HHS Announces Two Grant Programs for Substance Abuse

On March 15, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced via a press release two grant programs totaling $25.6 million that will increase access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and prevent the misuse of prescription drugs.

The release states that “By reducing barriers to accessing the most effective, evidenced-based treatments, this funding reflects the priorities of HHS' Overdose Prevention Strategy, as well as its new initiative to strengthen the nation's mental health and crisis care systems.”

HHS kicked off its National Tour to Strengthen Mental Health last week, following President Biden’s State of the Union address. The aims to hear directly from individuals across the nation about the challenges they are facing and to engage with local leaders to reinforce the mental health care and crisis care systems in our communities. The funding is part of this new initiative focusing on mental health, suicide, and substance abuse.

That said, “The two grant programs are:

• The Strategic Prevention Framework for Prescription Drugs (SPF Rx) grant program provides funds for state agencies, territories, and tribal entities that have completed a Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant plan or a similar state plan to target prescription drug misuse. The grant program will raise awareness about the dangers of sharing medications, fake or counterfeit pills sold online, and over prescribing. The grant will fund a total of $3 million over five years for up to six grantees.
• The Medication-Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction (MAT-PDOA) grant program provides resources to help expand and enhance access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD). It will help increase the number of individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) receiving MOUD and decrease illicit opioid use and prescription opioid misuse. The grant will fund a total of $22.6 million over 5 years for up to 30 grantees. No less than $11 million will be awarded to Native American tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.”

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra was quoted in the release saying that "Every five minutes someone in our nation dies from an overdose. This is unacceptable. At HHS, we are committed to addressing the overdose crisis, and one of the ways we're doing this is by expanding access to medication-assisted treatment and other effective, evidenced-based prevention and intervention strategies. We're also traveling the country to listen and learn about new and innovative ways HHS can support local communities in addressing mental health and substance use. Together, through our Overdose Prevention Strategy and National Tour to Strengthen Mental Health, we can change the way we address overdoses and save lives."