Drug-Free Communities Mentoring Program

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20). DFC Mentoring grants were established as a component of the DFC Support Program when the program was reauthorized in 2001 (Public Law 107-82, 115 Stat. 814). The DFC Mentoring Program was also included in the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-469). The primary goal of the DFC Mentoring program is to assist newly forming coalitions in becoming eligible to apply for DFC funding on their own.It is the intent of the DFC Mentoring Program that, at the end of the Mentoring grant, each Mentee coalition will meet all of the Statutory Eligibility Requirements of the DFC Support Program and be fully prepared to compete for the DFC grant on their own. Grantees will be expected to achieve this goal by meeting the following objectives: 1. Strengthen Mentee coalition’s organizational structure 2. Increase Mentee coalition’s leadership and community readiness to address youth substance use problems in the Mentee community.3. Assist the Mentee coalition in working through a strategic planning process that will result in a comprehensive Action Plan.The DFC Mentoring Program is a collaborative effort directed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Substance Abuse Topic Area HP 2020-SA.