FY 2009 RFA Grant Application Information (RFA)

Application Information Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)

Request for Applications (RFA)

Offender Reentry Program 
(Short Title: ORP)

(Initial Announcement)

 

Request for Applications (RFA) No. TI-09-005
Posting on Grants.gov: March 25, 2009
Receipt date: May 21, 2009
Announcement Type: Initial

Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 93.243

Key Dates:

Application Deadline

Applications are due by May 21, 2009

Intergovernmental Review
(E.O. 12372)

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)/SSA 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) 2009 grants for the Offender Reentry Program.  The purpose of this program is to expand and/or enhance substance abuse treatment and related recovery and reentry services to sentenced juvenile and adult offenders returning to the community from incarceration for criminal/juvenile offenses.  Applicants are expected to form stakeholder partnerships that will plan, develop and provide a transition from incarceration to community-based substance abuse treatment and related reentry services for the populations of focus.  Because reentry transition must begin in the correctional or juvenile facility before release, limited funding may be used for certain activities in institutional correctional settings in addition to the expected community-based services (see Section I-2-Expectations- Allowable Activities in Institutional Correctional Settings).

SAMHSA recognizes that 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. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that approximately 1 in 5 juveniles in the daily correctional population receive some form of substance abuse treatment (BJS, 2005; Taxman, NIDA CJDATS, 2007).  Approximately one-half of the institutional treatment provided is educational programming (Taxman, NIDA CJDATS, 2007).    

Furthermore, a 2007 study by NIDA’s Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Study indicates that offenders have a much higher rate of psycho-social dysfunction including substance abuse disorders than the general population.  In fact, youth in the juvenile justice system have almost four times the rate of substance abuse disorders than the general juvenile population in the United States (NSDUH, 2007).  By providing needed 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.

Over the past decade, awareness of the need for a continuing care system for juvenile and adult offenders has grown as States and local communities have struggled with the increasing number of these individuals returning to the community after release from correctional confinement.  Taxman et al. (2007) indicates the number of juveniles in correctional settings is under-reported and that there are approximately a quarter of a million juveniles and youths in the correctional system in the United States who are in need of substance abuse treatment. Often the juvenile or adult criminal justice system has services and structures in place for these offenders at entry into the system (i.e., at pre-trial or adjudication), but there are few and fragmented services in place for these offenders as they are released from correctional settings.  Reentry into the community and reintegration into the family are risky times for these offenders and their families.  The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) indicates that in the first year following release, young offenders re-offend at a rate of sixty-three (63) percent.  Substance abuse treatment for offenders in prison and in the community has been extensively studied and evaluated over the past several years, and the results are consistent and clear – treatment works, reducing crime and recidivism. 

SAMHSA/CSAT recognizes the need to successfully return and reintegrate these individuals into the community by providing substance abuse treatment and other related reentry services while also ensuring public safety for the community and family.  This program builds on previous and ongoing SAMHSA/CSAT criminal and juvenile justice program initiatives (e.g., SAMHSA/CSAT FY 2004 YORP grant program), and builds on learning gained from these previous initiatives.

SAMHSA and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) share a mutual interest in supporting and shaping offender reentry-treatment services, as both agencies fund “offender reentry” programs.  These two agencies have a longstanding partnership regarding criminal justice-substance abuse treatment issues.  SAMHSA and BJA have developed formal agreements to further encourage and engage in mutual interests and activities related to criminal justice-treatment issues.  SAMHSA and BJA will continue to plan and coordinate relevant activities. SAMHSA’s Offender Reentry Program grantees will be expected to seek out and coordinate with any local federally-funded offender reentry initiatives, including BJA’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative or “Second Chance Act” offender reentry programs, as appropriate. 

The Offender Reentry Program is one of SAMHSA’s services grant programs.  SAMHSA’s services grants are designed to address gaps in substance abuse 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 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.  

Offender Reentry Program grants are authorized under Section 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.  This announcement addresses Healthy People 2010 focus area 26 (Substance Abuse).

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are domestic public and private nonprofit entities.  For example, State and local governments, federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes and tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, public or private universities and colleges; and community- and faith-based organizations may apply. Tribal organization means the recognized body of any AI/AN Tribe; any legally established organization of American Indians/Alaska Natives which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of American Indians/Alaska Natives in all phases of its activities.  Consortia of tribal organizations are eligible to apply, but each participating entity must indicate its approval.  The statutory authority for this program prohibits grants to for-profit agencies.

Award Information

Funding Mechanism: Grant
Anticipated Total Available Funding: $8.2 million
Anticipated Number of Awards:

Juvenile Offenders- Up to 10
Adult Offenders- Up to 11
Anticipated Award Amount:

Up to $400,000 per year
Length of Project Period: Up to 3 years

Proposed budgets cannot exceed $400,000 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.

Applicants should be aware that the amount to be awarded for continuation awards in year 3 is expected to be 95% of the amount available for continuation awards in year 2.  This is being done to create a pool of funds for supplemental performance-based awards (described below). [Note: Applicants should not reduce their requested third year amounts relative to year 2; this adjustment will be made by SAMHSA at the time the year 3 continuation awards are negotiated.]

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, an ORP grantee that exceeds its performance targets or demonstrates efficiencies may receive a supplemental award based on performance to maintain its high level of performance.  For year 3 of the ORP grant program, CSAT will review each grantee’s Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data submissions and assess whether a grantee has: 1) met or exceeded its target for the number of clients served by 25 percent or more; 2) met or exceeded its 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, exceeded its 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:

Kenneth W. Robertson
Team Leader, Criminal Justice Programs
Targeted Populations Branch, Division of Services Improvement
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 5-1001
Rockville, Maryland 20857
(240) 276-1621          
E-Mail: Kenneth.robertson@samhsa.hhs.gov

For questions on grants management issues, contact:

Kathleen Sample
Office of Program Services, Division of Grants Management          
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 7-1089
Rockville, Maryland 20857
(240) 276-1407
kathleen.sample@samhsa.hhs.gov

Documents needed to complete a grant application:

Applications that are not submitted on the required application form will be screened out and will not be reviewed.

You must respond to the requirements in the RFA in preparing your application.

PHS 5161-1 (revised July 2000): Includes the face page, budget forms and checklist. Applications that are not submitted on the required application form will be screened out and will not be reviewed.

Additional Materials

For further information on the forms and the application process, see Useful Information for Applicants

Additional materials available on this website include:

Last updated: 03/27/2009