SAMHSA: First Responders – Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Program

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), is accepting applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act program (Short Title: FR-CARA).

Donor Name: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

State: All States

Deadline: 03/14/2023

Size of the Grant: up to $800,000

Grant Duration: up to 4 years

Details:

The purpose of this program is to support first responders and members of other key community sectors to administer a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) for emergency reversal of known or suspected opioid overdose. Recipients will train and provide resources to first responders and members of other key community sectors at the state, tribal, and local levels on carrying and administering a drug or device approved or cleared under the FD&C Act for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.

The population of focus are:

• populations disproportionately impacted (relative to national averages) by opioid use as evidenced by high rates of opioid and other drug-related overdose,
• primary treatment admissions, and
• populations with high overdose rates. Applicant organizations must document that their population of focus is underserved as demonstrated by a lack of accessibility to treatment providers, emergency medical services, and recovery and other psychosocial support services

Applicants may use the following resources to document that their proposed target population has been disproportionately impacted by overdose:

• Applicable demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic data from the National Survey on Drug Use and (NSDUH)
• Applicable mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiological (CDC WONDER)
• Applicable Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data on differences in urban and rural overdose death rates (CDC Death Rates)
• Applicable local- and county-level data on drug overdose deaths, including provisional counts from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)
• Applicable data regarding social stigma, discrimination, and other challenges encountered by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people(NIDA/NIH Data)

Allowable Activities

Allowable activities are an allowable use of funds but are not required. Allowable activities may include:

• Develop and implement tobacco cessation programs, activities, and/or strategies.
• Support efforts to reduce alcohol misuse for those at risk.
• Provide training on behavioral health implementation for the national CLAS standards, supporting providers in their desire to increase awareness and acknowledgment of differences in language, age, culture, racial and ethnic disparities, socio-economic status, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and gender identity, and life experiences in order to improve the inclusiveness of the service delivery environment and ultimately improve behavioral health outcomes.
• Provide activities that address behavioral health disparities and the social determinants of health.
• Implement efforts aligned to the award that may expand diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
• Use data to understand who is served and disproportionately served (e.g., overserved or underserved).
• Develop and implement outreach and referral pathways that engage/target all demographic groups representative of your community.
• Collaborate with health care providers to educate them on overdose dangers and recommend that they consider providing resources to individuals at risk of experiencing or being impacted by overdose, including information on treatment, recovery, and other support services.
• Provide public education on any applicable “Good Samaritan” laws, such as those that permit bystanders to alert emergency responders to an overdose or to administer FDA-approved overdose reversal drugs without fear of civil or criminal penalties.
• Provide community first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training that may include appropriate use of naloxone by laypersons (non-direct services providers) such as caregivers and family members of those with opioid use disorder.
• Facilitate field initiation of low-threshold buprenorphine or other appropriate medication intended to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms and overdose death and initiate treatment, per applicable local, state, and Federal regulations; and make warm-handoff referrals to community-based treatment, recovery, and other psychosocial supports as appropriate.

Funding Information

• Estimated Award Amount: Tribes/Tribal Organizations up to $250,000 per year
• Local Government entities up to $500,000 per year
• States up to $800,000 per year

Project Period

Up to 4 years.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for this program is statutorily limited (Section 546 of the Public Health Service Act [42 USC 290ee-1], as amended) to the following entities:

• State governments: The District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are also eligible to apply;
• Federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes, tribal organizations, Urban Indian Organizations, and consortia of tribes or tribal organizations; and
• Local governmental entities including, but not limited to, municipal corporations, counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated towns, and townships.

Tribal organization means the recognized body of any AI/AN tribe; any legally established organization of AI/ANs which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body, or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of AI/ANs in all phases of its activities. Consortia of tribes or tribal organizations are eligible to apply, but each participating entity must indicate its approval. A single tribe in the consortium must be the legal applicant, the recipient of the award, and the entity legally responsible for satisfying the award requirements.

Urban Indian Organization (UIO) (as identified by the Indian Health Service Office of Urban Indian Health Programs through active Title V awards/contracts) means a nonprofit corporate body situated in an urban center governed by an urban Indian-controlled board of directors, and providing for the maximum participation of all interested Individuals and groups, which body is capable of legally cooperating with other public and private entities for the purpose of performing the activities described in 503(a) of 25 U .S.C. § 1603. UIOs are not tribes or tribal governments and do not have the same consultation rights or trust relationship with the federal government.

General Eligibility Information

Determining whether you are eligible to apply for and receive a SAMHSA award is very important. If you are not legally eligible for a specific funding opportunity, you would spend considerable time and money completing the application process when you cannot receive the award.

There are many types of organizations generally eligible to apply for SAMHSA funding opportunities. However, eligibility is strictly tied to the statutory authority governing this award. Please be sure to double check the NOFO for eligibility. Eligibility for this NOFO may include the following:

Government Organizations

• State governments and territories
• County governments
• City or township governments
• Special district governments
• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
• Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
• State-Recognized Tribes

Other Tribal Entities

• Tribal organizations
• Consortia of tribes or tribal organizations
• Urban Indian Organizations

Education Organizations

• Independent school districts
• Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Education agencies/authorities serving children and youth residing in federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes

Non-profit Organizations

• Non-profits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education
• Non-profits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, including entities with 501(c)(4) status (civic leagues, social welfare organizations, and local associations of employees) and 501(c)(5) status (labor organizations).

For more information, visit Grants.gov.