Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Grant | ONDCP DRUGCOURTTTA 2018

Opportunity Information: Apply for ONDCP DRUGCOURTTTA 2018

The Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Grant is a discretionary federal grant offered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) within the Executive Office of the President (Funding Opportunity Number: ONDCP DRUGCOURTTTA 2018; CFDA: 95.005). Its central aim is to fund a national training and technical assistance (TTA) provider that can help jurisdictions strengthen alternatives to incarceration for people with substance use disorders, particularly through drug courts and related problem-solving court models. The opportunity is built around the idea that public safety improves when the justice system uses evidence-based rehabilitation approaches that address addiction and related needs, rather than relying primarily on incarceration.

The program is designed to help states, state courts, local courts, and units of local government that already operate drug courts, as well as those considering starting or expanding them. ONDCP is looking for an applicant with deep, demonstrated expertise in training criminal justice practitioners on evidence-based practices for addiction within justice-involved populations. While the narrative highlights a nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity as a key target applicant type, the eligibility list is broad and includes nonprofits (both with and without 501(c)(3) status), public and private institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions), federally recognized tribal governments, and tribal organizations. Joint applications are allowed, but one organization must be designated as the primary applicant, and partnerships should be clearly supported through documents like MOUs, letters of support, or statements of work. Regardless of structure, applicants are expected to secure participation from expert practitioners across addiction science, healthcare, criminal justice, and drug court operations.

ONDCP frames the grant around several interlocking purposes: improving adherence to best practices in drug courts and justice-system responses to addiction; reducing justice-system costs and recidivism; improving access to treatment and the quality of service delivery; and reducing disproportionality in punishment. In practical terms, the funded organization is expected to deliver in-person training, online training, and jurisdiction-specific technical assistance to a wide variety of communities, including state, local, and tribal settings with diverse demographic characteristics. A notable emphasis is placed on consistency of practice among drug courts, meaning the TTA should help align court operations with established evidence-based standards rather than allowing wide variation in quality and approach.

A major content priority is opioid use disorder response. The training and materials are expected to reflect ONDCP policy priorities such as a comprehensive approach to opioid use disorders, including overdose prevention and naloxone administration training, along with expanding access to medication-assisted treatment (often referred to as MAT, and more recently as MOUD, medications for opioid use disorder). The grant also prioritizes diversion programming that is evidence-based and paired with comprehensive case management, treatment for substance use disorders, recovery supports, and other necessary services. In addition, the program specifically calls for work that supports evidence-based interventions across the full justice continuum, from arrest through reentry, so that people are not only diverted or supervised appropriately but also supported in ways that reduce relapse, reoffending, and overdose risk.

The opportunity lays out concrete goals and objectives for what the TTA provider should produce and deliver. These include creating and distributing no-cost, on-request curricula and tools that educate and train practitioners at statewide, regional, and national levels on evidence-based interventions at all points of justice involvement. The program also calls for no-cost evidence-based training targeted specifically to treatment providers who work with drug courts, recognizing that court success depends heavily on clinical and recovery-service capacity. Another specific objective is providing statewide and regional training to support drug court census expansion, with a particular focus on probation violators, suggesting ONDCP is interested in helping jurisdictions use drug court models for a broader segment of justice-involved individuals where appropriate.

The grant also strongly emphasizes the implementation of the evidence-based drug court standards for adult drug courts. The recipient is expected both to develop tools that teach these standards and to provide hands-on technical assistance to help courts apply them in real-world settings. Alongside this, the recipient must develop educational materials on substance use disorders and opioid strategies tailored to people in the criminal justice system, and must conduct no-cost training events for drug court professionals on medication-assisted treatment and overdose prevention. Finally, evaluation is not optional: the recipient is required to conduct evaluations of the trainings delivered and to collect and analyze data from participating jurisdictions to assess the effectiveness of the training and on-site assistance, particularly as it relates to alternatives to incarceration.

In terms of funding details, the listed award ceiling is $4,000,000, with the original closing date shown as July 13, 2018 (creation date May 11, 2018). Overall, the grant is structured to fund an experienced national or multi-regional TTA provider that can standardize and strengthen drug court practice, expand access to effective treatment (including medications for opioid use disorder), promote overdose prevention capability, and use data to show that these efforts are improving outcomes like service access, adherence to best practices, and reduced recidivism and system costs.

• The Office of National Drug Control Policy in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 95.005.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-05-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-07-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for ONDCP DRUGCOURTTTA 2018

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