. 

The PHS 5161-1 application form is available electronically via the link on the left, and the SVC-05 PA is available electronically via the link at the left of Summary (above).

When submitting an application, be sure to type "TI-05-005/Drug Courts" in Item Number 10 on the face page of the application form. 

Also, SAMHSA applicants are required to provide a DUNS Number on the face page of the application.  To obtain a DUNS Number, access the Dun and Bradstreet web site at www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1-866-705-5711.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission:  

Information including required documents, required application components, and application formatting requirements is available in the SVC-05 PA in Section IV-2.  

Form SMA 170

Because Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts grant funds are used to provide direct substance abuse services, applicants are required to complete the Assurance of Compliance with SAMHSA's Charitable Choice Statutes and Regulations, Form SMA 170.  This form will be posted on SAMHSA's web site with the NOFA and provided in the application kits available at NCADI.  

Checklist for Application Formatting Requirements

SAMHSA's goal is to review all applications submitted for grant funding.  However, this goal must be balanced against SAMHSA's obligation to ensure equitable treatment of applications.  For this reason, SAMHSA has established certain formatting requirements for its applications.   If you do not adhere to these requirements, your application will be screened out and returned to you without review.

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Text must be legible.  (For Project Narratives submitted electronically in Microsoft Word, see separate requirements below under "Guidance for Electronic Submission of Applications.")

• Type size in the Project Narrative cannot exceed an average of 15 characters per inch, as measured on the physical page.  (Type size in charts, tables, graphs, and footnotes will not be considered in determining compliance.)

• Text in the Project Narrative cannot exceed 6 lines per vertical inch.

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To ensure equity among applications, the amount of space allowed for the Project Narrative cannot be exceeded.  (For Project Narratives submitted electronically in Microsoft Word, see separate requirements below under "Guidance for Electronic Submission of Applications.")

• Applications would meet this requirement by using all margins (left, right, top, bottom) of at least one inch each, and adhering to the page limit for the Project Narrative stated in the SVC-05 PA.

• Should an application not conform to these margin or page limits, SAMHSA will use the following method to determine compliance:  The total area of the Project Narrative (excluding margins, but including charts, tables, graphs and footnotes) cannot exceed 58.5 square inches multiplied by the page limit.  This number represents the full page less margins, multiplied by the total number of allowed pages.

• Space will be measured on the physical page.  Space left blank within the Project Narrative (excluding margins) is considered part of the Project Narrative, in determining compliance.

The 10 application components required for SAMHSA applications should be included.  These are:

• Face Page (Standard Form 424, which is in PHS 5161-1)

• Abstract

• Table of Contents

• Budget Form (Standard Form 424A, which is in PHS 5161-1)

• Project Narrative and Supporting Documentation

• Appendices

• Assurances (Standard Form 424B, which is in PHS 5161-1)

• Certifications (a form in PHS 5161-1)

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (Standard Form LLL, which is in PHS 5161-1)

• Checklist (a form in PHS 5161-1)

Applications should comply with the following requirements:

• Provisions relating to confidentiality, participant protection and the protection of human subjects, as indicated in the SVC-05 PA.

• Budgetary limitations as indicated in Sections I, II, and IV-5 of the SVC-05 PA.

• Documentation of nonprofit status as required in the PHS 5161-1.

Please number pages consecutively from beginning to end so that information can be located easily during review of the application.  The cover page should be page 1, the abstract page should be page 2, and the table of contents page should be page 3. Appendices should be labeled and separated from the Project Narrative and budget section, and the pages should be numbered to continue the sequence.

The page limit for Appendices stated in the specific funding announcements cannot be exceeded.

3.  Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications must be received by close of business April 15, 2005.  You will be notified by postal mail that your application has been received.  Additional submission information is available in the SVC-05 PA in Section IV-3.

4.  Intergovernmental Review:  

Applicants for this funding opportunity must comply with Executive Order 12372 (E.O.12372).  E.O.12372, as implemented through Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) regulation at 45 CFR Part 100, sets up a system for State and local review of applications for Federal financial assistance.  Instructions for complying with E.O. 12372 are provided in the SVC-05 PA in Section IV-4.  A current listing of State Single Points of Contact (SPOCs) is included in the application kit and is available at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html.

5.  Funding Restrictions:  

Information concerning funding restrictions is available in the SVC-05 PA in Section IV-5.  In addition, Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts grant funds are to be used for substance abuse treatment, but may not be used for court administrative costs, outreach, or prevention services.  One treatment drug court coordinator position may be funded per court.

V.  Application Review Information

1.      Evaluation Criteria:  Applications will be reviewed against the Evaluation Criteria and requirements for the Project Narrative (Sections A-E) specified in the SVC-05 PA. 

The following information describes exceptions or limitations to the Project Narrative (Sections A-E) in the SVC-05 PA and provides special requirements that pertain only to Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Court grants.  Applicants must discuss the following requirements in their applications, in addition to the requirements specified in the SVC-05 PA:

1.1  In "Section B:  Proposed Evidence-Based Service/Practice":

The second bullet, #1, is modified to include the following additional option for Juvenile Treatment Drug Court applicants only: 

"If you are proposing to implement the recommended assessment/ intervention described in the Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts NOFA (TI-05-005) in Section I., Funding Opportunity Description, Juvenile Treatment Drug Court applicants only, simply identify the assessment (GAIN) and the intervention/protocol (either CYT, ATM, or ACC).  You do not need to provide further evidence of effectiveness."

1.2  In "Section C:  Proposed Implementation Approach":

• In the first bullet, when describing how the proposed service or practice will be implemented, applicants must also address how the required key elements outlined in this NOFA in Section I, Required Activities, are included in their program design.  In the "11 Key Elements of Juvenile and Family Treatment Drug Courts," when addressing partnerships among drug courts, public agencies, and community-based organizations, if the applicant's community has an initiative to address the needs of drug endangered children (known as DEC programs established to address the needs of children living in environments where methamphetamine is manufactured), applicants must describe how they plan to coordinate and set up referrals and linkages with the DEC program and the drug court.  Information about DEC programs is available from the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children at (619) 557-5481.

If a particular key element is missing, the applicant must provide a justification for not including it.  (Note:  For purposes of rating how well the required key elements are included in the program design, reviewers will be instructed to use 8 of the total 25 points allowed for Section C for this single critical element.)

• Applicants are not required to respond to the fourth bullet:  "Describe how members of the target population helped prepare the application, and how they will help plan, implement, and evaluate the project.

1.3   In “Section E., Evaluation and Data,” the sixth bullet is modified by adding at the end, “applicants must state whether or not the per-person costs are within the reasonable range of $3,000 to $5,000 (regardless of client treatment modality) for treatment drug court programs.  Applicants must also discuss the reasonableness of the per person costs.  If proposed costs exceed the reasonable range, a detailed justification must be provided.”

SAMHSA/CSAT computes per person costs as follows.  The total support requested for the life of the project is multiplied by .8 (.2 will be the allowance for GPRA reporting requirements).  The resulting amount is then divided by the number of persons the applicant proposed to serve over the life of the project.

CSAT’s GPRA Data Entry and Reporting System

1.4  Performance Measurement:  All SAMHSA grantees are required to collect and report certain data, so that SAMHSA can meet its obligations under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).  Grantees of the Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts program will be required to report performance in several areas.  Applicants must document their ability to collect and report the required data in “Section E: Evaluation and Data” of their applications.

All Family and Juvenile Treatment Drug Courts grant applicants must document their ability to collect and report data using the Targeted Capacity Expansion Client Level GPRA tool.  This tool can be found at www.csat-gpra.samhsa.gov (click on ‘Data Collection Tools/Instruments’), along with instructions for completing it.  Hard copies are available in the application kits distributed by SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI). 

GPRA data must be collected at baseline (i.e., the client’s entry into the project), 6 months after the baseline, and 12 months after the baseline.  Projects serving adolescents also must collect 3-month post-baseline data to capture the nuances of change particular to this population. GPRA data must be entered into the GPRA web system within 7 business days of the forms being completed.  In addition, 80 percent of the participants must be followed up on.  GPRA data are to be collected and then entered into CSAT’s GPRA Data Entry and Reporting System (www.csat-gpra.samhsa.gov).  Training and technical assistance on data collecting, tracking, and follow-up, as well as data entry, will be provided by CSAT.

2.  Review and Selection Process:

Information about the review and selection process is available in the SVC-05 PA in Section V-2.  In order to ensure a broad geographic distribution of drug courts, and an equitable allocation of funds among family and juvenile treatment drug courts in the U.S.:

• An application that requests funds to serve more than one treatment drug court will not be funded.

• No more than one grant award (either a family treatment drug court or a juvenile treatment drug court) per local or county court jurisdiction will be made.

• SAMHSA will coordinate with the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) on FY 2005 treatment drug court awards to ensure that an individual family or juvenile drug court does not receive both a BJA implementation and/or enhancement grant and a SAMHSA treatment drug court expansion and/or enhancement grant.

VI. Award Administration Information:

Award administration information, including award notices, administrative, and national policy requirements are available in the SVC-05 PA in Section VI.  SAMHSA’s standard terms and conditions are available at www.samhsa.gov/grants/generalinfo/grants_management.aspx.  

Grantee Meetings:

Family Treatment Drug Court Grantees:  A minimum of seven persons shall attend each grantee meeting.  These seven should include the judge, project director, a clinical director, the evaluator, and representatives from the child welfare department, the prosecutor’s office, and the defense bar.

Juvenile Treatment Drug Court Grantees:  A minimum of six persons shall attend each meeting.  These six should include the judge, project director, a clinical director, the evaluator, and representatives from the prosecutor’s office and the defense bar.

VII.           Agency Contact for Additional Information: 

For questions concerning program issues contact: 

Susanne R. Rohrer

SAMHSA/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 5-1014

Rockville, MD 20857

(240) 276-1609

E-mail susanne.rohrer@samhsa.hhs.gov

For questions on grants management issues contact:

Kimberly Pendleton

SAMHSA/Division of Grants Management

1 Choke Cherry Road, Room 7-1097

Rockville, MD 20857

(240) 276-1421

E-mail: kimberly.pendleton@samhsa.hhs.gov.

February ?, 2005

Daryl Kade   
Director, Office of Policy Planning and Budget
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration