Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
August 21, 2003, Vol. 03-73

SAMHSA PROPOSES STANDARD GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS TO REPLACE CURRENT FORMATS

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA is soliciting comments on proposed changes in the way grants will be announced. SAMHSA is proposing to issue four standard grant announcements that will describe the general program design and provide application instructions for four types of grants - service grants, infrastructure grants, best practices planning and implementation grants, and service-to-science grants.

To view the proposed changes and submit comments, please go to http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/index.html

These standard announcements will replace the 30-40 individual announcements for grant programs that SAMHSA has been issuing each year. The standard announcements will be used in conjunction with brief Notices of Funding Availability that will announce the availability of funds for specific grant funding opportunities.

SAMHSA envisions the service grants as encompassing funding to implement substance abuse and mental health services. Infrastructure grants will support identification and implementation of systems of change but are not designed to fund services. Best practices planning and implementation grants will help communities and providers identify practices to effectively meet local needs, develop strategic plans for implementing or adapting those practices and pilot-test practices prior to full-scale implementation. Service-to-science grants will document and evaluate innovative practices that address critical substance abuse and mental health service gaps, but have not yet been evaluated.

SAMHSA expects that using these standard four grant announcements will allow potential applicants to more effectively anticipate program requirements for SAMHSA grants. The new format should allow SAMHSA to more evenly distribute grant opportunities and awards throughout the year. The standard format should allow SAMHSA to more clearly articulate its mission and will allow SAMHA to use its staff resources more efficiently.

Interested persons are invited to submit comments to: Office of Policy, Planning and Budget, SAMHSA, Attn: Jennifer Fiedelholtz by fax (301-594-6159) or email samhsa_standard_grants@samhsa.gov. Please include a phone number in your email, so that SAMHSA staff may contact you if there are questions about your comments.

For Further Information Contact

Jennifer Fiedelholtz of the Office of Policy, Planning and Budget, SAMHSA, by fax (301-594-6159) or email samhsa_standard_grants@samhsa.gov If you would like a SAMHSA staff person to call you about your questions, please state this in an email or fax request and provide a telephone number where you can be reached between 8:30 and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its mission is to improve the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States.