U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

April 2001 #08

programs. A second Fact Sheet will describe a variety of successful efforts from across the Nation that have received support

through the Drug-Free Communities Support Program.

Who Is Eligible To Receive the Funds

Applications are accepted from community coalitions whose

members have worked together on substance abuse reduction initiatives for more than 6 months. Coalitions use task forces, subcommittees, community boards, and other community resources

to enhance their collaborative efforts. With substantial participation from community leaders, the coalitions implement multisector, multistrategy, long-term plans to reduce substance abuse

among youth.

Program Goals and Objectives

The Drug-Free Communities Support Program has two major

goals:

◆ To reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, adults,

by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk

of substance abuse and enhancing factors that reduce that risk.

◆ To establish and strengthen community collaboration—

including their working with Federal, State, local, and tribal

governments and private, nonprofit agencies—and to support

local coalition efforts to prevent and reduce substance abuse

among youth.

The Drug-Free Communities Support Program also seeks to

achieve four other objectives:

◆ To catalyze citizen and organization participation and collaboration in community efforts to reduce substance abuse among

youth.

◆ To enhance community efforts to promote and deliver effective

substance abuse prevention strategies to multiple sectors of the

community.

The Drug-Free Communities

Support Program

by James M. Simonson

On June 27, 1997, the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997

became law. This Act is a catalyst for increased citizen participation in efforts to reduce substance use among youth, and it provides community antidrug coalitions with much-needed funds to

carry out their important missions. 

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

(ONDCP) directs the Drug-Free Communities Support Program

in partnership with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This antidrug program provides

grants of up to $100,000 to community coalitions that mobilize

their communities to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug,

and inhalant abuse. The grants support coalitions of youth; parents; media; law enforcement; school officials; faith-based

organizations; fraternal organizations; State, local, and tribal

government agencies; healthcare professionals; and other community representatives. The Drug-Free Communities Support

Program enables the coalitions to strengthen their coordination

and prevention efforts, encourage citizen participation in substance abuse reduction efforts, and disseminate information

about effective programs.

Funds To Be Awarded

Through the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, an estimated $143.5 million is authorized to support the work of local,

community-based coalitions over a 5-year period. The Drug-Free

Communities Act authorized the following appropriations to

ONDCP for the Program: $10 million in fiscal year (FY) 1998,

$20 million in FY 1999, $30 million in FY 2000, $40 million in

FY 2001, and $43.5 million in FY 2002. Awards to coalitions are

for 1 year, but grantees may apply for continuation awards,

which are based on performance and availability of funds. Each

grant requires a dollar-for-dollar match from non-Federal

sources. The grantees represent a cross-section of America,

including rural, suburban, urban, and tribal entities. They have

implemented effective prevention strategies such as mentoring,

school-based curriculums, training, and juvenile diversion
PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OJJDP

PERMIT NO. G–91

FS–200108 Fact Sheet

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

◆ To assess the effectiveness of community initiatives that focus

on reducing substance abuse among youth.

◆ To provide information about effective substance abuse reduction initiatives for youth that can be replicated in other

communities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for

Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) helps grantees implement

science-based prevention programs and facilitates information

sharing among the grantees. With Drug Prevention Program

funding support from OJJDP, CSAP provides training and technical assistance in areas such as coalition enhancement, program

evaluation, and prevention strategies to grantees through six

regional Centers for the Application of Prevention Technologies

(Northeast: Newton, MA; Central: Anoka, MN; Western: Reno,

NV; South: Jackson, MS; Border: El Paso, TX; Southwest:

Norman, OK). In addition, an 11-member Advisory Commission

on Drug-Free Communities, appointed by the President, provides

recommendations to the ONDCP Director on effective implementation of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program.

For Further Information

More information about the Program is available in print or on the

Internet from both the OJJDP and ONDCP clearinghouses.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000

800–638–8736

Internet: www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org

Office of National Drug Control Policy

Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000

800–666–3332

Internet: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov

Individual project summaries for each grant award are available

on OJJDP’s Web site (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dfcs/grantee/grantees.

html) and ONDCP’s Web site (www.whitehousedrugpolicy.org).

Information is also available on CSAP’s Web site (www.samhsa.

gov/csap).

James M. Simonson is a Program Manager with the Drug-Free Communities Support Program at OJJDP.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component 

of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,

and the Office for Victims of Crime.

FS–200108