Florence County Coalition Drug Free Communites Grant Awarded

The Florence County Coalition for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention coalition is a recipient of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) FY12 Grant. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy has announced $12.3 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 87 communities and 20 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country.  The awards announced today are in addition to the nearly $76 million in Continuation grants simultaneously released to 607 currently funded DFC coalitions and twelve DFC Mentoring Continuation coalitions.  These grants provide community coalitions needed support to prevent and reduce youth substance use.

 The DFC program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions that facilitate youth and adult participation at the community level in local youth drug prevention efforts, including prescription drug diversion and prevention initiatives, as well as underage drinking prevention programs.  Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement, and the media. Data show that communities receiving DFC funding have seen significant reductions in past 30-day use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among middle and high school students. 

The 87 new grantees were selected from 452 applicants through a competitive, peer-reviewed process.  To qualify for these matching grants, all awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on youth substance use reduction initiatives, have representation from 12 required sectors of the community, develop a long-term plan to reduce youth substance use, and participate in the National Evaluation of the DFC program.

The DFC program was created by the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, and was reauthorized by Congress in 2001 and 2006.

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