Drug Court 2022 | ONDCP DRUGCOURT 2022

Opportunity Information: Apply for ONDCP DRUGCOURT 2022

The Drug Court 2022 grant opportunity is a federal funding announcement from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) within the Executive Office of the President. It is designed to fund a single national-level nonprofit organization (must be a 501(c)(3), and not an institution of higher education) that has deep expertise and a proven track record training drug courts and other criminal justice professionals in how to apply evidence-based practices for addressing substance use disorders among people involved in the justice system. The overall focus is on strengthening alternatives to incarceration by improving how jurisdictions prevent, identify, and treat addiction from the earliest justice contact (including arrest) through court involvement and reentry back into the community.

At its core, the program funds training and technical assistance (often called TTA) for states, state courts, local courts, and units of local government that already operate drug courts or are considering starting them, with an explicit inclusion of tribal jurisdictions as well. The policy context is the broader public safety goal of helping people who have engaged in criminal activity build more stable and productive lives through effective rehabilitation. ONDCP frames this work as reducing drug use and its consequences by bringing data-driven, evidence-based approaches into day-to-day criminal justice decision-making, especially where addiction, overdose risk, and treatment access intersect with court supervision.

The grant lays out several major purposes that shape what the funded organization must deliver. These include educating and training practitioners and producing practical materials that increase adherence to recognized best practices; reducing justice system costs and recidivism by improving the effectiveness of responses to substance use; improving access to treatment and related services and strengthening how those services are delivered; and reducing disproportionality of punishment in the criminal justice system. The recipient is expected to rely on expert practitioners across addiction science, criminal justice, healthcare, and drug court operations, and to provide a mix of in-person training, online learning options, and jurisdiction-specific technical assistance that can be tailored to different communities and demographic contexts.

ONDCP also requires that the training and assistance incorporate key policy priorities. A major emphasis is a comprehensive response to opioid use disorder, including overdose prevention, naloxone administration training, and expanding access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Another emphasis is strong diversion programming grounded in evidence-based, comprehensive case management that connects participants to treatment, recovery supports, and other needed services. A third emphasis is improving consistency of practice among drug courts, so that outcomes are not dependent on geography or local tradition but instead align with established standards. Importantly, the funded organization must also collect and analyze data from participating jurisdictions to assess whether the training and on-site support are actually improving alternatives-to-incarceration approaches and producing measurable benefits.

The program goals and objectives get more specific about what ONDCP wants to see in practice. The goals include delivering TTA that strengthens evidence-based interventions across the full justice continuum (arrest through reentry), educating criminal justice professionals about substance use disorders, and expanding the use of MOUD and overdose reversal medications in drug court settings to support recovery and prevent overdose deaths. Objectives include providing no-cost, on-request curricula and tools at statewide, regional, and national levels; delivering discipline-specific national trainings for drug court practitioners; and offering no-cost evidence-based training for treatment providers who work with drug courts. The opportunity also highlights technical assistance on the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards and includes a particular operational priority of supporting drug court census expansion, with a focus on probation violators. In addition, the grantee is expected to develop educational materials on emerging issues that affect treatment delivery, opioid strategies, and drug court operations, and to evaluate the trainings delivered under the award.

The deliverables section reads like an implementation blueprint for a national TTA provider. The selected organization must produce core project planning documents, including a work plan that explains how it will incorporate data, materials, and processes from the current service provider into the new program approach, along with collaboration steps during startup. It must also develop a strategic plan with timelines, performance measures, and benchmarks to track progress toward program goals, plus an action plan for managing TTA requests and building jurisdictions capacity to collect and use evaluation and management data. Beyond internal planning, the grantee must create a marketing strategy to make sure state, local, and tribal justice systems know what services are available and how to request help.

On the service-delivery side, the awardee must establish training, technical assistance, and evaluation protocols that ensure consistent, high-quality support across jurisdictions. The grantee must also maintain a directory of TTA experts aligned to the fields and subject areas identified in the funding announcement, and propose a plan for onsite technical assistance visits. For the training component, applicants are expected to submit a training proposal that identifies the experts and organizations involved, proposes training locations for regional and statewide events, and includes accessible options (such as modules or materials) for jurisdictions and practitioners who cannot attend in person.

Written and digital products are another required output. The applicant is expected to produce at least two materials each year during the award period. These materials must support training and technical assistance tied to the two highlighted issue areas: emerging issues affecting substance use disorder treatment delivery, opioid treatment strategies, and drug court operations; and the Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards (referenced through NADCP). The kinds of materials ONDCP expects include practical tools like fact sheets, workbooks, manuals, toolkits, brochures, and jurisdiction-specific project plans. ONDCP stresses that applicants should be realistic about cost and timelines, and it encourages innovation in how TTA is delivered to stretch resources and increase reach. A key administrative detail is that when the project ends, ONDCP will require the awardee to transfer the products developed under the grant to ONDCP.

The opportunity heavily emphasizes evidence-based programming and the use of data in both design and evaluation. ONDCP defines evidence-based practices as those supported by causal evidence, typically established through outcome evaluations that can credibly attribute changes in outcomes to the intervention rather than to other factors. This emphasis signals that ONDCP is not just looking for training activity counts, but for training and assistance that can be linked to improvements in practice and outcomes, supported by credible measurement and analysis.

In terms of funding and structure, ONDCP anticipated making one award, with a total amount of $6,000,000 for a 24-month project period, expected to begin around October 2022. The award instrument is expected to be a cooperative agreement, meaning ONDCP intends to have substantial ongoing involvement in oversight and coordination (without managing day-to-day operations). There is no match requirement, which reduces barriers to participation for eligible nonprofits. The opportunity is authorized under Public Laws 116-260 and 117-103 and 21 U.S.C. 1704(e), and it is governed by the Uniform Administrative Requirements in 2 CFR Part 200 (as adopted by ONDCP at 2 CFR Part 3603). Key administrative details include the opportunity number ONDCP DRUGCOURT 2022, CFDA 95.005, an original application closing date of July 14, 2022, and an award ceiling of $6,000,000.

• The Office of National Drug Control Policy in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Drug Court 2022" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 95.005.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 13, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 14, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for ONDCP DRUGCOURT 2022

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