NOI_Waiver 26138.docx

Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Addiction Services

Competitive Opportunity for the Selection of a Participating Provider in the Positive Adolescent and Childhood Experiences to Prevent Substance Use (PACES) Initiative Notice of Intent #W26138 Positive Adolescent and Childhood Experiences to Prevent Substance Use (PACES) Initiative

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS) is responding to the opportunity to apply for the 2026 Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success for States (SPF-PFS) grant through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This is a five-year grant with an annual state award of up to $2,000,000 per year.

The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce substance use among youth ages 5-14 by strengthening protective factors associated with healthy development. Municipal or Regional Governmental applicants will be expected to partner with community-based organizations (CBO) to design and implement prevention programming using a structured public health approach that includes needs assessment, capacity building, planning, implementation, and evaluation. This initiative will be guided by the HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) framework, which focuses on promoting supportive relationships, safe and stable environments, opportunities for engagement, and the development of social and emotional skills.

Specifications/Scope of Work: In response to this funding opportunity, BSAS is seeking an application and letter of commitment from the below named municipalities or a regional government entity representing two or more of those municipalities, who are interested in partnering on this initiative. Completion of the NOI application and letter or commitment will result in inclusion in our application response for this federal funding opportunity as potential partners. Inclusion in the federal grant application does not guarantee funding.

Upon award to the state from SAMHSA, the BSAS Office of Prevention and Well Being will work closely with applicant pool and the CBOs identified in their application to assess readiness, capacity, and need and will prioritize and select approximately 5 municipalities from this group to receive funding to implement and evaluate community-based prevention programing for youth ages 5-14.

The first 3 months of the initiative will focus on assessing local needs from the applicant pool and selecting the 5 municipalities that will be prioritized for funding. The following 6 months will include contracting, planning, onboarding, and capacity building with those municipalities to refine priority populations within the specified age range and co-develop implementation strategies with BSAS and community partners. Full implementation of programming is expected to occur in subsequent years.

Other required grant deliverables for communities selected for implementation activities include

· Dedicated staffing commitments from both the Municipal/Govt and CBO partner of no less than a combined .75 FTE

· Development of a detailed implementation plan and logic model supported by the results of the community needs assessment

· Design and delivery of youth and family focused programming that incorporates the four core domains of the HOPE framework (supportive relationships, safe and stable environments, opportunities for engagement, and social and emotional skill development)

· Participation in training and technical assistance activities provided by BSAS and its partners

· Delivery of programming that reaches a defined number of youth and families annually, including both direct service delivery and broader community reach

· Collection and reporting of program data to support monitoring and evaluation

· Reporting data on a regular basis in alignment with BSAS requirements, including tracking program activities, participation, and outcomes

· Participation in evaluation activities, including continuous quality improvement and documentation of lessons learned

· Ongoing collaboration with BSAS, state agency partners, the evaluation partner, the HOPE National Resource Center, and participating organizations

The below identified applicants are invited to apply based on meeting a combination of the below criteria:

· A range of risk and protective factor needs and strengths drawn from multiple existing community level archival data sets.

· A range of geographic location across the 6 BSAS Regions

· An established history of strong contract performance with the Department of Public Health

· Are not currently the recipient of Partnerships for Success Funding from SAMHSA

· Have a strong demonstrated implementation history of HOPE or other similar strength-based frameworks The Following Municipalities are invited to respond to the application either as a single municipality or a regional government entity representing two or more of these municipalities:

· Chelsea

· Dennis

· Fall River

· Falmouth

· Fitchburg

· Gloucester

· Great Barrington

· Lawrence

· Lowell

· Lynn

· New Bedford

· Newburyport

· North Adams

· Northampton

· Pittsfield

· Quincy

· Somerville

· Stoughton

· Wareham

· Worcester

· Yarmouth

Contract Invoicing: In alignment with the federal funding structure, these contracts will be cost reimbursement based, requiring the vendor to invoice monthly for costs as incurred.

If you are interested in being selected to participate in this Positive Adolescent and Childhood Experiences to Prevent Substance Use (PACES) Initiative, please reply by completing the attached application.

If you have questions related to this grant application e-mail Ryan Naismith at ryan.h.naismith@mass.gov SUBJ: WXXXX Positive Adolescent and Childhood Experiences to Prevent Substance Use (PACES) Initiative Question

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES:

The attached application must be:

· No more than two (2) pages (not including requested attachments and checklists)

· Signed and dated by the agency person designated to sign agreements/contracts.

Deadline for Submission: Received no later than July 3rd, 2026 at 4:00 PM to: ryan.h.naismith@mass.gov SUBJ: Positive Adolescent and Childhood Experiences to Prevent Substance Use (PACES) Initiative Application