The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently awarded up to $215.2 million over five years for justice-involved individuals who have mental and substance use disorders.
These programs are intended to provide effective treatment services to reduce further criminal justice involvement and to promote recovery for justice-involved individuals who have substance use disorders or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.
“Providing treatment and recovery services to Americans who are involved with the criminal justice system and struggling with addiction is a crucial step in offering them a second chance,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Drug courts in particular are an effective way of helping people access treatment and enter recovery, and HHS is proud to support state, local, and tribal governments in running these programs.”
“Expanding access to treatment and recovery services, including the full range of medication-assisted treatments can improve health outcomes for justice-involved individuals,” said Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Dr. Elinore F. McCance-Katz. “These grants represent a comprehensive response to the opioid crisis and include action in the criminal justice system.”
The grant programs included in this effort are:
Law Enforcement and Behavioral Health Partnerships for Early Diversion
The purpose of this program is to establish or expand programs that divert adults who have a serious mental illness or a co-occurring disorder from the criminal justice system to community-based services prior to arrest and booking.
Nine recipients received $172,000 to $330,000 per year for up to five years.
Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Family Treatment Drug Courts
The purpose of this program is to expand substance use disorder treatment services in existing family treatment drug courts, which use the family treatment drug court model in order to provide alcohol and drug treatment to parents with a substance use disorder and/or co-occurring substance use disorder and mental disorders who have had a dependency petition filed against them or are at risk of such filing.
Thirteen recipients received $313,000 to $425,000 per year for up to five years.
Offender Reentry Program
The purpose of this program is to expand substance use disorder treatment and related recovery and reentry services to sentenced adult offenders/ex-offenders who have a substance use disorder and/or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, who are returning to their families and community from incarceration in state and local facilities including prisons, jails, or detention centers.
Twenty-one recipients received $396,000 to $425,000 per year for up to five years.
Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Adult Treatment Drug Courts and Adult Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts
The purpose of this program is to expand substance use disorder treatment services in existing adult problem solving courts, and adult Tribal Healing to Wellness courts, which use the treatment drug court model to provide substance use disorder treatment (including recovery support services, screening, assessment, case management, and program coordination) to defendants/offenders.
Seventy-three recipients received $97,000 to $400,000 per year for up to five years.
The actual award amounts may vary, depending on the availability of funds.
Information on SAMHSA grants in available at https://www.samhsa.gov/grants.
For general information about SAMHSA please visit http://www.samhsa.gov.
For questions or further information about these grant programs and funded awards, please contact SAMHSA’s Division of Grants Management at 240-276-1400.