CARA ACT Comprehensive Addition and Recovery Act of 2016

Grants awarded through the CARA Act are intended as an enhancement to current or formerly funded Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant award recipients as established community-based youth substance use prevention coalitions capable of ef

The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce the abuse of opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications among youth ages 12-18 in communities throughout the United States.

The statutory authority for this program, 42 USC 1536 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, limits eligibility to domestic public and private nonprofit entities that are current or former Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program recipients. Eligible applicants are community-based coalitions addressing local youth opioid, methamphetamine, and/or prescription medication abuse. Reference posted NOFOs available on grants.gov.

The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce the abuse of opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications among youth ages 12-18 in communities throughout the United States *For the purposes of this NOFO, "youth" is defined as individuals 18 years of age and younger.

Allowable Activities CARA grants awarded through this program are intended to: •Enhance the ability of established community organizations to create community-level change regarding opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications. •Strengthen collaboration among communities, the federal government, state, local, and tribal governments to reduce the use of opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications among youth within the area served by the coalition. •Enhance intergovernmental cooperation and coordination on the issue of opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications among youth. •Develop a comprehensive community-wide action plan to address the issue of opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications among youth. The types of activities that are expected and allowable include, but are not limited to: •data collection to better understand the current local youth opioid, methamphetamine, and/or prescription medication abuse issues in the community; •community education on the dangers of opioid, methamphetamine, and/or prescription medication abuse; •prescriber education and training; •awareness and availability of naloxone/narcan policies; •increase awareness and availability of safe storage and prescription drug disposal options; •promotion of proper usage of Presciption Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP); and/or •seek specialized training and technical assistance to help increase the effectiveness of community anti-drug coalitions.

Financial assistance is provided for a 12-month budget period with a period of performance of up to five years subject to the availability of funds and satisfactory progress of the recipient.

Applications will be evaluated on the review criteria described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcements (NOFOs). In general, the review and selection process of complete and responsive applications to the NOFO consists of determination of the scientific and technical merit by objective or peer review, availability of funds, and relevance of program priorities and the priorities of CDC.

After review and approval, a Notice of Award (NoA) will be prepared and processed, along with appropriate notification to the public. Initial awards provide funds for the first budget period (usually 12 months) and the NoA will indicate support recommended for the remainder of the project period, allocation of Federal funds by budget categories, award requirements, and special conditions, if any.

Check Grants.gov for any relevant NOFO information regarding processes for applying for assistance.

Project period of performance is 1 to 5 years. After initial awards, and subject to availability of funds, projects may be continued non-competitively contingent upon satisfactory progress by the recipient (as documented in required reports) and the determination that continued funding is in the best interest of the Federal government.