Congressman Cleaver Gets Funding to Fight Drug Abuse

Congressman Cleaver announced today that $250,000 in federal grants for youth substance abuse prevention efforts that will benefit his constituents in Lee’s Summit and Kansas City, Missouri. The grants are administered under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (DFC) by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Hickman Mills Prevention Coalition and Lee’s Summit CARES each will be awarded $125,000 for youth drug and alcohol prevention and education programs. The DFC Support Program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions that facilitate citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. The program awarded grants totaling more than $80 million to nearly 700 community coalitions across the country.

“Helping our kids stay drug and alcohol free is critical in securing a good future for them,” says Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II. “I am honored to help find funding for this worthy effort. Dollars spent now educating our young people will pay great dividends later.”

Local problems need local solutions. The DFC Program establishes and strengthens collaboration of community coalitions, as they work to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. Since the passage of the DFC Act in 1997, the DFC program has funded nearly 2,000 coalitions and currently mobilizes nearly 9,000 community volunteers across the country. The philosophy behind the DFC program is that local drug problems require local solutions. With a small Federal investment, the DFC program doubles the amount of funding through the DFC program’s match requirement, to address youth substance use.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Belton, Raymore and Peculiar, Missouri. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee. Congressman Cleaver also serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus and Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.