FY 2024

FY 2024 Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services 

Administration (SAMHSA) Notice 

of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 

Application Guide

FY 2024 APPLICATION GUIDE 

UPDATED JANUARY 19, 2024
1 

About the Application Guide 

This Application Guide provides detailed instructions for preparing and submitting a 

grant application to SAMHSA’s Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO). 

Please review each section of the Application Guide carefully for step-by-step guidance 

on key parts of the application process, including the grant application process, the 

registration requirements, required attachments, and budget. 

The Application Guide also provides valuable information about federal policies and 

regulations you must follow.

If you have any questions about the information in this document, contact the SAMHSA 

staff identified in Section VII of the NOFO.
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Contents

Section A: Registration and Application Submission Requirements................................. 3

1. GET REGISTERED ON THREE REQUIRED SYSTEMS ............................... 3

2. COMPLETE THE APPLICATION.................................................................... 5

3. SUBMIT APPLICATION.................................................................................. 9

4. AFTER SUBMISSION................................................................................... 11

Section B: Formatting Requirements and System Validation ......................................... 15

1. SAMHSA FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS................................................. 15

2. GRANTS.GOV FORMATTING AND VALIDATION REQUIREMENTS ......... 15

3. eRA COMMONS FORMATTING AND VALIDATION REQUIREMENTS...... 16

Section C: Confidentiality and SAMHSA Participant Protection/Human Subjects 

Guidelines .......................................................................................................... 20

Section D: Developing Goals and Measurable Objectives ............................................. 25

Section E: Developing the Plan for Data Collection and Performance Measurement..... 28

Section F: Biographical Sketches and Position Descriptions.......................................... 30

Section G: Addressing Behavioral Health Disparities ..................................................... 31

Section H: Standards for Financial Management and Standard Funding Restrictions ... 35

Section I: Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372) Requirements ................................. 39

Section J: Administrative and National Policy Requirements ......................................... 41

Section K: Budget and Justification ................................................................................ 47
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Section A: Registration and Application Submission 

Requirements 

1. GET REGISTERED ON THREE REQUIRED SYSTEMS

You must complete the registration processes for all three systems below to apply for 

any SAMHSA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO): 

1.1) System for Award Management (SAM);

1.2) Grants.gov; and 

1.3) eRA Commons.

1.1 System for Award Management (SAM) Registration Process

SAM is a government-wide registry for entities doing business with the Federal 

Government. To create a SAM user account, go to https://www.sam.gov. Follow the 

guidance on the website to register and obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). You 

must register your organization with SAM to obtain a UEI. You cannot apply for an 

award without a UEI and Grants.gov rejects submissions from applicants with expired 

registrations. (The UEI replaced the Dun and Bradstreet Number [DUNS Number].) 

It is important that you start the SAM registration process at least 6 weeks before the 

NOFO application deadline. It can take 7 to 10 business days for a new SAM entity 

registration to become active and for your organization to be assigned a UEI. You will 

receive an email from SAM.gov when your registration is active. A UEI is required for 

both recipients and sub-recipients, as needed. 

If you have previously registered with SAM, it is important to log into your account and 

ensure that your registration is active. Your account expiration date can be found on the 

registration page for your organization.

After you register with SAM and receive your UEI, you must update the information 

every 12 months for your account to remain active. You must maintain an active SAM 

registration (for both recipients and sub-recipients) with up-to-date information during 

the period your organization has an active federal award or an application under 

consideration by an agency. This does not apply if you are an individual or federal 

agency that is exempted from those requirements under 2 CFR § 25.110. 

SAMHSA recommends that you renew your SAM.gov account at least 2 months before 

the expiration date. It will take 48 to 78 hours to complete the renewal if your SAM 

account is active. If your SAM.gov account is inactive, it can take 7 to 14 days to renew 

the account.

1.2 Grants.gov Registration Process
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Grants.gov is an online portal for submitting federal award applications. It requires a 

one-time registration to submit applications. eRA Commons registration is separate but 

can be done at the same time. Go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html to 

register.

If you have already completed the Grants.gov registration and confirmed your

Grants.gov and SAM accounts are up to date and/or renewed, go to the eRA 

Commons registration section below.

The person submitting your application must be registered with Grants.gov as 

the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) for the UEI number entered in 

box 8c on the first page of the SF-424. See the Grants.gov Online User Guide. 

1.3 eRA Commons Registration Process

eRA Commons is an online data platform that allows applicants, award recipients, and 

federal staff to securely share, manage, and process award-related information. Your 

organization must have a valid UEI number to complete the eRA Commons registration.

You must register your organization in eRA Commons and receive an eRA 

Commons Username to have access to electronic submission, receive 

notifications on the status of your application, and obtain award information.

If your organization is not registered and does not have an active eRA Commons 

Principal Investigator/Project Director (PI/PD) account by the deadline, the application 

will not be accepted. No exceptions will be made.

Registering your organization in eRA (first-time applicants): 

• Your organization must identify a Signing Official (SO) to complete the 

registration. This individual must have the AOR role in Grants.gov and be listed 

in the Authorized Representative section on page 3 of the SF-424.

• The SO must complete and submit the online Register Institution form. 

Instructions on how to complete the form are on the Register in eRA Commons

page. This is a one-time registration.

• After completing the registration institution form, the SO will receive an email 

regarding registration approval. The email will include the eRA Commons User 

ID for the SO account role. Once approved, the organization will have an active 

eRA Commons account. The SO should check their junk mail folder if they have 

not received the registration approval email.

• Once the SO account is active, they can create additional accounts for the 

organization. Organizations can have multiple user accounts with the SO role. 
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The SO role allows the user to create additional accounts for the organization, 

including creating the required account for the PI/PD.

• SAMHSA designates the person in the PI/PD role as the Project Director (PD).

The PD must have an account with the “PI” role in eRA Commons. 

o The PD’s information must be entered in section 8f (Name and contact 

information of person to be contacted on matters involving this application)

on page 1 of the SF-424.

o The PD’s eRA Commons Username must be entered in Line 4 (Applicant 

Identifier) of the SF-424. The individual designated as the SO cannot 

be the PD.

2. COMPLETE THE APPLICATION

Sign up for Grants.gov updates to receive notifications for this NOFO.

2.1 Obtaining Paper Copies of Application Materials

You may request a paper copy of the application materials if your organization has 

difficulty accessing high-speed internet and cannot download the required documents. 

Contact the Division of Grant Review at dgr.applications@samhsa.hhs.gov to receive 

paper copies.

2.2 Complete the Required Application Components

After downloading and retrieving the required application components and completing 

the registration processes, it is time to write and complete your application.

The application includes standard components and supporting documents.

Standard Application Components

The required standard application components include the Project Narrative and the 

budget. The following table includes a description of each document and where it can 

be found.

IMPORTANT: All files uploaded with the Grants.gov application MUST be in Adobe 

PDF. See Formatting and Systems Validation Requirements in this document. 
6 

# Standard Application 

Components Description Where to Find Document

1 SF-424 (Application for 

Federal Assistance) 

Form

Applicants must complete all sections of this form.

The names and contact information for the Project 

Director (PD) and Signing Official (SO) must be 

entered on the form. 

• The PD must have an eRA Commons 

account with the PI role. The PD’s eRA

Commons Username must be entered in 

Line 4 (Applicant Identifier).

• The PD’s name, phone number, and email 

address must be entered in Section 8f. 

APPLICANT INFORMATION: item f. Name 

and contact information of person to be 

contacted on matters involving this 

application. The PD listed in the SF-424

must match the PD in the Personnel Costs 

section in the budget. 

• The SO name, title, email, and phone 

number must be entered in the Authorized 

Representative section fields on page three 

of the SF-424.

• The organization mailing address is required 

in section 8. APPLICANT INFORMATION

item d. Address.

IMPORTANT: All Notices of Award (NoAs) will be 

emailed via eRA Commons to the PD and the SO 

identified on the SF-424.

Grants.gov/forms

2 SF-424 A (Budget 

Information – NonConstruction Programs) 

Form 

This form must be completed. Fill out Sections A, B, 

D, and E. Section C should only be completed if 

there is a match requirement. Grants.gov/forms

3 Project/Performance 

Site Location(s) Form

This form collects information on the physical 

location of the site(s) where the project will be

implemented. The address cannot be a P.O. Box. 

The entire form must be completed.

Grants.gov/forms

4 Project Abstract 

Summary 

The abstract should be no more than one page. In 

the first five lines or less, write a summary of your 

project that can be used in publications, reports to 

Congress, or press releases if your project is funded. 

The abstract should include the project name, 

population(s) to be served (demographics and 

clinical characteristics), strategies/interventions, and 

project goals and measurable objectives, including 

the number of people to be served annually and for 

the entire project.
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# Standard Application 

Components Description Where to Find Document

5 Project Narrative 

Attachment 

The Project Narrative is your response to the 

Evaluation Criteria (Section V.1 of the NOFO). You 

must provide a comprehensive response for each of 

the evaluation criteria. In addition, you must not 

exceed the number of allowable pages as described 

in the NOFO. The Project Narrative file (Adobe PDF 

only) must be attached inside the Project Narrative 

Attachment Form.

6 Budget Justification and 

Narrative Attachment 

You must include a detailed Budget Narrative, in 

addition to Budget Form SF-424A. When developing

a budget for your program, follow the guidelines in 

the Budget and Justification section of this 

document. These guidelines include details about 

budget categories to be included and how the 

amounts should be separated for different functions 

or activities within the program. 

You must also follow any existing federal award or 

agency guidelines that describe how budgeted 

amounts should be separately shown for different 

functions or activities within the program.

IMPORTANT: It is highly recommended that you 

use the budget template. (See Section IV.2 of the 

NOFO.) The budget justification and narrative must 

be submitted as file name “BNF.”

SAMHSA 

Website

7 SF-424 B (Assurances 

for Non-Construction) 

Form 

You must read the list of assurances provided on the 

SAMHSA website and check the box marked “I 

Agree” before signing the first page (SF-424) of the 

application.

SAMHSA 

Website

8 Disclosure of Lobbying 

Activities (SF-LLL) Form

Federal law prohibits the use of appropriated funds 

for publicity or propaganda purposes or for the 

preparation, distribution, or use of the information 

designed to support or defeat legislation pending 

before Congress or State legislatures. 

You must submit a signed copy of the SF-LLL 

form for SAMHSA to determine if your 

organization participates in lobbying activities. If 

your organization does not participate in lobbying 

activities, indicate “Not Applicable” on the form. 

Grants.gov/forms

9 Other Attachments Form Refer to the Supporting Documents below. Use the 

Other Attachments Form to attach all required 

supporting documents listed in the table below.
8 

Supporting Documents

In addition to the Standard Application Components listed above, the following 

supporting documents are necessary for the review of your application. Supporting 

documents must be attached to your application.

For each of the following application components, attach each document (Adobe 

PDF format only) using the Other Attachments Form in ASSIST, Workspace, or 

other System to System (S2S) provider. 

# Supporting 

Documents Description

Where to 

Find 

Document

1 HHS 690 Form Every applicant must have a completed HHS 690 form 

(PDF | 291 KB) on file with the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS). 

Your signature on this form acknowledges that you 

agree to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the 

Age Discrimination Act of 1975.

SAMHSA 

Website

2 Charitable Choice Form 

SMA 170 (Attachment 

9)

(Note: This form is only required for awards that 

fund substance abuse treatment and prevention 

services.) See Section IV-2 of the NOFO to determine 

if you are required to submit Charitable Choice Form 

SMA 170.

SAMHSA 

Website

3 Biographical Sketches 

and Position

Descriptions

(Attachment 5)

See Biographical Sketches and Position 

Descriptions section of this document for instructions 

for completing this attachment. 

These forms allow SAMHSA to evaluate the 

qualifications of staff for the project and understand the 

duties they will be performing. Formatting requirements 

in Section B do not apply for these documents.

Biographical 

Sketches and 

Position 

Descriptions

4 Confidentiality and 

SAMHSA Participant 

Protection/Human 

Subjects (Attachment 

7)

See the Confidentiality and SAMHSA Participant 

Protection/Human Subject Guidelines section of this 

document for requirements related to confidentiality, 

participant protection, and the protection of human 

subjects regulations. 

In Attachment 7, applicants must describe the

safeguards they have in place to protect individuals 

from risks associated with their participation in the

project.

Confidentiality 

and SAMHSA 

Participant 

Protection/Hu

man Subject 

Guidelines
9 

# Supporting 

Documents Description

Where to 

Find 

Document

5 Additional Documents 

in the NOFO

The NOFO will indicate the additional attachments you

need to include in your application. Review Section IV 

and note all attachments that must be submitted with 

your application.

Section IV of 

the NOFO

6 Current Negotiated 

Indirect Cost Rate 

Agreement (NICRA) or 

Cost Allocation Plan

If your organization has a negotiated cost rate 

agreement or cost allocation plan, you must submit it

with your application. 

SAMHSA will review your organization’s NICRA to 

ensure that the negotiated rate is correctly reflected in 

your budget.

Standards for 

Financial 

Management 

and Standard 

Funding 

Restrictions

7 Other Support Page Key personnel or other grant-supported staff must not 

exceed 100% level of effort across all federal and nonfederal funding sources. 

Provide a list of active SAMHSA awards, to include the 

grant number, the designated key personnel, and level 

of effort for each.

2.3 Additional Documents for Submission (SAMHSA Website)

You can find additional materials you will need to complete your application on the 

SAMHSA website. 

3. SUBMIT APPLICATION 

3.1 Electronic Submission (eRA ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace)

After completing all required registration and application requirements, you must 

electronically submit the application using eRA ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace. 

Information on each of these options follows: 

eRA ASSIST – The Application Submission System and Interface for Submission 

Tracking (ASSIST) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored online interface 

used to prepare applications using the SF-424 form set, submitted electronically through 

Grants.gov to SAMHSA and other participating agencies, and tracks applications. 

SAMHSA strongly recommends that you use ASSIST to ensure your application is 

submitted error-free in Grants.gov. (Note: ASSIST requires an eRA Commons ID to 

access the system.)
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When using eRA ASSIST (the eRA Commons application package) to complete and 

submit your application, you should use the “ASSIST Validate Application” action to 

check your draft application for any errors or warnings. 

You must correct any errors prior to submitting your application or the 

application cannot be successfully submitted. SAMHSA recommends that you fix 

warnings prior to submitting your application. Once no errors/warnings are found, you 

can submit your application. 

Grants.gov Workspace – You can use the shared, online environment of the 

Grants.gov Workspace to collaboratively work on different forms within the application.

The specific actions you need to take to submit your application will vary by submission 

method, as listed above. The steps to submit your application are described on the web

pages below: 

To submit to Grants.gov using ASSIST, see: eRA Modules, User Guides, and 

Documentation | Electronic Research Administration (eRA)

To submit to Grants.gov using the Grants.gov Workspace, see: 

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/workspace-overview/. 

Regardless of the option you use, your application will be subject to the same 

registration requirements, completed with the same data items, routed through 

Grants.gov, validated against the same agency business rules, assembled in a 

consistent format for review consideration, and tracked in eRA Commons.

All applications that are successfully submitted must be validated by Grants.gov 

before proceeding to the eRA Commons system and validations.

3.2 Waiver from Electronic Submission

SAMHSA does not accept paper applications except under very special 

circumstances. You may request a waiver of electronic submission if you do not have 

the technology to apply online or your physical location has no internet connection. If 

you need special consideration, a waiver of this requirement must be approved in 

advance.

You must submit your written request to the Division of Grant Review at least 15 

calendar days before the application due date.

Contact SAMHSA’s Division of Grant Review at dgr.applications@samhsa.hhs.gov with 

any questions about the Electronic Submission waiver process.

3.3 Deadline
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Electronic applications must be error-free and available to SAMHSA for processing from 

the eRA Commons system on or before the application due date and time. Applications 

must be submitted to and validated successfully by Grants.gov and eRA Commons no 

later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the application due date.

Applications submitted in Grants.gov after the due date will not be reviewed.

SAMHSA recommends that you allow enough time before the deadline to submit 

your application and to correct errors identified in the validation process. 

You are encouraged to check the status of your application submission to make 

sure the application is complete and error-free.

3.4 Resources for Assistance

If you have problems submitting your application in Grants.gov, you must try to resolve 

them by contacting the Grants.gov Service Desk: 

• By email: support@grants.gov 

• By phone: (toll-free) 1-800-518-4726 (1-800-518-GRANTS). The Grants.gov 

Contact Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, excluding federal 

holidays.

Make sure you receive a case/ticket/reference number that documents the 

issues/problems with Grants.gov.

Additional support is also available from the eRA Commons Service Desk: 

• To submit a service request ticket: http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html 

• By phone: 301-402-7469 or (toll-free) 1-866-504-9552. (Press menu option 6 for 

SAMHSA.) The eRA Commons Service desk is available Monday to Friday, 7 

a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

If you experience problems accessing or using ASSIST, you can:

• Access the ASSIST Online Help Site at: https://era.nih.gov/erahelp/assist/

• Or contact the eRA Commons Service Desk: 301-402-7469 or (toll-free) 1-866-

504-9552. (Press menu option 6 for SAMHSA.) 

SAMHSA strongly recommends that you submit your application 24–72 hours before 

the submission deadline. Many submission issues can be fixed within this time frame

and you can resubmit your application, if necessary. 

4. AFTER SUBMISSION

4.1 System Validations and Tracking
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After Submitting Your Application through Grants.gov Workspace

After you submit your application using Grants.gov Workspace, the application will 

require two validation processes, Grant.gov and eRA Commons.

First: Grants.gov Validation:

You will receive emails from Grants.gov letting you know the status of your application.

• The first email will confirm receipt of the application in Grants.gov and include 

your application tracking number.

• The second email will indicate that the application was either successfully 

validated by the Grants.gov system and sent to the agency OR the application 

was rejected due to errors. 

• If Grants.gov errors are found and the system rejects your application with a 

“Rejected with Errors” status, you must address all errors and resubmit. Once 

you have successfully submitted the application through Grants.gov, you will 

receive an email stating the application has been sent to the agency.

• Once Grants.gov has successfully validated your application, it will go through 

the eRA Commons validation process.

• Do not assume that if your application passes the Grants.gov validations that it 

will successfully pass eRA Commons validations and will be received by 

SAMHSA.

You can also check the status of your application by logging into your Grants.gov 

Workspace account.

Note: It is important that you keep the Grants.gov tracking number. Receipt of the 

Grants.gov tracking number is the only indication that Grants.gov has 

successfully received and validated your application. 

If you do not receive a Grants.gov tracking number, contact the Grants.gov help desk

for assistance. 

Second: eRA Commons Validation:

Once your application successfully completes the Grants.gov validation process, eRA 

Commons will check the application for its own validations.

• You will receive a System Error and/or Warning notification via email if errors 

and/or warnings are found during the eRA Commons validation process.

There is a difference between System Errors and System Warnings.

o Warnings – If you receive a Warning notification, you are not required to 

resubmit the application. The reason for the Warning will be described and 
13

you can decide whether to correct the Warning and resubmit the 

application.

o Errors – If you receive an Error notification, it indicates the application 

was not successfully submitted. You must correct the error and 

resubmit the application through Grants.gov before the application due 

date and time. (See Section 4.3, Resubmitting a Changed/Corrected 

Application). 

• If you have not appropriately corrected errors, you will receive another 

System Error and/or Warning notification email.

• It is critical that you allow for sufficient time to resubmit the application if errors 

are found.

• Once the application has been corrected and resubmitted, check your application 

status in eRA Commons to ensure it has been successfully submitted. 

After Submitting your Application through ASSIST

After you submit your application using ASSIST, the application will automatically be 

sent to Grants.gov and forwarded to eRA Commons for SAMHSA review. Once the 

application has been submitted and forwarded, there will be a link in ASSIST called 

“View Submission Status Details” to track the progress of your application. The link will 

show a 7-digit Agency Tracking #, which is hyperlinked to the eRA Commons detailed 

status screen. 

After clicking the hyperlink, you can verify that your application successfully processed 

through grants.gov, eRA Commons, and was submitted to SAMHSA.

4.2 System or Technical Issues

If you receive a system error that prevents you from completing the application 

submission process on time, the SO will receive an email from eRA Commons. 

SAMHSA strongly recommends that you contact the eRA Service Desk and submit a 

web ticket to document your good faith attempt to submit your application and 

determine next steps. See Section 3.4 of this document for more information on 

contacting the eRA Commons Service Desk.

4.3 Resubmitting a Changed/Corrected Application

If SAMHSA does not receive your application by the application due date as a result of 

a failure in the SAM, Grants.gov, or eRA Commons systems, you must contact 

SAMHSA’s Division of Grant Review within 1 business day after the official due date 

at: dgr.applications@samhsa.hhs.gov and provide the following:

• A case number or email from SAM, Grants.gov, and/or the eRA Commons that 

allows SAMHSA to obtain documentation about the cause of the error.
14

SAMHSA will consider the documentation to determine if you followed Grants.gov and 

eRA Commons requirements and instructions, met the deadlines for processing 

paperwork within the recommended time limits, met NOFO requirements for submission 

of electronic applications, and made no errors that caused submission through 

Grants.gov or eRA Commons to fail.

No exceptions for submission are allowed when user error is involved. Note that 

system errors are extremely rare.

Note: When resubmitting an application after making revisions, ensure the Project Title 

is identical to the Project Title in the originally submitted application. In addition, 

check the Changed/Corrected Application box in #1.
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Section B: Formatting Requirements and System Validation

1. SAMHSA FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

SAMHSA’s goal is to review all applications submitted for funding. However, this 

goal is balanced against its obligation to ensure equitable treatment of 

applications. For this reason, there are formatting requirements for all

applications, which are described below. 

• Text must be legible. Pages must be typed in black, single-spaced, using 

Times New Roman 12-point font, with all margins (left, right, top, bottom) at 

least one inch each. You may use Times New Roman 10-point only for charts 

or tables.

• You must submit your application and all attached documents in Adobe 

PDF or your application will not be forwarded to eRA Commons and will 

not be reviewed. See Section 3 below for more details on PDF 

requirements.

• See Section V.1 of the NOFO, Application Review Information, for the Project 

Narrative page limit. The application will not be reviewed if it is over the page

limit.

• Citations can be put in an Attachment. They do not have to be placed in the 

Project Narrative.

• Use only black print throughout your application, including charts and graphs 

(no color).

• If you submit more than one application under the same announcement 

number, the Project Title in Field 15 of the SF-424 must be different for each 

application.

2. GRANTS.GOV FORMATTING AND VALIDATION REQUIREMENTS

• Grants.gov allows the following list of UTF-8 characters when naming your 

attachments: A–Z, a–z, 0–9, underscore, hyphen, space, and period. eRA 

Commons will not accept other UTF-8 characters. See item #9 in the table 

below.

• Scanned images must be provided at 150–200 dpi/ppi resolution and saved 

as a PDF. Using a higher resolution setting or different file type will result in a 

larger file size, which could result in rejection of your application.
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• Any files uploaded or attached to the Grants.gov application must be PDFs 

and must contain a valid file format extension in the filename. Compressed 

file formats, such as ZIP, RAR, or Adobe Portfolio, will not be accepted.

3. eRA COMMONS FORMATTING AND VALIDATION REQUIREMENTS

The following formatting requirements and system validations are required by eRA 

Commons and will result in errors if not met. The application must be “error free” to be 

processed through eRA Commons.

ASSIST File Formatting Requirements

The eRA Commons system contains the following file formatting requirements for 

uploading documents in ASSIST: 

Files for Upload to ASSIST must be: 

 PDFs 

 Less than 6MB in file size

 8.5” x 11” page size

 Flat (no fillable/editable fields)

Files must NOT contain: 

 Password protection

 Live hyperlinks (only plain text URLs)

 Bookmarks or signature boxes

 A filename exceeding 50 characters (including spaces)

Flatten Fillable Forms Prior to Upload in ASSIST

A completed fillable form (an electronic document that can be filled out and edited 

digitally) should not only be saved as a PDF. It must also be flattened to remove the 

interactive fields so that the final answers are saved. Flattening a form is different from

“locking” it; locking a form restricts access to editing, printing, and copying the 

document.

• Follow the steps below to flatten a file: 

1. Ensure that the form is completed and the information is correct. Go to the print 

settings by selecting File > Print. 
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2. On the pull-down menu of printer options, choose Adobe PDF or Microsoft Print 

to PDF, then click OK.

3. After clicking OK, a pop-up will open with options to save the PDF. Give the PDF 

a unique file name that differentiates the completed form from the original fillable 

form. File names cannot exceed 50 characters.

4. Open the document to confirm that the conversion worked.

If you do not follow these requirements, you will receive an email from eranotify@mail.nih.gov to address the errors so that your application can be submitted 

successfully. It is highly recommended that you submit your application 24–72 hours 

before the submission deadline to allow for enough time to correct errors and resubmit 

the application.

If you experience any system validation or technical issues after hours on the 

application due date, contact the eRA Commons Service Desk and submit a Web ticket 

to document your good faith attempt to submit your application.

eRA Commons Validation Table

The following table shows formatting requirements and system validations required by 

eRA Commons. Errors will result if these are not met. 

eRA Validations eRA Error Messages

#1. Applicant Identifier (Item 4 on the SF-424): 

The PD/PI Credentials (Commons account 

ID/Username) must be provided

The Commons Username must be provided in the

Applicant Identifier field for the PD/PI. 

Username (Commons account ID) provided 

must match a valid Commons account

The Commons Username provided in the Applicant 

Identifier is not a recognized Commons account.

Username must be affiliated with the 

organization submitting the application and/or 

have the PI role

The Commons account provided in the Applicant 

Identifier field for the PD/PI is either not affiliated 

with the applicant organization or does not hold the 

PI role. Check with your Commons Account 

Administrator to make sure your account affiliation 

and roles are set up correctly.

#2. The UEI number provided must include 

valid characters (12 numbers) 

The UEI number provided has invalid characters 

(other than 12 numbers)

#3. The documentation (forms) required for the 

NOFO must be submitted

The format of the application does not match the 

format of the NOFO. Contact the eRA Service

Desk for assistance.

#4. If a change or correction is made to address 

an error, “Changed/Corrected” must be 

selected. Item #1 on the SF-424). Refer to 

Section 4.4 for more information on 

resubmission.

This application has been identified as a duplicate 

of a previous submission. The “Type of 

Submission” should be set to Changed/Corrected if 

you are addressing errors/warnings.
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eRA Validations eRA Error Messages

#5. The application cannot exceed 1.2 GB. The application did not follow the agency-specific 

size limit of 1.2 GB. Resize the application to be 

1.2 GB or less before submitting.

#6. The correct NOFO number must be 

provided. 

The Funding Opportunity Announcement number 

does not exist. 

#7. All documents and attachments must be 

submitted as PDFs. 

The <attachment> attachment is not in PDF format. 

All attachments must be provided to the agency as

PDFs with a .pdf extension. See information on 

PDF attachments. 

#8. All attachments must comply with the 

following formatting requirements:

PDF attachments cannot be empty (0 bytes). The <attachment> attachment was empty. PDF 

attachments cannot be empty, password 

protected, or encrypted.

All PDF attachments cannot have metadata

missing, be encrypted, password protected, or 

secured documents.

The <attachment> attachment contained formatting 

or features not currently supported by NIH: 

<condition returned>.

The size of PDF attachments cannot be larger 

than 8.5” x 11” (horizontally or vertically). (Note: 

It is recommended that you limit the size of 

attachments to 35 MB.) 

Filename <file> cannot be larger than U.S. 

standard letter paper size of 8.5” x 11.” See PDF 

guidelines. 

PDF attachments must have a valid file name. 

Valid file names must include the following 

UTF-8 characters: A–Z, a–z, 0–9, underscore 

(_), hyphen (-), space, period.

The <attachment> attachment filename is invalid. 

Valid filenames may only include the following 

characters: A–Z, a–z, 0–9, underscore ( _), 

hyphen (-), space, or period. No special characters 

(including brackets) can be part of the filename.

#9. The email addresses for the Contact Person 

(SF-424 Section F) and the Authorized 

Representative (SF-424 below Section 21) must 

contain a ‘@’, with at least 1 and at most 64 

characters preceding and following the ‘@’. 

Control characters (ASCII 0 through 31 and 

127), spaces and special characters < > ( ) [ ] \ , 

; : are not valid.

The submitted email address for the person to be 

contacted <email address>, is invalid. Must contain 

a ‘@’, with at least 1 and at most 64 characters

preceding and following the ‘@’. Control characters 

(ASCII 0 through 31 and 127), spaces, and special 

characters < > ( ) [ ] \ , ; : are not valid.

#10. Congressional district code of applicant 

(after truncating) must be valid. (SF-424, items 

16 a and 16 b.)

Congressional district <Congressional District> is 

invalid. To locate your district, see

http://www.house.gov/. 
19

Budget Errors

eRA Validations eRA Error Messages

SF424-A: Section A – Budget Summary

The total fields at the end of rows or at the 

bottom of columns must equal the sum of the 

elements for that row or column. 

Ensure the sum of Grant Program Function or 

Activity (a) elements entered equals the total 

amounts in the Total field. 

SF424-A: Section B – Budget Categories

The Total in Section B (Column 5 - Row k) must 

equal the Total in Section A – Budget 

Summary: (Row 5, Column g).

Ensure the TOTALS l (Column 5, Row k, column 5) 

equals the Budget Summary Totals in section A, 

Row 5, Column g.

SF424-A: Section D – Forecasted Cash Needs

The Federal Total for the 1st Year (Line 13) 

must equal the Total in Section A (Row 5, 

Column g). 

Ensure the Federal Total for the 1st year, in 

Section D-Forecasted Needs equals Section A, 

New or Revised Budget Federal Totals (Column e, 

Row 5) amount.

The Non-Federal Total for the 1st Year sum 

must equal Estimated Unobligated Funds NonFederal Totals in Section A (d-5) + New or 

Revised Budget Non-Federal Totals (f-5). 

Ensure the Non-Federal Total for the 1st year 

equals the sum of Estimated Unobligated Funds 

Non-Federal Totals (Column d, Row 5) and New or 

Revised Budget Non-Federal Totals (Column f, 

Row 5) in Section A.

The Total for 1st Year TOTAL in Section D must 

equal the Total (Row 5, Column G) in Section 

A. 

Ensure the Forecasted Cash Needs: Row 15 

TOTAL equals SECTION A – Budget Summary

Totals: Line 5,Column (g).

SF424-A: Section E – Budget Estimates of 

Federal Funds Needed for Balance of The 

Project

The number of budget years/periods must 

match the span of the project. The number of 

years in the project period in Block 17 on the 

SF-424 must align with the future funding 

periods.

Ensure the project period years on the SF 424 

block 17 match the budget periods in the SF424A. Enter data for the first budget period in 

Section D and enter future budget periods in 

Section E. 
20

Section C: Confidentiality and SAMHSA Participant 

Protection/Human Subjects Guidelines

CONFIDENTIALITY AND PARTICIPANT PROTECTION: 

It is important to have safeguards protecting individuals from risks associated with their 

participation in SAMHSA projects. As part of Attachment 7, all applicants (including 

those who plan to obtain Institutional Review Board [IRB] approval) must address 

all the elements below. If some elements do not apply to your project, explain why 

they do not apply. 

In addition to addressing these elements, you will need to determine if the section titled 

“Protection of Human Subjects Regulations” applies to your project. If it does, you must 

submit the required documentation described below. There is no page limit for your 

response to this section. 

1. Protect Participants and Staff from Potential Risks

• Identify and describe the foreseeable physical, medical, psychological, social, 

and legal risks or potential adverse effects participants may be exposed to 

because of the project.

• Identify and describe the foreseeable physical, medical, psychological, social, 

and legal risks or potential adverse effects staff may be exposed to as a result of 

the project.

• Describe the procedures you will follow to minimize or protect participants and 

staff against potential risks, including risks to confidentiality.

• Identify your plan to provide guidance and assistance if there are adverse effects 

to participants and/or staff.

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Indicating that there are no risks to participants. If services are being 

delivered as part of the project, it is very unlikely that there will be no 

foreseeable physical, medical, psychological, social, or legal risks or 

potential adverse effects as a result of their involvement in the project.

• Addressing potential risks to participants but not addressing risks to staff. 

• Neglecting to describe how the organization will provide guidance and 

assistance in the event there are adverse effects to participants and 

whether alternative treatments will be available to participants.
21

2. Fair Selection of Participants

• Explain how you will recruit and select participants, ensuring all populations have 

equitable opportunities to participate in the program.

• Identify any individuals in the geographic catchment area where services will be 

delivered who will be excluded from participating in the project and explain the 

reasons for this exclusion.

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Not explaining reasons for including or excluding participants.

• Not identifying how participants will be selected. 

3. Absence of Coercion

• If you plan to compensate participants, describe how participants will be 

compensated for incentives (e.g., gift cards, bus passes, gifts). If you plan to 

implement a contingency management program, specify the evidence-based 

model you will use and briefly justify its use with your population(s) of focus. If 

you have included funding for incentives in your budget, you must address this 

item. (For specific information about incentives, see

https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grants-management/policiesregulations/additional-directives.) 

• Provide a justification that the use of incentives is appropriate, judicious, and 

conservative and the incentives do not provide an “undue inducement” that 

removes the voluntary nature of participation.

• Describe how you will inform participants in a culturally competent manner that 

they may receive services even if they choose to not participate in or complete 

the data collection component of the project.

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Indicating you do not plan to compensate participants through incentives 

but including funding for incentives in the budget or describing the use of 

incentives in the Project Narrative.

• Not specifying how participants will be told that they may receive services 

even if they choose not to participate in the data collection component of 

the project.
22

4. Data Collection

• Identify who you will collect data from (e.g., participants, clients, family members, 

teachers, others).

• Describe the data collection procedures and specify the sources for obtaining 

data (e.g., school records, interviews, psychological assessments, 

questionnaires, observation, or other sources). Identify the type of specimens 

(e.g., urine, blood) that will be used, if any. State if the specimens will be used for 

purposes other than evaluation.

• In Attachment 2, “Data Collection Instruments/Interview Protocols,” you must

provide copies of all available data collection instruments and interview protocols 

that you plan to use (unless you are providing the web link to the standardized 

instrument(s)/protocol(s). Include any culturally adapted data collection 

instruments and interview protocols.

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Not clearly identifying all individuals from whom data will be collected.

• Describing the use of drug testing in the Project Narrative but not providing 

the requested information about specimen collection.

• Not including data collection instruments/interview protocols (or links to 

websites for the instruments) in Attachment 2.

• Not including how the data collection will occur (e.g., paper surveys versus 

electronic survey links; in a school setting or at the organization’s clinic).

5. Privacy and Confidentiality

• Explain how you will ensure privacy and confidentiality. Describe:

o Where the data collected will be stored,

o Who will have access to the data collected, and

o How the identity of participants will be kept private, for example, using a 

coding system on data records, limiting access to records, or storing 

identifiers separately from data.

• NOTE: Recipients must maintain the confidentiality of substance use disorder 

client records according to the provisions of Title 42 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR), Part II, Subpart B. 
23

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Not providing detailed information about where data are stored and how 

the identity of participants will be kept confidential.

• Not clearly identifying the individuals who will have access to the data.

• Not specifying that you agree to maintain the confidentiality substance use 

disorder client records according to the provisions of 42 CFR, Part II, 

Subpart B.

6. Adequate Consent Procedures

• Include, as appropriate, sample consent forms* for:

1. Informed consent for participation in the service intervention. 

2. Informed consent for participation in the data collection component of the 

project, including that participants are informed that they may receive services 

even if they choose not to participate in or complete this component of the 

project. 

3. Informed consent for the exchange (releasing or requesting) of confidential 

information.

4. Informed consent for youth participants.

*Consent forms should be written at no higher than 8th-grade reading level.

• The sample consent forms must be included in Attachment 3, “Sample 

Consent Forms.” If needed, provide translated forms.

• Explain how you will obtain consent for youth, the elderly, people with limited 

reading skills, and people who do not use English as their first language. 

Describe how the consent will be documented. For example: Will you read the 

consent forms? Will you ask prospective participants questions to be sure they 

understand the forms? Will you give them copies of what they sign?

NOTE: The consent forms should never imply that the participant waives or 

appears to waive any legal rights. The forms should also not imply that 

individuals cannot end involvement with the project or that your project or its 

agents will be released from liability for negligence. 

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Not providing copies of sample consent forms in Attachment 3.
24

• Not providing details on how consent/assent will be obtained for youth 

participants.

• Not providing details on how consent will be obtained for non-Englishspeaking populations identified in the application. 

 

7. Risk/Benefit Discussion

• Discuss why the risks you have identified in 1. Protect Participants and Staff 

from Potential Risks are reasonable compared to the anticipated benefits to 

project participants.

The following are responses that will be considered unacceptable or incomplete:

• Indicating there are no risks to participants in the first element and noting 

that this element is therefore not applicable.

• Not mentioning any anticipated benefits to participants involved in the 

project.

PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS REGULATIONS

SAMHSA expects that most recipients funded under this announcement will not have to 

comply with the Protection of Human Subjects Regulations (45 CFR 46), which require 

Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. However, in some cases, your project may 

meet the regulation’s criteria for research involving human subjects. 

Although IRB approval is not required at the time of award, you must provide the 

documentation below prior to enrolling participants into your project.

Applicants whose projects must comply with the Human Subjects Regulations must:

• Describe the process for obtaining IRB approval for your project.

• Provide documentation that an Assurance of Compliance is on file with the Office 

for Human Research Protections (OHRP).

• Provide documentation that IRB approval has been obtained for your project prior 

to enrolling participants.

Information about Human Subjects Regulations is available from OHRP at 

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp or (240) 453-6900. SAMHSA-specific questions should be 

directed to the program contact listed in Section VII of the NOFO. 
25

Section D: Developing Goals and Measurable Objectives

This section provides information on developing goals and objectives for use in your 

Project Narrative. It also provides examples of well-written goals and measurable 

objectives. It is critical that you develop realistic goals and measurable objectives for 

SAMHSA to effectively evaluate your project. 

GOALS

Definition − A goal is a broad statement about the long-term expectation of what should 

happen because of your program (the desired result). It serves as the foundation for 

developing your program objectives. Goals should align with the statement of need that 

is described. Goals should only be one sentence each. 

The characteristics of effective goals include:

• Goals address outcomes, not how outcomes will be achieved.

• Goals describe the behavior or condition in the community expected to change.

• Goals describe who will be affected by the project.

• Goals lead clearly to one or more measurable results. 

• Goals are concise.

Examples

Unclear Goal Critique Improved Goal

Increase the substance use and 

HIV/AIDS prevention capacity of the 

local school district. 

This goal could be 

improved by 

specifying an 

expected program 

effect in reducing a 

health problem. 

Increase the capacity of the local 

school district to reduce high-risk 

behaviors of students that may 

contribute to substance use and/or 

HIV/AIDS. 

Decrease the prevalence of marijuana, 

alcohol, and prescription drug use 

among youth in the community by 

increasing the number of schools that 

implement effective policies, 

environmental change, intensive 

training of teachers, and educational 

approaches to address high-risk 

behaviors, peer pressure, and tobacco 

use.

This goal is not 

concise. 

Decrease youth substance use in 

the community by implementing 

evidence-based programs within the 

school district that address 

behaviors that may lead to the 

initiation of use.

OBJECTIVES

Definition – Objectives describe the results to be achieved and how they will be 

achieved. Multiple objectives are generally needed to address a single goal. Well- 
26

written objectives help set program priorities and targets for progress and accountability. 

SAMHSA recommends that you avoid verbs that may have vague meanings to describe 

the intended outcomes, such as “understand” or “know,” because they may be difficult 

to measure. Instead, use verbs that document action, such as: “By the end of 2024, 

75% of program participants will be placed in permanent housing.” To be effective, 

objectives should be clear and leave no room for interpretation.

SMART is a helpful acronym for developing objectives that are specific, measurable, 

achievable, realistic, and time-bound: 

Specific – 

Includes the “who” and “what” of program activities. Use only one action verb to avoid 

issues with measuring success. For example, “Outreach workers will administer the HIV 

risk assessment tool to at least 100 injection drug users in the population of focus” is a 

more specific objective than “Outreach workers will use their skills to reach out to drug 

users on the street.” 

Measurable – 

How much change is expected? It must be possible to count or otherwise quantify an 

activity or its results. It also means that the source of and mechanism for collecting 

measurement data can be identified and that collection of the data is feasible for your 

program. A baseline measurement is required to document change (e.g., to measure 

the percentage of increase or decrease). If you plan to use a specific measurement 

instrument, SAMHSA recommends that you incorporate its use into the objective. 

Example: “By 9/2024, increase by 10% the number of 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students 

who disapprove of marijuana use as measured by the annual school youth survey.” 

Achievable – 

Objectives should be attainable within a given time frame and with available program 

resources. For example, “The new part-time nutritionist will meet with seven teenage 

mothers each week to design a complete dietary plan” is a more achievable objective 

than “Teenage mothers will learn about proper nutrition.”

Realistic – 

Objectives should be within the scope of the project and propose reasonable 

programmatic steps that can be implemented within a specific time frame. For example, 

“Two former gang members will make one school presentation each week for two 

months to raise community awareness about the presence and impact of gang

involvement” is a more realistic objective than “Gang-related violence in the community 

will be eliminated.”

Time-bound – 

Provide a time frame indicating when the objective will be measured or a time by when 

the objective will be met. For example, “Five new peer educators will be recruited by the 

second quarter of the first funding year” is a better objective than “New peer educators 

will be hired.”
27

Examples: 

Non-SMART Objective Critique SMART Objective

Teachers will be trained on 

the selected evidencebased substance use 

prevention curriculum.

The objective is not SMART 

because it is not specific, 

measurable, or time-bound. It 

can be made SMART by 

specifically indicating who is 

responsible for training the 

teachers, how many will be 

trained, who they are, and by 

when the trainings will be 

conducted.

By June 1, 2024, LEA supervisory 

staff will have trained 75% of

health education teachers in the 

local school district on the 

selected, evidence-based 

substance use prevention 

curriculum.

90% of youth will participate 

in classes on assertive 

communication skills.

This objective is not SMART 

because it is not specific or timebound. It can be made SMART 

by indicating who will conduct 

the activity, by when, and who 

will participate in the lessons on 

assertive communication skills.

By the end of the 2024 school 

year, district health educators will 

have conducted classes on 

assertive communication skills for 

90% of youth in the middle school

receiving the substance use and 

HIV prevention curriculum.

Train individuals in the 

community on the 

prevention of prescription 

drug/opioid overdoserelated deaths.

This objective is not SMART as it 

is not specific, measurable, or

time-bound. It can be made 

SMART by specifically indicating 

who is responsible for the 

training, how many people will be 

trained, who they are, and by 

when the training will be 

conducted.

By the end of year two of the 

project, the Health Department

will have trained 75% of EMS staff

in the County Government on the 

selected curriculum addressing the 

prevention of prescription 

drug/opioid overdose-related 

deaths.
28

Section E: Developing the Plan for Data Collection and 

Performance Measurement

This information should be taken into consideration when developing your response to 

the evaluation criteria in the Data Collection and Performance Assessment section of 

the Project Narrative.

Data Collection: 

Describing your plan for data collection, consider addressing the following points:

• Electronic data collection software that will be used.

• Frequency of data collection.

• Organizational processes that will be implemented to ensure the accurate and 

timely collection and input of data.

• Staff responsible for collecting and recording the data.

• Data sources and data collection instruments to be used to collect the data.

• How the data collection methods will take into consideration the language, 

norms, and values of the population(s) of focus.

• Processes and policies to keep data secure.

• If applicable, the data collection procedures to ensure confidentiality is protected 

and informed consent is obtained.

• If applicable, data collection procedures from partners and/or sub-recipients.

It is not necessary to provide information related to data collection and performance 

measurement in a table. The following samples may give you ideas about how to 

display the information.

Table 1 [provides an example of how the required performance measures could be 

displayed]

Performance Measures Data 

Source 

Data Collection 

Frequency 

Responsible 

Staff for Data 

Collection

Method of Data 

Analysis 
29

Table 2 [provides an example of how information could be displayed for the data that 

will be collected to measure the objectives included in B.1 of your project narrative]

Objective Data Source Data Collection 

Frequency

Responsible Staff for 

Data Collection

Method of Data 

Analysis

Objective 1.a

Objective 1.b

Data Management and Performance Monitoring

Points to consider:

• Data protection policies and procedures, including information about storage, 

retention, and access. 

• Frequency of reviewing and monitoring performance data. 

• Staff conducting data analysis, including evaluation.

• Data analysis methods and how you will use data to monitor and evaluate 

activities and processes. 

• Staff responsible for completing reports. 

• How data will be reported to staff, stakeholders, SAMHSA, an Advisory Board, 

and other relevant project partners.

How Data Will Be Used to Enhance the Project/Quality Improvement (QI): 

Points to consider:

• If applicable, the QI model that will be used.

• How the QI process will be used to track progress. 

• Staff responsible for overseeing QI processes.

• Details of how needed changes to project implementation and/or project 

management will be made. 

o What decision-making processes will be used? 

o When will decisions be made concerning project improvement and who 

will make those decisions? 

o What are the thresholds for determining changes need to be made?

o Will the Advisory Board have a role in the QI process?

o How will the changes be communicated to staff and/or partners/subrecipients?
30

Section F: Biographical Sketches and Position Descriptions

Include position descriptions and biographical sketches for all project staff as supporting 

documentation to the application. 

Biographical Sketch

Existing curricula vitae of project staff members may be used if they are updated and 

contain all items of information requested below. You may add any information items 

listed below to complete existing documents. For development of new curricula vitae, 

include items below in the most suitable format:

1. Name of staff member

2. Educational background: school(s), location, dates attended, degrees earned 

(specify year), major field of study

3. Professional experience

4. Recent relevant publications

Position Description

1. Title of position

2. Description of duties and responsibilities

3. Qualifications for position

4. Supervisory relationships

5. Skills and knowledge required

6. Amount of travel and any other special conditions or requirements

7. Salary range

8. Hours per day or week
31

Section G: Addressing Behavioral Health Disparities

SAMHSA expects recipients to submit a Behavioral Health Disparity Impact Statement 

(DIS) within 60 days of receiving an award.

SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health DIS is a data-driven, quality improvement approach for 

grant programs to advance equity. The DIS helps recipients identify underserved 

populations1 at risk of experiencing behavioral health disparities. The aim is to increase 

inclusion of underserved populations in SAMHSA-funded programs to achieve 

behavioral health equity2 for disparity-vulnerable populations and help systems better 

meet the needs of these populations.

SAMHSA provides a DIS Worksheet that award recipients are expected to use to 

respond to the special condition of award.

The main components of the DIS are:

• Identify and describe the scope of the problem (i.e., behavioral health disparity) 

related to the program and the population(s) of focus that experience disparate 

access, use, and outcomes. Identify data sources that will be used to inform the 

DIS (this should align with the information provided in your application).

Complete a table that includes this information at the individual/client, 

organizational, or systemic level related to the data collection requirements: 

National Outcome Measures (NOMS), Infrastructure Development, Prevention 

and Mental Health Promotion (IPP), or both, in relation to access, use, and 

outcomes.

• Identify Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) domain(s) that your organization 

will address to improve the health of your identified population(s) of focus. Visit 

Healthy People 2030 for more information on the five domains of SDOH. Using 

the Behavioral Health Implementation Guide, identify Culturally and Linguistically 

Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards that your organization plans to meet, 

1 Please refer to Executive Order 13985: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidentialactions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communitiesthrough-the-federal-government/

2 Behavioral health equity is the right to access high-quality and affordable health care services and 

supports for all populations, regardless of the individual’s race, age, ethnicity, gender (including gender 

identity), disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geographical location. Advancing 

behavioral health equity involves ensuring that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy 

as possible. In conjunction with quality services, this involves addressing social determinants of health, 

such as employment and housing stability, insurance status, proximity to services, and culturally 

responsive care—all of which have an impact on behavioral health outcomes.
32

expand, or improve through program funding. Review the Behavioral Health 

Implementation Guide for full explanations of the overarching themes and 15 

CLAS Standards with behavioral health–related samples, strategies, and 

examples.

• Develop and implement a disparity reducing quality improvement action plan to 

address the behavioral health disparity(ies) experienced by underserved 

population differences based on the Government Performance and Results Act 

(GPRA) data on access, use, and outcomes of activities. The plan should include 

realistic goals and SMART objectives (see Section D: Developing Goals and 

Measurable Objectives), the activities that will be implemented to address 

disparities, the intended impact, timeline, measurement, and evaluation. Make 

sure you include documentation of the processes, progress, and outcomes 

related to how the identified behavioral health disparity(ies) have improved. 

Recipients are expected to provide, at a minimum, an annual update on the DIS (e.g., 

what worked, what did not work, what modifications were made) as part of the 

programmatic progress reports, per the NOFO. 

Examples of a DIS are available on the SAMHSA website. 

DIS-related Terminology and Resources

Definition of Health Disparities

Healthy People 2030 defines a health disparity as a “particular type of health difference 

that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Health 

disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced 

greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic 

status; gender; age; disability; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; 

sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics 

historically linked to discrimination or exclusion.”

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

SDOH are the conditions in the environment where people are born, live, work, play, 

worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life 

outcomes and risks. SDOH can be grouped into 5 domains and documented in Z codes: 

• Economic Stability

• Education Access and Quality

• Health Care Access and Quality

• Neighborhood and Built Environment

• Social and Community Context
33

For more information about SDOH Z codes and how SDOH are being used to narrow 

the health disparities gaps, see https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-2023-omh-zcode-resource.pdf; https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-omh-january2020-zcodedata-highlightpdf.pdf; and 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6207437/pdf/18-095.pdf. 

Definition of Equity

Equity is the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all

individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have 

been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American 

persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of 

religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; 

persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise 

adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Addressing issues of equity should include an understanding of intersectionality and 

how multiple forms of discrimination impact individuals’ lived experiences. Individuals 

and communities often belong to more than one group that has been historically 

underserved, marginalized, or adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

Individuals at the nexus of multiple identities often experience unique forms of 

discrimination or systemic disadvantages, including in their access to needed services.

Definition of Health Equity 

Health equity is the attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Achieving 

health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal

efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the

elimination of health and health care disparities. 

Behavioral health equity is the right to access quality health care for all populations 

regardless of the individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual 

orientation, or geographical location. This includes access to prevention, treatment, and 

recovery services for mental and substance use disorders.

Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care 

(CLAS Standards)

The ability to address the quality of care provided to underserved populations served 

within SAMHSA’s programs is enhanced by programmatic alignment with the federal 

National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and 

Health Care (CLAS Standards). 

The CLAS Standards are comprised of 15 Standards that provide a blueprint for health 

and health care organizations to implement culturally and linguistically appropriate, 
34

respectful, and responsive services that will advance health equity, improve quality, and 

help eliminate health care disparities.

The CLAS Standards are grouped into a Principal Standard and three themes focused 

on: 

1) Governance and Leadership.

2) Communication and Language Assistance. 

3) Engagement, Continuous Improvement and Accountability.

Widely embraced by states and health care systems, the National CLAS Standards are 

more recently being promoted in behavioral health care and include a Behavioral Health 

CLAS Implementation Guide. You can learn more about the CLAS mandates, 

guidelines, and recommendations at https://thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/clas/standards.

Guidelines for behavioral health implementation of the CLAS Standards can be found at

https://thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/clas. This document addresses the importance of 

improving access to behavioral health care, promoting quality behavioral health 

programs and practice, and ultimately reducing persistent disparities in mental health 

and substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery for underserved, minority 

populations and communities.
35

Section H: Standards for Financial Management and 

Standard Funding Restrictions

HHS codified the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for HHS Awards in 45 CFR Part 75. Subpart D contains federal financial 

management requirements for HHS recipients and Subpart E contains the applicable

cost principles which specify allowable/unallowable expenditures. Unless superseded 

by program statute, follow the financial management requirements and cost principles in

45 CFR Part 75, Subparts D and E. Listed below are several of the major federal 

financial management requirements included in Subpart D, as well as several standard 

funding restrictions that are in addition to the allowable/unallowable requirements of 

Subpart E.

Standards for Financial Management

Recipients’ financial management systems must meet the standards in 45 CFR Part 75 

Subpart D. These standards require recipients’ financial management systems to retain 

an individual award’s specific identity to: (a) permit the accurate disclosure of financial 

results for each federal award; and (b) to permit the tracing of funds to a level of 

expenditures adequate to verify that recipients used federal funds for their intended 

purposes and in accordance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and 

conditions of the federal award(s). As a result, individual federal awards may not be 

commingled with other federal and non-federal awards and expenditures. Commingling 

typically occurs when funds and expenditures from multiple awards are combined into a 

single account. Common commingling mistakes to avoid are further explained below:

• Commingling of Cost Centers. Every business activity constitutes a cost center. 

Examples of cost centers include: a federal award, a state award, a private 

award, matching costs for a specific award, a self-funded project, fundraising 

activities, membership activities, lines of business, unallowable costs, indirect 

costs, etc. Recipients must establish a unique account(s) in the accounting 

system to capture and accumulate expenditures of each cost center, apart from 

other cost centers.

• Commingling of Cost Categories. Recipients must avoid budget fluctuations that 

violate programmatic restrictions. They must also avoid applying indirect cost 

rates to prohibited cost categories, such as equipment, participant support costs, 

and subcontracts/subawards in excess of $25,000. As a result, recipients must 

establish unique object codes in the accounting system to capture and 

accumulate costs by budget category (i.e., salaries, fringe benefits, consultants, 

travel, participant support costs, subcontracts, etc.).

• Commingling of Time Worked and Not Worked. Recipients may not directly 

charge an award for employees’ time not spent working on the award. Therefore, 

Paid Time Off (PTO), such as vacation, holiday, sick, and other paid leave, is not 

recoverable directly from awards, but rather must be allocated to all awards, 
36

projects, and cost centers over an entire cost accounting period through either an 

indirect cost or fringe benefit rate.

• Commingling of Labor Costs – Unsupported Labor Costs. Time and attendance 

sheets alone, showing an employee worked a certain number of hours during a 

given day or time period, are inadequate to support salaries and wages. Rather, 

to support charges for direct and indirect salaries and wages, recipients’ 

timekeeping documentation must identify the work being performed. As an 

example, recipients maintaining hourly timesheets must ensure that timesheets 

encompass all hours worked and not worked on a daily basis. The timesheet 

should identify the: (a) award, project or cost center being worked on; (b) number 

of hours worked on each; (c) description of work performed; and (d) PTO hours. 

The total hours recorded each day should coincide with an individual’s 

employment status in accordance with established policy (i.e., full-time 

employees work 8 hours each day, etc.).

• Commingling of Direct and Indirect Costs – Inconsistent Treatment of Costs.

Recipients must treat costs consistently across all federal and non-federal 

awards, projects, and cost centers. For example, recipients may not directcharge federal awards for costs typically considered indirect in nature, unless 

done consistently. Examples of indirect costs include administrative salaries, 

rent, accounting fees, utilities, etc. Additionally, in most cases, the cost to 

develop an accounting system adequate to justify direct charging of the 

aforementioned items outweighs the benefits. As a result, use of an indirect cost 

rate is the most effective mechanism to recover these costs and not violate 

federal financial requirements of consistency, allocability, and allowability. 

Standard Funding Restrictions

In addition to 45 CFR Part 75, Subpart E’s guidance regarding allowable/unallowable 

expenditures, SAMHSA funds may not be used to:

• Purchase, prescribe, or provide marijuana or treatment using marijuana. See, 

e.g., 45 CFR.75.300(a) (requiring HHS to ensure that Federal funding is 

expended in full accordance with U.S. statutory and public policy requirements); 

21 U.S.C. 812(c)(10) and 841 (prohibiting the possession, manufacture, sale, 

purchase, or distribution of marijuana).

• Purchase, procure, or distribute pipes or cylindrical objects intended to be used 

to smoke or inhale illegal scheduled substances.

• Pay for promotional items including, but not limited to, clothing and 

commemorative items, such as pens, mugs/cups, folders/folios, lanyards, and 

conference bags. (45 CFR 75.421(e)(3)) 

• Pay for the purchase or construction of any building or structure to house any 

part of the program. Minor alterations and renovations (A&R) may be authorized 
37

for up to 25 percent of a given budget period or $150,000 (whichever is less) for 

existing facilities, if necessary and appropriate to the project. Minor A&R may not 

include a structural change (e.g., to the foundation, roof, floor, or exterior or 

loadbearing walls of a facility, or extension of an existing facility) to achieve the 

following: increase the floor area; and/or, change the function and purpose of the 

facility. SAMHSA must approve all minor A&R.

• Provide inpatient treatment or hospital-based detoxification services. Residential 

services are not considered to be inpatient or hospital-based services.

• Pay for housing other than recovery housing, which includes application fees and 

security deposits.

• Make direct payments to individuals to enter treatment or continue to participate 

in prevention or treatment services (See 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b).

 

Note: A recipient or treatment or prevention provider may provide up to $30 noncash incentive (for example, gift cards, bus passes, or gifts) to individuals to 

participate in required data collection follow-up. This amount may be paid for 

participation in each required data collection follow-up interview. Incentives 

cannot be provided for completing an intake or exit interview. For programs 

including contingency management as a component of the treatment program, 

each individual contingency must be $15 or less in value and clients may not 

receive contingencies totaling more than $75 per budget period.

 

• Purchase firearms.

• General Provisions under Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, 

and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act Public Law 117-328, 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Division H, Title V, Section 526,

notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no funds appropriated in this Act 

shall be used to purchase sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection 

of any illegal drug. Provided, that such limitation does not apply to the use of 

funds for elements of a program other than making such purchases if the 

relevant state or local health department, in consultation with the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, determines that the state or local jurisdiction, as 

applicable, is experiencing, or is at risk for, a significant increase in hepatitis 

infections or an HIV outbreak due to injection drug use, and such program is 

operating in accordance with state and local law.

• Salary Limitation: Congress limits the direct salary for individuals under all 

federal grant and cooperative agreement awards not to exceed Executive Level II 

pay. The Executive Level II pay amount is an individual’s base salary exclusive of 

fringe and any income that an individual may be permitted to earn outside of the 

duties to your organization. The salary limitation does not apply to consultants 
38

but does apply to subrecipients under a SAMHSA award or cooperative 

agreement. Note that these or other salary limitations will apply in future fiscal 

years, as required by law. The current salary limitation can be found in the most 

recent SAMHSA Standard Terms and Conditions posted on our website at 

https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grants-management/notice-award-noa/standardterms-conditions. 
39

Section I: Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372) 

Requirements 

States with SPOCs

All SAMHSA programs are covered under Executive Order (EO) 12372, as 

implemented through U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation 

at 45 CFR Part 100. Under this Order, states may design their own processes for 

reviewing and commenting on proposed federal assistance under covered programs. 

Certain jurisdictions have elected to participate in the EO process and have established 

State Point of Contact (SPOC). Information on the SPOC for states that participate can 

be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-

20.pdf.

This requirement does not apply to American Indian/Alaska Native tribes or tribal 

organizations. 

If your state participates, contact your SPOC as early as possible to alert them to the 

prospective application(s) and to receive any necessary instructions on the state’s 

review process. For proposed projects serving more than one state, you are advised to 

contact the SPOC of each affiliated state.

The SPOC should send any state review process recommendations to the following 

address within 60 days of the application deadline:

Director, Division of Grants Management

Office of Financial Resources

ATTN: SPOC – (Include the Funding Announcement Number) 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 17E20

Rockville, MD 20857

States without SPOCs

If your state does not have a SPOC and you are a community-based, non-governmental 

service provider, you must submit a Public Health System Impact Statement (PHSIS)3

to the head(s) of appropriate state and local health agencies in the area(s) to be 

3 Approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control no. 0920-0428; Public Reporting Burden

for the Public Health System Reporting Requirement is estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including the 

time for copying the first page of SF-424 and the abstract and preparing the letter for mailing. An agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this project is 0920-0428. Send comments 

regarding this burden to CDC Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-24, Atlanta, GA 30333, ATTN: PRA 

(0920-0428).
40

affected no later than the application deadline. The PHSIS is intended to keep state and 

local health officials informed of proposed health services applications submitted by 

community-based, non-governmental organizations within their jurisdictions. 

If you are a state or local government or American Indian/Alaska Native tribe or 

tribal organization, you are not subject to these requirements.

The PHSIS consists of the following information:

• A copy of the first page of the application (SF-424); and 

• A summary of the project, no longer than one page in length that provides: (1) 

a description of the population to be served; (2) a summary of the services to 

be provided; and (3) a description of the coordination planned with 

appropriate state or local health agencies.

For SAMHSA awards, the appropriate state agencies are the Single State Agencies 

(SSAs) for substance abuse and mental health. A listing of the SSAs for substance 

abuse and the SSAs for mental health can be found on SAMHSA’s website at 

http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/applying/forms-resources under Additional Resources. If 

the proposed project falls within the jurisdiction of more than one state, you should 

notify all representative SSAs.

Review Section IV.6 of the NOFO carefully to determine if you must include an 

attachment with a copy of a letter transmitting the PHSIS to the SSA. The letter must 

notify the state that, if it wishes to comment on the proposal, its comments should be 

sent no later than 60 days after the application deadline to the following address:

Director of Grants Management

Office of Financial Resources 

ATTN: SSA – (Include the Funding Announcement Number)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 17E20 

Rockville, MD 20857 

In addition, applicants may request that the SSA send them a copy of any state 

comments. The applicant must notify the SSA within 30 days of receipt of an award.
41

Section J: Administrative and National Policy Requirements 

If your application is funded, you must comply with all terms and conditions of the Notice 

of Award (NoA). SAMHSA’s standard terms and conditions are available on the 

SAMHSA website. 

HHS Grants Policy Statement (GPS)

Recipients are subject to the requirements in Parts I and II of the HHS Grants Policy 

Statement (GPS). The HHS GPS is available on SAMHSA’s website. The general terms 

and conditions in the HHS GPS will apply as indicated unless there are statutory, 

regulatory, or award-specific requirements to the contrary (as specified in the NoA).

 HHS Award Regulations

Recipients agree that the award and any activities are subject to all provisions of 45 

CFR Part 75, currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other 

Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable 

statutory provisions. For more information, see SAMHSA’s website. 

 Additional Terms and Conditions

Depending on the nature of the specific funding opportunity and/or your proposed 

project as identified during review, your NoA may include additional terms and 

conditions. These may include:

o concerns related to confidentiality and participant protection/human subjects 

requirements.

o data collection and reporting requirements. 

o participation in a cross-site evaluation. 

o problems identified in the review of the application or the budget and narrative 

justification.

Performance Goals and Objectives

Recipients will be held accountable for the information provided in the application 

relating to performance targets. SAMHSA program officials will consider your progress 

in meeting goals and objectives, as well as your barriers or challenges and strategies 

for overcoming them, when making an annual recommendation to continue the award

and the amount of any continuation award. In addition, you must report financial data 

and progress in meeting the performance goals and objectives of the award. 

Failure to meet stated goals and objectives may result in suspension or termination (see 

2 CFR 200.202, 2 CFR 200.301 and 2 CFR 200.329) of the award, or in reduction or 

withholding of continuation awards.
42

Termination of Federal Award

Note that the OMB revisions to Guidance for Grants and Agreements termination 

provisions located at 2 CFR § 200.340 apply to all federal awards effective August 13, 

2020.

 Accessibility Provisions for All Award Application Packages and Funding 

Opportunity Announcements

Should you successfully compete for an award, recipients of federal financial assistance 

(FFA) from HHS will be required to complete an HHS Assurance of Compliance form 

(HHS 690) in which you agree, as a condition of receiving the grant, to administer your 

programs in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the 

basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, and disability, and agreeing to comply with 

federal conscience laws, where applicable. This includes ensuring that entities take 

meaningful steps to provide meaningful access to persons with limited English 

proficiency; and ensuring effective communication with persons with disabilities. Where 

applicable, Title XI and Section 1557 prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual 

orientation, and gender identity. 

The HHS Office for Civil Rights provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws 

enforced by HHS. See https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/providerobligations/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/forindividuals/nondiscrimination/index.html.

You must administer your project in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit

discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, and comply with

applicable conscience protections. You must also comply with applicable laws that 

prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes discrimination on the basis of 

gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy.

Compliance with these laws requires taking reasonable steps to provide meaningful 

access to persons with limited English proficiency and providing programs that are 

accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. The HHS Office for Civil Rights

provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. See

https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/provider-obligations/index.html and

https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/nondiscrimination/index.html

• For guidance on meeting your legal obligation to take reasonable steps to 

ensure meaningful access to your programs or activities by people with 

limited English-language proficiency, see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/forindividuals/special-topics/limited-english-proficiency/fact-sheetguidance/index.html and https://www.lep.gov. 

• For information on your specific legal obligations for serving qualified people

with disabilities, including providing program access, reasonable 
43

modifications, and to provide effective communication, see 

https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/index.html. 

• HHS-funded health and education programs must be administered in an 

environment free of sexual harassment. See https://www.hhs.gov/civilrights/for-individuals/sex-discrimination/index.html. 

• For guidance on administering your project in compliance with applicable 

federal religious nondiscrimination laws and applicable federal conscience 

protection and associated antidiscrimination laws, see 

https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/conscience-protections/index.html and 

https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/religious-freedom/index.html. 

Acknowledgment of Federal Funding

As required by HHS appropriations acts, all HHS recipients must acknowledge Federal 

funding when issuing statements, press releases, publications, requests for proposal, 

bid solicitations, and other documents, such as tool kits, resource guides, websites, and 

presentations describing the projects or programs funded in whole or in part with HHS 

federal funds.

The recipient must clearly state: (1) the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs 

of the program or project funded with federal money; and (2) the percentage and dollar 

amount of the total costs of the project or program funded by non-governmental 

sources.

 Supplement, Not Supplant

Funds may be used to supplement existing activities. Award funds may not be used to 

supplant current funding of existing activities. “Supplant” is defined as replacing funding 

of a recipient’s existing program with funds from a federal award (2 CFR Part 200, 

Appendix XI).

 Mandatory Disclosures

A term may be added to the NoA that states: “Consistent with 45 CFR 75.113, applicants

and recipients must disclose in a timely manner, in writing to the HHS awarding agency,

all information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or 

gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award. Sub-recipients must disclose,

in a timely manner, in writing to the prime recipient (pass through entity), all information

related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations 

potentially affecting the federal award.” 

Disclosures must be sent in writing to SAMHSA at the following address:

SAMHSA

Attention: Office of Financial Advisory Services
44

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, MD 20857

You may also submit a complaint via the OIG Hotline online form, by phone (1-800-447-

8477),or by mail to the following address:

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services 

Office of the Inspector General

ATTN: OIG Hotline Operations

P.O. Box 23489

Washington, DC 20026

Failure to make required disclosures can result in any of the remedies described in 45 

CFR 75.371 Remedies for noncompliance; including suspension or debarment (See 2 

CFR Parts 180 & 376 and 31 U.S.C 3321. 

 System for Award Management (SAM) Reporting 

A term may be added to the NoA that states: “In accordance with the regulatory 

requirements provided at 45 CFR 75.113, 2 CFR 25, and Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 

75, recipients that have currently active federal awards and procurement contracts with 

cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000, must report and maintain information 

in SAM about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the 

award or performance of a federal award that reached final disposition within the most 

recent five-year period. The recipient also must make semiannual disclosures regarding 

such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the 

designated integrity and performance system (currently Responsibility/Qualification in 

SAM.gov (R/Q)). Full reporting requirements and procedures are found in Appendix XII 

to 45 CFR Part 75.” 

 Drug-Free Workplace

A term may be added to the NoA that states: “You as the recipient must comply with 

drug-free workplace requirements in Subpart B of part 382, which adopts the 

Government-wide implementation (2 CFR part 182) of section 5152-5158 of the DrugFree Workplace Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-690, Title V, Subtitle D; 41 U.S.C. 701-707).”

 Smoke-Free Workplace

The Public Health Service strongly encourages all award recipients to provide a smokefree workplace and to promote the non-use of all tobacco products. Further, 20 USC 

6081 et seq., the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in 

some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day 

care, health care, or early childhood development services are provided to children.

 Trafficking in Persons
45

Awards issued by SAMHSA are subject to the requirements of 2 CFR Part 175 and 22 

U.S.C. 7104(g). For the full text of the award term, go to 

http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grants-management/notice-award-noa/standard-termsconditions. 

NOTE: The signature of the AOR on the application serves as the required certification 

of compliance for your organization regarding the administrative and national policy 

requirements.

Publications

Recipients are required to notify the Government Project Officer (GPO) of any materials 

based on the SAMHSA-funded project that are accepted for publication. In addition, 

SAMHSA requests that recipients:

• Provide the GPO with advance copies of publications.

• Include acknowledgment of the SAMHSA program as the source of funding 

for the project.

• Include a disclaimer stating that the views and opinions contained in the 

publication do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services and should not be construed as 

such.

SAMHSA reserves the right to issue a press release about any publication deemed by 

SAMHSA to contain information of program or policy significance to the substance use 

treatment/substance use prevention/mental health services community.

Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or 

Equipment

As described in 2 CFR 200.216, recipients and subrecipients are prohibited to obligate 

or spend award funds (to include direct and indirect expenditures as well as cost share 

and program) to:

(1) Procure or obtain,

(2) Extend or renew a contract to procure or obtain; or 

(3) Enter into contract (or extend or renew contract) to procure or obtain equipment, 

 services, or systems that use covered telecommunications equipment or services 

 as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as 

 part of any system. As described in Pub. L. 115-232, section 889, covered 

 telecommunications equipment is telecommunications equipment produced by 

 Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate

 of such entities).

i. For the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical 

security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security 

purposes, video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by 

Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology 
46

Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of 

such entities). 

ii. Telecommunications or video surveillance services provided by such entities 

or using such equipment. 

iii. Telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services 

produced or provided by an entity that the Secretary of Defense, in 

consultation with the Director of the National Intelligence or the Director of 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reasonably believes to be an entity 

owned or controlled by, or otherwise, connected to the government of a 

covered foreign country. 
47

Section K: Budget and Justification

All applications must include a detailed budget and narrative justification with the federal 

and the non-federal expenditures broken out by the object class cost categories listed 

on the SF-424A − Section B (Budget Category) for non-construction awards. 

• The budget must match the costs identified on the SF-424A and the total costs 

on the SF-424.

• The budget and justification must be consistent with the Project Narrative.

• The justification must be concrete and specific. It must explain the basis of each 

proposed cost in the budget and how it was calculated. Examples to consider 

when justifying the basis of the estimates can be ongoing activities, market rates, 

quotations received from vendors, or historical records. The proposed costs must 

be reasonable, allowable, allocable, and necessary for the supported activity. 

• Awards are generally for periods of performance (budget periods) of 1 to up to 5 

years. Submission and approval of the progress report(s) and any other required 

submission or reports is the basis for the release of subsequent year funds.

Funding beyond the 1-year budget period but within the multi-year period of 

performance is subject to availability of funds and satisfactory progress of the 

recipient. Progress will be evaluated by submission of data on required 

performance measures, satisfactory achievement of identified goals and 

objectives, providing services to the projected number of individuals specified in 

the application, and satisfactory resolution of barriers and challenges that arise in 

the implementation of the project.

• Refer to the program specific Funding Restrictions/Limitations in the NOFO

(Section IV.5) and Standards for Financial Management and Standard Funding 

Restrictions, as well as to 45 CFR Part 75 for applicable administrative 

requirements and cost principles. 

SAMHSA Budget Template

It is highly recommended you use the budget template to complete the Detailed Budget 

and Narrative Justification for submission with your application:

• The budget template is on the SAMHSA Application Forms and Resources web

page. You must first download it to your computer before opening it in Adobe 

Acrobat or Acrobat Reader (not your internet browser):

1. Right-click the link “SAMHSA Budget Template (PDF)” 

2. Select “save link as” and save to a location on your computer

3. Go to the saved location and open the “SAMHSA Budget Template (PDF)” 

using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
48

Guidance

The following documents provide guidance on the budget template:

• Key Features of the Budget Template

• Budget Template User Guide

• Budget Review Checklist – use this checklist to review your budget and 

justification before submission 

Note: For your budget, you must convert the PDF to a non-editable format 

by PRINTING TO PDF before submission.

Completing the SF-424A (see Section IV)

Budget Cost Categories

Personnel Costs: Explain personnel costs by listing each staff member who will be 

working directly on the award by name (if possible), position title, percentage level of 

effort or proposed hours, and annual salary. If an individual has not been identified for a 

position, under Name, “To Be Hired” can be entered. Award funds may not be used to 

pay the salary of an individual at a rate in excess of Executive Level II or $212,100. An 

individual’s base salary, per se, is NOT constrained by the statutory provision for a 

limitation of salary. The rate limitation simply limits the amount that may be awarded 

and charged to SAMHSA awards and cooperative agreements. The salary limitation 

does not apply to consultants but does apply to all subawards and subcontracts.

Note: If an organization is selected for an award and chooses to move forward with 

hiring an individual for a Key Personnel position before receiving formal approval, this 

will be done at the organization’s own risk. If SAMHSA’s review of the Key Personnel 

request results in the proposed individual not being approved for the position, the 

recipient must submit a qualified candidate for the Key Personnel position. SAMHSA will 

not be liable for any costs incurred or pay for the salary of a Key Personnel position that 

is not approved. 

Fringe Benefits: Fringe benefits typically include such items as health insurance, taxes, 

unemployment insurance, life insurance, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, and 

paid absences. Fringe benefits are recoverable in accordance with an organization’s 

federally approved indirect cost rate agreement, if applicable, or the organization’s 

accounting practices, provided those practices are consistent with federal cost 

principles and result in a fair and equitable allocation of fringe benefits.

Travel: List travel costs for local and/or long-distance travel. For local travel, enter the 

mileage rate, number of miles, reason for travel and staff member/consumers 

completing the travel. The budget should also reflect the travel expenses (e.g., airfare, 
49

lodging, parking, per diem, etc.) for each person and trip associated with participating in 

meetings and other proposed trainings or workshops. Name the traveler(s), if possible, 

describe the purpose of the travel, provide number of trips involved, the destinations, 

and the number of individuals for whom funds are requested.

Equipment: List equipment costs and justify the need for the equipment (e.g., large 

items of medical equipment). Detailed justification and a status of current equipment 

must be provided when requesting funds for the purchase of items that meet the 

definition of equipment (a unit cost of $5,000 or more and a useful life of 1 or more 

years). 

Supplies: Include the programmatic items necessary to implement the project (e.g., 

examination gloves, etc.). In contrast, general office supplies (e.g., paper, pencils, etc.) 

should be recovered through a federally approved indirect cost rate or de minimis rate.

Per 45 CFR § 75.321, property will be classified as supplies if the acquisition cost is 

less than $5,000. Such items as laptops, tablets, and desktop computers are classified 

as a supply if the value is less than the $5,000 equipment threshold.

Vendor Contracts/Subawards & Subcontracts/Consortiums/Consultants: Provide an 

explanation about the purpose, basis for how costs were estimated, and specific 

deliverables. You are responsible for ensuring that your organization has adequate 

procurement and merit review systems with fully developed written procedures for

awarding and monitoring vendor contracts and subawards/subcontracts, respectively. 

Recipients must notify potential subrecipients that they must register in SAM and 

provide the recipient with their UEI number (see 2 CFR Part 25). For consultant 

services, list the total costs for all consultant services. In the narrative justification, 

identify each consultant, the services he/she will perform, total number of days, travel 

costs, and total estimated costs.

Note: To assist you with classifying costs and relationships, note that vendor contracts 

are for obtaining goods and services (e.g., examination gloves provided by a medical 

supply company). In contrast, subawards/subcontracts are for carrying out a portion of a 

federal award (e.g., a health care clinic providing substance use treatment services 

directly to patients). Your organization must ensure proper classification of costs and 

relationships. For subrecipient relationships, your organization must ensure written 

subaward/subcontract agreements are in place. These written agreements must require 

that subrecipients comply with the same terms and conditions as the prime recipient, as 

applicable (e.g., financial management requirements, audit requirements, etc.). In other 

words, the requirements imposed on the prime recipient must “flow down” to 

subrecipients. Written agreements should also describe the scope of work, deliverables, 

etc.

Other: Include all costs that do not fit into any other category and provide a justification 

and narrative description of each cost in this category (e.g., provider licenses, dedicated 

space rental, etc.). 
50

Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are those costs incurred for common or joint objectives 

which cannot be readily and specifically identified with a particular project or program 

but are necessary to the operations of the organization, e.g., the cost of operating and 

maintaining facilities, depreciation, and administrative salaries. For some institutions, 

the term “facilities and administration” (F&A) is used to describe indirect costs. 

Applicants may request full indirect costs, subject to statutory and regulatory limitations.

Applicants may request full indirect costs, subject to statutory and regulatory limitations, 

and submission of an approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) 

established by the cognizant Federal agency (typically the agency that provides the

majority of the project funds). If indirect costs are claimed, a copy of the NICRA must be 

submitted with the application. If unable to obtain a NICRA from the cognizant agency at 

the time of application, the applicant may elect to recover indirect costs using a de 

minimis rate, as explained below. Otherwise, the applicant may only be reimbursed for 

allowable direct costs. 

Violation of cost accounting principles is not permitted when re-budgeting or charging 

costs to awards. Rather, costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct 

costs. 

Applicants may elect a 10 percent de minimis indirect cost rate, subject to statutory and 

regulatory limitations. 

Applicants who cannot obtain a NICRA from their cognizant Federal agency at the time 

of application may elect a 10 percent de minimis rate, subject to statutory and regulatory

limitations.

The 10% de minimis rate may be used indefinitely and should be applied to Modified 

Total Direct Costs (MTDC). MTDC means all direct salaries and wages, applicable 

fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of 

each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the 

award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, 

rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, 

and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.

Violation of cost accounting principles is not permitted when charging costs to awards. 

Rather, costs must be consistently charged as either direct or indirect costs. 

Additionally, once elected, the 10 percent de minimis rate must be applied to all existing 

awards. If the cognizant agency issues a NICRA subsequent to the award, the 

negotiated rate may not be retroactively applied.

Waived Indirect Costs – An applicant may elect not to request recovery of indirect costs. 

If so, the applicant should write None Requested in Item J of the budget.