Slaughter Announces $500,000 Grant to Rochester Group Aimed at Reducing Youth Substance Abuse

Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-Fairport), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, is pleased to announce that the City of Rochester's Focus Project Coalition has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Drug-Free Communities Program. DFC funds coalitions that work to prevent drug abuse among minors. The Coalition will receive $100,000 per year for each of the next five years.

"This is great news for the selfless efforts of the Focus Project Coalition," said Rep. Slaughter. "They are doing crucial drug prevention work in our community, and this money will help them to expand their efforts and to reach more of Rochester's youth," she added.

The grant was one of 176 grants totaling $17.1 million awarded to community anti-drug coalitions across the country. The coalitions receiving the grants are typically very diverse, and include community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement officials, and members of the media.

BACKGROUND

The Drug-Free Communities Program provides grants of up to $500,000 over five years to organizations that serve as catalysts for citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. The 176 new grantees were selected from 411 applications through a competitive peer review process. To qualify for matching grants, all awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on substance abuse reduction initiatives, develop a long-term plan to reduce substance abuse, and participate in a national evaluation of the Drug-Free Communities Program.

Created under the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, the Drug Free Communities Program has earned strong bipartisan support from Congress. In December of 2001, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, a five-year extension of the Drug-Free Communities Act, authorizing $399 million in funds through FY 2007.