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(Washington D.C.)- The White House announced today that the Chippewa Valley Coalition for Youth & Families will receive a $125,000 Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant for its efforts to facilitate active citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. The DFC program was created by the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997, legislation co-authored by Congressman Levin.
“Evidence has shown that communities receiving DFC grants lowered their instances of youth drug and alcohol abuse,” said Rep. Levin. “The Chippewa Valley Coalition has demonstrated effective and innovate ways to engage the community on drug prevention efforts and this grant will allow them to continue to do so.”
The Chippewa Valley Coalition holds annual drug prevention workshops, runs a drug prevention program for Chippewa Valley students, carries out drug prevention awareness campaigns, and educates parents on substance abuse. In addition to the $125,000 grant for this year, the Chippewa Valley Coalition will be eligible for continuing grants for the next five years.
“The Chippewa Valley Coalition for Youth and Families is so pleased to be a recipient of this grant,” said Dr. Charlene McGunn, Student Assistance Coordinator for Chippewa Valley Schools. “The funds will allow us to further engage parents, community, and school in collaborative efforts to keep our youth safe and drug-free.”
The Drug Free Communities program is directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The DFC program provides matching grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community organizations that facilitate citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts.
Today, $21 million was awarded to 161 new grantees selected from 417 applicants after a competitive, peer-reviewed process. To qualify for the grants, awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on substance abuse reduction initiatives, have representation from 12 specific sectors of the community, develop a long–term plan to reduce substance abuse, and participate in a national evaluation of the DFC program. These awards are in addition to $60 million that was awarded last week in continuation grants to 565 anti-drug coalitions, including 21 Michigan coalitions, that are on-going recipients of DFC funding.
The DFC program was created by the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997 which was co-authored by Congressman Levin and Former-Congressman Rob Portman. Congressman Levin is a principal advocate for the program in Congress, leading the fight to improve funding levels since the program’s creation. Since its inception, the DFC program has awarded funding to support the drug prevention work of approximately 1,500 coalitions.
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