The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2019 Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Grants (Short Title: ROTA). The purpose of this program is to develop and disseminate training and technical assistance for rural communities on addressing opioid issues affecting these communities. It is expected that grantees will facilitate the identification of model programs, develop and update materials related to the prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorder (OUD), and ensure that high-quality training is provided.

Through this program, SAMHSA will build upon a collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA provides Cooperative Extension Services programs to improve the quality of people's lives by providing research-based knowledge to strengthen the social, economic and environmental well-being of families, communities and agriculture enterprises. Extension experts focus on issues which affect rural communities. The USDA has recently identified opioid misuse in rural America to be one of the areas of focus of these programs. SAMHSA’s ROTA grants will build upon these Cooperative Extensions through expanding their reach.