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Adult Drug Court (ADC) and Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) Discretionary Grant Program

Link

https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-bja-2021-46003

Additional Links

Notice of Funding Opportunity (Grants.gov)
Program Overview

Deadline

Application Deadline: Mar 3, 2021

Sponsoring Organization

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)

Purpose

Provides funding and technical assistance to states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments to establish new veteran treatment courts (VTCs) or strengthen the operation of existing adult drug courts (ADCs), VTCs, and other treatment courts. Provides drug treatment courts and community supervision systems with materials and resources to reduce recidivism and substance abuse, and prevent overdoses among nonviolent offenders.

Aims to improve public safety and outcomes by accomplishing the following objectives:

  • Ensuring that drug courts have tools to provide judicial and community supervision; mandatory random drug testing; substance abuse and mental health treatment, and appropriate incentives and sanctions
  • Utilizing evidence-based practices and principles as part of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals' (NADCP) drug court standards
  • Building the capacity of jurisdictions so that all potential participants are identified and assessed for risk and need
  • Enhancing recovery support services, including transitional housing, to help individuals sustain recovery

Eligible applicants may apply for funding under the appropriate program category:

Category 1: Implementation of Veterans Treatment Courts grants support jurisdictions that are ready to implement an evidence-based veterans treatment court to provide treatment, case management/coordination, judicial supervision, sanctions/incentives services, and other key resources.

Category 2: Veterans Treatment Courts grants offer funding to jurisdictions with a fully operational VTC. Assists courts in implementing strategies that scale up program capacity, enhance court operations, expand or enhance court services, and improve the quality and/or intensity of treatment and support services.

Category 3: Adult Drug Courts grants offer funding to jurisdictions that are ready to implement an ADC or that have a fully operational ADC in place. Assists jurisdictions with launching a drug court, scaling up program capacity, enhancing court operations, expanding or enhancing court services, and improving the quality and/or intensity of treatment and support services.

Category 4: Statewide Strategies to Support Drug Courts and Veterans Treatment Courts grants help state agencies to improve, enhance, or expand drug court services statewide. Priority is placed on fiscal year (FY) 2021 proposals that develop or expand a state-based training and technical assistance (TTA) program. Smaller, short-term projects supporting statewide training conferences, scholarships, and training events are also encouraged.

Additional information about program activities, objectives, and deliverables can be found in the program guidance.

Eligible drug court types include:

  • Adult drug courts
  • Driving while intoxicated (DWI)/driving under the influence (DUI) courts
  • Co-occurring courts in which participants are diagnosed with both substance abuse and mental illness
  • Veteran treatment courts - types A and B
  • Tribal Healing to Wellness courts (THWCs)
  • Any combination of the courts listed above

ADCs provide treatment and rehabilitation services to nonviolent offenders who have substance use disorder (SUD).

VTCs offer materials and support services to veterans involved with the criminal justice system, including both violent and nonviolent offenders.

Adult Drug Court (ADC) Discretionary Grant Program fact sheet

Amount of Funding

Award ceilings:

  • Category 1: $500,000
  • Category 2: $500,000
  • Category 3: $500,000
  • Category 4: $1,500,000

Estimated number of awards:

  • Category 1: 10 awards
  • Category 2: 15 awards
  • Category 3: 55 awards
  • Category 4: 11 awards

Project period: 48 months
Estimated total program funding: $56,750,000

Applicants must provide matching funds for 25% of the project costs. Matching funds can be cash and/or in-kind contributions and must be from non-federal sources.

Who Can Apply

Eligible Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3 applicants include:

  • States and territories
  • City, township, or county governments
  • Federally recognized Indian tribal governments on behalf of a single jurisdiction drug court

Eligible Category 4 applicants are state agencies such as:

  • State Administering Agency (SAA)
  • Administrative Office of the Courts
  • State Substance Abuse Agency
  • State criminal justice agencies
  • Other state agencies involved with the provision of substance abuse and/or mental illness services, or related services, to criminal substance abusers

Applicants currently receiving federal funding for part of their drug court program are eligible to apply for this opportunity. These applicants will be considered ineligible if they request funding for the same focus area or court type currently supported by federal funds. Applications to fund the same focus area or court type are allowed if the current grant's end date is before the start date for this grant.

Priority is given to applicants who propose to address challenges in rural communities, benefit individuals in high-poverty areas or persistent-poverty counties, and enhance public safety in economically distressed communities or Qualified Opportunity Zones.

To receive a rural priority consideration, applicants must describe:

  • What makes the geographic service area rural using U.S. Census Bureau or other appropriate government data
  • How isolated that area is from needed services
  • How they will address specific public safety challenges in rural communities

To receive a poverty priority consideration, applicants provide information to demonstrate that the individuals who are intended to benefit from the requested grant reside in high-poverty areas or persistent poverty counties.

For this funding opportunity, high-poverty areas are described as any census tract with a poverty rate of at least 20%, as measured by the 2013-2017 5-year data series from the American Community Survey. Persistent poverty counties are described as any county that has had 20% or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.

To receive a priority consideration for a Qualified Opportunity Zone, applicants must include information that specifies how the project will enhance public safety in a specified Qualified Opportunity Zone.

In FY 2021, all state, local, and university and college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have started the certification process in order to be eligible for grant funding.

Geographic Coverage

Nationwide

What This Program Funds

Capacity Building • Operating Costs and Staffing

Application Process

Application instructions, requirements, and other information about the online application process can be found in the funding announcement.

In FY 2021, there is a new two-step application submission process. To be considered timely, the applicant must have received a validation message from the grants.gov submission and the full application must be submitted in JustGrants by the respective deadlines.

  • Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in grants.gov by the March 3, 2021 deadline.
  • Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application, including attachments, in the JustGrants grants management system by the March 17, 2021 deadline.

Contact

For questions on submitting in grants.gov:
800-518-4726
support@grants.gov

For questions on submitting in JustGrants:
833-872-5175
JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov

For questions:
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Response Center
800-851-3420
TTY at 301-240-6310
grants@ncjrs.gov
Live chat

Rural Awards

Past awards communities received in FY 2020 awards are found on the program website.

Rural communities who have received funding include:

Topics This Program Addresses

American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians • Community Supervision • Crime Reduction • Education and Training • Housing and Homelessness • Justice System • Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) • Opioids • Overdose Prevention • Recovery • Social Services • Substance Use Disorder • Treatment • Veterans