U.S. Department of Justice: 2021 Mentoring for Youth Affected by the Opioid Crisis and Drug Addiction

Deadline: 2-Mar-21

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is seeking applications for funding for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Mentoring for Youth Affected by the Opioid Crisis and Drug Addiction. This program furthers the Department’s mission by supporting mentoring programs to reduce juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, and problem and high-risk behaviors such as truancy.

This solicitation provides funding for applicant organizations to enhance and expand mentoring services for children and youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction.

The following provides additional details for the two categories under this solicitation:

Category 1: Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Drug Addiction (Project Sites): The focus of this category is to provide mentoring services as part of a prevention, treatment, and supportive approach for those youth impacted by unlawful or addictive drug use
Category 2: Statewide and Regional Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Drug Addiction: This category supports a broad-based approach to building mentoring program capacity in targeted regions throughout the country to help youth impacted by unlawful or addictive drug use.

Goals

The program’s goal is to improve outcomes (such as improved academic performance and reduced school dropout rates) for youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction through mentoring.

Objectives

OJJDP has identified the following program objectives:

Expand the capacity of existing mentoring programs to provide high-quality services to youth that reduce drug abuse, delinquency, or other problem behaviors.
Promote the development of innovative approaches to mentoring youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction.

Deliverables

Programs will enhance and/or expand their mentoring services to meet the needs of youth impacted by opioids and drug addiction.
Programs will expand capacity and increase implementation of quality standards based on the Elements of Effective Practice.
Programs will develop services (including educational and support services) for mentees and their families to address opioid or drug addiction issues.
Programs (in Category 1) will partner with substance abuse treatment agencies to meet the array of needs presented by the target population of youth

OJP Policy Priority Areas

In FY 2021, in addition to executing any program-specific prioritization that may be applicable, OJP will give priority consideration to applications as follows:

Applications that address specific challenges that rural communities face.
Applications that demonstrate that the individuals who are intended to benefit from the requested grant reside in high-poverty areas or persistent-poverty counties.
Applications that offer enhancements to public safety in economically distressed communities (Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs)).

Funding Information

Period of Performance Start Date: 10/1/21 12:00 AM
Period of Performance Duration (Months): 36
Anticipated Total Amount to be Awarded Under Solicitation: $16,250,000.00
Award Ceiling
- Category 1: $625,000
- Category 2: $1,250,000

Eligible Applicants

Category 1: Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Drug
- The following entities are eligible to apply:
  - Nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations (including tribal nonprofit and for-profit organizations and faith-based organizations) that at the time of application have an operational mentoring program that has been providing services for at least 1 year.
Category 2: Statewide and Regional Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids and Drug Addiction
- The following entities are eligible to apply:
  - National organizations (defined as organizations that have active chapters or subawardees in at least 45 states)
  - States
  - Federally recognized tribal governments
  - Organizations having statewide reach that provide mentoring services
For purposes of this solicitation, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.