The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced grant awards totaling more than $340 million to help combat America’s substance use crisis amid a continued escalation of overdose deaths.
Opioids — particularly synthetic drugs like fentanyl — were primarily responsible for the deaths of more than 107,000 people in 2021. In its 2022 National Drug Control Strategy, the Biden-Harris Administration outlined a comprehensive strategy for addressing the crisis, guided by one fundamental principle: saving lives. In addition to the devastating human toll, the epidemic drains the economy of more than a trillion dollars in a given year and accounts for billions of dollars in criminal justice spending annually. OJP’s investments in drug and treatment courts, residential treatment programs, prevention and harm reduction services, recovery supports, services for opioid-affected youth and community-based strategies that improve continuity of care and align treatment and public safety are designed to more appropriately meet the treatment and recovery needs of individuals without unnecessarily extending justice system involvement and perpetuating longstanding inequities.
“Opioids and other licit and illicit substances continue to take a massive toll on our society, claiming far too many lives, tearing families apart and laying a disproportionately heavy burden on historically marginalized communities,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon. “It is in all our interests to ensure that those affected by this crisis have access to the support and treatment that they need in order to live productive and fulfilling lives. In making these awards, the Department of Justice is demonstrating its unqualified commitment to making prevention, treatment and recovery part of a unified response to ensure public safety and advance the overall health of our communities.”
“For too long, our justice system has been expected to absorb many of the unaddressed societal and behavioral health challenges and inequities laid bare by the ongoing and escalating substance use crisis,” said Director Karhlton F. Moore of OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). “The resources we are making available today will enable us to address the fundamental issues underlying this epidemic and help contribute to communities that are safe, healthy and supportive.”
BJA and OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are distributing millions of dollars in grant awards aimed at addressing prevention, treatment and recovery support service needs for individuals with substance use disorders. OJP’s National Institute of Justice is also supporting research and evaluation of veterans treatment courts. In addition to these grants, OJP is awarding $44 million to help communities respond to public safety and public health emergencies, including crises that result from substance use disorders. Funding will also help support youth and their families affected by the opioid and polysubstance use epidemic.
“The opioid crisis has had a profoundly negative — in many cases, devastating — impact on the young people of this country, separating them from family and community support networks and putting them at high risk of substance misuse or substance use disorder, justice system involvement and self-harm,” said OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan. “We are eager to get young people the help they so desperately need so that they can reclaim the hope of a bright future.”
Below is a list of awards made in Fiscal Year 2022 to address the opioid and stimulant crisis and meet the needs of individuals with substance use disorders. Descriptions of individual awards can be found by clinking on the links.
- BJA is awarding $140.1 million under its Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Abuse Site-Based Program, which will help communities address the prevention, diversion, treatment and recovery needs of those affected by substance use disorders. Another $8.75 million is funding for training and technical assistance to support grantees and organizations in the field. Training and technical assistance funds will also support peer-to-peer mentoring initiatives and demonstration projects, including a focus on rural communities.
- $52 million under BJA’s Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program will help states, state courts, local courts and federally recognized Tribal governments implement and enhance the operations of adult drug courts. Another $4.5 million is funding related to training and technical assistance.
- BJA is awarding $17.8 million under the Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program and an additional $1.3 million under its Veterans Treatment Court Risk and Need Enhancement Initiative which provide resources to state, local and federally recognized Tribal governments to support drug court programs and systems for eligible veterans in the criminal justice system who have substance use disorders.
- NIJ is awarding $3 million under its Multisite Impact and Cost-Efficiency Evaluation of Veterans Treatment Courts program, which will examine the impact of veterans treatment courts on relapse, recidivism and other outcomes, as well as their cost-efficiency, which program elements are effective and for whom they work best.
- BJA is awarding $34.9 million to support the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program, which helps states develop and implement residential substance use treatment programs, including medication-assisted treatment within correctional and detention facilities. An additional $800 thousand will fund training and technical assistance.
- BJA is awarding $15.4 million to fund the Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which enhances the capacity of regulatory and law enforcement agencies and public health officials to collect and analyze controlled substance prescription data and other scheduled chemical products through a centralized database administered by an authorized agency. Another $6 million will support training and technical assistance.
- BJA is awarding $7.2 million under the Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry Program, which establishes, expands and improves treatment and recovery support services for people with substance use disorders during their incarceration and upon their reentry into the community.
- BJA is awarding $3.5 million to support the Drug Data Research Center to Combat the Opioid Crisis, which will create a regional drug data research center to help promote the collection, analysis and dissemination of information critical to responding to the overdose crisis and the effects of opioids, stimulants and other substances.
- OJJDP is awarding $16.3 million to support Mentoring for Youth Affected by the Opioid Crisis and Other Drug Misuse, which supports services for youth who are currently using or at risk for using drugs or youth with family members who have a substance use disorder.
- OJJDP is awarding $9.1 million to support the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative, which will support states, communities, tribes and nonprofit organizations implementing programs and strategies that treat children, youth and families impacted by the opioid epidemic. An additional $1.5 million will support training and technical assistance.
- OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program is awarding $3 million to jurisdictions to establish or enhance juvenile drug treatment courts and to improve court system operations and treatment services.
- OJJDP is awarding $15.4 million under its Family Treatment Court Program to build the capacity of local courts, units of local government and federally recognized Tribal governments to establish new family treatment courts or enhance existing family treatment courts.
- OJJDP is awarding $9 million under its Drug Treatment Courts Training and Technical Assistance Program, which will fund training and technical assistance to states, state and local courts, units of local government and governments to build their capacity to develop, maintain and enhance drug courts for individuals who misuse substances or have substance use disorders and/or co-occurring mental health disorders.
The awards announced above are being made as part of the regular end-of-fiscal year cycle. More information about these and other OJP awards can be found on the OJP Grant Awards Page.
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and strengthen and criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
