Congressman Sander Levin

Drug Free Communities Support Program

Rep. Portman (R-OH) and I were comparing notes about our work within our districts with community anti-drug coalitions. I was working at the time with the Troy Community Anti-Drug Coalition and Mr. Portman was helping to establish a city-wide coalition in Cincinnati. From these conversations grew the Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC). Our partners in the Senate were Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Biden (D-DE).

Community Anti-Drug Coalitions serve to bring together all segments of the community - parents, educators, students, business leaders, religious leaders, law enforcement, government officials - in a grassroots effort to send a community-wide anti-drug message and to conduct a variety of anti-drug strategies tailored for their community.

The Levin/Portman Drug Free Communities bill was signed into law in 1997. It provided community coalitions small grants (which had to be matched by the community) of $100,000 to support broad-based community coalition efforts to combat substance abuse within their individual communities.

The law was strengthened in 2001 when a Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute was established to provide the training necessary for more communities to join in the effort and to sustain the efforts of existing coalitions. The updated law also added a supplemental mentoring grant so that strong community coalitions could help neighboring communities start an anti-drug effort. The most recent reauthorization in 2006 boosted funding for community grants to $125,000.

There are now over 700 Drug Free Community anti-drug coalitions operating across the country. You may learn more about the Drug Free Communities Support Program on their website.