OJJDP FY 2023 Mentoring for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse | O OJJDP 2023 171665

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171665

The OJJDP FY 2023 Mentoring for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), designed to strengthen and expand mentoring services for children and youth whose lives have been affected by opioid use or other substance misuse. The program sits within a broader Department of Justice agenda that emphasizes civil rights and racial equity, improved access to justice, support for victims and people impacted by the justice system, stronger community safety, and increased trust between communities and law enforcement. Within that framework, OJJDP is specifically focused on improving outcomes for young people by increasing their safety, well-being, and long-term opportunities, especially for youth who are system-involved or at risk of becoming involved.

A central theme of the solicitation is OJJDP's push to transform juvenile justice approaches under priorities often summarized as treating children as children, serving children at home with their families and in their communities, and opening up opportunities for system-involved youth. Applicants proposing mentoring programs are expected to clearly connect their project design to these priorities, not simply by stating alignment but by showing how mentoring services will operate in youth-centered, developmentally appropriate ways that keep young people connected to families, supportive adults, and community-based resources whenever possible. The overall vision is a juvenile justice and youth-serving ecosystem that is built around the strengths, needs, and voices of young people and their families, rather than one that is driven primarily by system requirements or institutional convenience.

Another major requirement is meaningful and sustained youth and family partnership. OJJDP emphasizes that young people and family members with lived experience are not just beneficiaries of services but valuable partners who can improve how programs are designed, delivered, and assessed. As a result, applicants must explain how they will integrate youth and family partnership strategies into both the project plan and the budget, signaling that engagement is expected to be resourced and ongoing rather than symbolic. The solicitation lays out several ways this partnership can look depending on the project: individual-level partnerships such as including youth and families in case planning and direct service delivery before, during, and after contact with youth-serving systems; agency-level partnerships such as involving youth and families in policy and program development, implementation decisions, evaluation activities, advisory bodies, staffing approaches, and budget development; and system-level partnerships such as including them in strategic planning, system improvement initiatives, advocacy work, and reform efforts. The expectation is that applicants will select and implement partnership approaches that fit their program structure while demonstrating that youth and families have real influence in decisions that affect them.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a grant (not a contract) under the Law, Justice and Legal Services funding category and is associated with CFDA 16.726. Eligible applicants include state governments and federally recognized tribal governments, with additional eligible applicant types indicated in the solicitation's eligibility clarification section. The opportunity was created March 17, 2023, with an original application closing date of May 4, 2023. OJJDP anticipated making about 15 awards, with an award ceiling of up to $2,000,000 per award. Overall, the funding is intended to help communities and systems build mentoring capacity that specifically responds to the harms and instability substance misuse can create for young people, while grounding the work in equity, community-based support, and authentic youth and family voice.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2023 Mentoring for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.726.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 17, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 04, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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