Opportunity Information: Apply for SP 18 003
The Drug Free Communities - Competing Continuation grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number SP 18 003) is a discretionary federal grant administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It falls under the health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) number 93.276. The opportunity was created to support continuation funding for eligible Drug-Free Communities (DFC) coalitions that are competing to continue their work, rather than brand-new applicants starting from scratch.
This program traces back to the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20), which established the DFC Program as a community-based approach to substance use prevention. The basic idea is that local problems require local coordination, so the federal government funds coalitions that bring together multiple community sectors to plan and carry out prevention strategies. For the purposes of this funding announcement, "youth" is defined specifically as individuals age 18 and younger, which signals that the program is centered on preventing and reducing substance use among children, adolescents, and teens.
The DFC Support Program has two core goals. First, it aims to establish and strengthen collaboration across the community, meaning coalitions are expected to involve a broad range of partners. This includes community organizations and public and private non-profit agencies, along with government partners at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels. The intention is to build an organized, coordinated prevention network rather than isolated efforts by a single organization. Second, the program aims to reduce substance use among youth in the near term and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults. The program frames this as a long-term prevention pipeline: lowering youth substance use is expected to translate into healthier adult outcomes as those young people age.
A key feature of the program description is its emphasis on addressing community-level factors that influence substance use. Coalitions are expected to focus on reducing risk factors (conditions that increase the likelihood of substance abuse) and increasing protective factors (conditions that buffer against substance use). While the announcement text here does not list specific risk and protective factors, the language points to the common public health prevention model where communities assess local conditions, identify what is driving use (for example, easy access, favorable norms, low perception of harm, lack of supervision, or high community stress), and then implement strategies that shift those conditions (for example, strengthening prevention messaging, improving enforcement of underage sales laws, building youth engagement and mentoring supports, and coordinating school, family, and community interventions).
In terms of funding scale and timing, the award ceiling is listed at $125,000, and the agency anticipated making about 120 awards. The funding opportunity record shows a creation date of January 12, 2018, with an original closing date of March 29, 2018. The instrument type is a grant, and the opportunity category is discretionary, meaning awards are made competitively based on the application review process and available funds rather than being automatically distributed by formula.
Eligibility is noted as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," which indicates that the specific eligible applicant types are defined in the full announcement but are not included in the excerpt provided. In practice, DFC grants typically center on community coalitions that meet program requirements, and the "competing continuation" label suggests applicants are existing or prior DFC recipients that must re-compete to continue funding. Overall, the opportunity supports sustained, coalition-driven prevention work aimed at measurable reductions in youth substance use by building durable partnerships and changing local conditions that contribute to substance use risk.Apply for SP 18 003
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Drug Free Communities – Competing Continuation" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.276.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 12, 2018.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 29, 2018. (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 $125,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 120 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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| African Association for Health Professions Education and Research (R25)(Clinical Trials Not Allowed) Apply for RFA TW 18 001 Funding Number: RFA TW 18 001 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $750,000 |
| Patient Safety Learning Laboratories: Pursuing Safety in Diagnosis and Treatment at the Intersection of Design, Systems Engineering, and Health Services Research (R18) Apply for RFA HS 18 001 Funding Number: RFA HS 18 001 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Category: Health Funding Amount: $625,000 |
| Technical Assistance for Response to Public Health or Healthcare Crises Apply for CDC RFA OT18 1804 Funding Number: CDC RFA OT18 1804 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - OSTLTS Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| PEPFAR HIV and AIDS Community Grants Apply for SSF75018GR Funding Number: SSF75018GR Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to South Africa Category: Health Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Clinical Support System for Serious Mental Illness Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Apply for SM 18 020 Funding Number: SM 18 020 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis Category: Health Funding Amount: $2,900,000 |
| Quality Improvement in Newborn Screening Program Apply for HRSA 18 070 Funding Number: HRSA 18 070 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Category: Health Funding Amount: $3,300,000 |
| Strengthening detection of emerging infectious diseases in India Apply for RFA GH 18 002 Funding Number: RFA GH 18 002 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA Category: Health Funding Amount: $3,000,000 |
| Innovative Technologies to Deliver Genome Editing Machinery to Disease-relevant Cells and Tissues (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA RM 18 016 Funding Number: RFA RM 18 016 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Development of Cell and Tissue Platforms to Detect Adverse Biological Consequences of Somatic Cell Gene Editing (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA RM 18 015 Funding Number: RFA RM 18 015 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $390,000 |
| Evidence-Informed Approaches to Improving Health Outcomes for People Living with HIV Apply for HRSA 18 048 Funding Number: HRSA 18 048 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement Apply for HRSA 18 036 Funding Number: HRSA 18 036 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Vision Screening in Young Children Apply for HRSA 18 064 Funding Number: HRSA 18 064 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Adolescent and Young Adult Health National Capacity Building Program Apply for HRSA 18 082 Funding Number: HRSA 18 082 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Service Area Competition-Additional Areas (SAC-AA) — Newark, NJ Apply for HRSA 18 108 Funding Number: HRSA 18 108 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Category: Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| H2O Yemen Apply for APS 72027918APS00001 Funding Number: APS 72027918APS00001 Agency: Agency for International Development Category: Health Funding Amount: $9,200,000 |
| Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation's Health Apply for CDC RFA OT18 1802 Funding Number: CDC RFA OT18 1802 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - OSTLTS Category: Health Funding Amount: $150,000,000 |
| State Public Health Approaches to Addressing Arthritis Apply for CDC RFA DP18 1803 Funding Number: CDC RFA DP18 1803 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - NCCDPHP Category: Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 18 600 Funding Number: PAR 18 600 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $600,000 |
| High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grant Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 18 598 Funding Number: PAR 18 598 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $2,000,000 |
| Shared Instrumentation for Animal Research (SIFAR) Grant Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 18 599 Funding Number: PAR 18 599 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health Category: Health Funding Amount: $750,000 |
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