As Students Go Back to School, White House Announces Nearly $94 Million for Local Community Coalitions to Help Prevent Youth Substance Use and Address the Overdose Epidemic
In support of President Biden’s Unity Agenda, new funding continues historic investment in community-led and evidence-based efforts to prevent youth substance use in every state across the country
Washington, D.C. – To mark the start of a new school year, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta announced nearly $94 million in new funding for local community coalitions working to prevent youth substance use in every state across the country. The new funding, awarded through ONDCP’s Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, will go to more than 750 coalitions nationwide. Directed in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the DFC Support Program provides grants to help support student advocates and local leaders working to reduce youth substance use in their communities. In 2023, 75 million Americans lived in a community served by a DFC-funded coalition.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe every young person deserves to live a full and healthy life, and have every opportunity to reach their highest potential,” said ONDCP Director Dr. Gupta. “This new funding supports the President’s Unity Agenda call to beat the overdose epidemic by providing community coalitions in red states, blue states, and everywhere in between with the tools and resources they need to strengthen evidence-based prevention and reduce youth substance use at the local level. The Biden-Harris Administration has made supporting our nation’s youth a top priority, and we will continue to ensure young people have the tools they need to thrive.”
“Although CDC data over the last 10 years have shown improvement, there are still too many youths using and misusing substances,” said CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry. “Our understanding of the problem facing America’s youth coupled with our continued efforts to provide community grants like these to help those in need have yielded results; however, we still have a long ways to go to keep our kids safe from the dangers of substance abuse. At CDC, our primary focus is keeping the nation’s youth healthy by understanding the challenges they face and giving them the tools they need to prosper.”
Nearly all community-based coalitions across the country are working directly with school districts to help address the needs of students, support local action to reduce youth substance use, and create safe environments for young people. Just this summer, Dr. Gupta met with representatives from The Martinsburg Initiative, a DFC-funded coalition in West Virginia that is mobilizing middle and high school students to reduce stigma and increase education on naloxone, and raise awareness about the dangers of illicit drugs like fentanyl through social media campaigns and school assemblies.
Today’s new funding will go to community coalitions in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia:
| State/Territory | Total DFC Coalitions | New 2024 Funding |
| Alaska | 3 | $375,000 |
| Alabama | 5 | $625,000 |
| Arkansas | 13 | $1,625,000 |
| Arizona | 21 | $2,625,000 |
| California | 23 | $2,875,000 |
| Colorado | 9 | $1,125,000 |
| Connecticut | 24 | $3,000,000 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | $375,000 |
| Delaware | 4 | $500,000 |
| Florida | 21 | $2,625,000 |
| Georgia | 30 | $3,750,000 |
| *Guam | 1 | $125,000 |
| Hawaii | 2 | $250,000 |
| Iowa | 8 | $1,000,000 |
| Idaho | 4 | $500,000 |
| Illinois | 24 | $3,000,000 |
| Indiana | 24 | $3,000,000 |
| Kansas | 10 | $1,250,000 |
| Kentucky | 22 | $2,750,000 |
| Louisiana | 12 | $1,500,000 |
| Massachusetts | 37 | $4,625,000 |
| Maryland | 15 | $1,875,000 |
| Maine | 12 | $1,500,000 |
| Michigan | 30 | $3,750,000 |
| Minnesota | 25 | $3,125,000 |
| Missouri | 22 | $2,750,000 |
| Mississippi | 5 | $625,000 |
| Montana | 6 | $750,000 |
| North Carolina | 17 | $2,125,000 |
| North Dakota | 2 | $250,000 |
| Nebraska | 3 | $375,000 |
| New Hampshire | 8 | $1,000,000 |
| New Jersey | 27 | $3,375,000 |
| New Mexico | 7 | $875,000 |
| Nevada | 3 | $375,000 |
| New York | 54 | $6,750,000 |
| Ohio | 22 | $2,750,000 |
| Oklahoma | 13 | $1,625,000 |
| Oregon | 8 | $1,000,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 13 | $1,625,000 |
| *Puerto Rico | 9 | $1,125,000 |
| Rhode Island | 12 | $1,500,000 |
| South Carolina | 7 | $875,000 |
| South Dakota | 5 | $625,000 |
| Tennessee | 15 | $1,875,000 |
| Texas | 14 | $1,750,000 |
| Utah | 13 | $1,625,000 |
| Virginia | 7 | $875,000 |
| *Virgin Islands | 1 | $125,000 |
| Vermont | 7 | $875,000 |
| Washington | 23 | $2,875,000 |
| Wisconsin | 30 | $3,750,000 |
| West Virginia | 11 | $1,375,000 |
| Wyoming | 5 | $625,000 |
| TOTAL | 751 | $93,875,000 |
President Biden and Vice President Harris have made supporting the nation’s youth and strengthening their well-being a top priority. Over the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has made historic investments to strengthen local youth prevention efforts and public awareness campaigns on the dangers of illicit fentanyl and the life-saving effects of naloxone. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, the Administration has invested more than $10 billion in prevention, which is nearly 30% more than the previous administration.
Even though rates of drug use among youth have decreased in recent years, rates of overdose death among adolescents rose 13 percent between 2020 and 2022 and remain elevated due to the increasingly potent and lethal illicit drug supply. To further strengthen the Administration’s whole-of-society efforts to address the nation’s overdose epidemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Dr. Gupta sent a letter calling on schools and educators across the country to implement evidence-based youth substance use prevention measures and have opioid overdose reversal agents like naloxone on site and ensure their students and faculty are prepared to use it to save lives in the event of drug poisoning. The Biden-Harris Administration also launched the Real Deal on Fentanyl campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and the life-saving effects of naloxone among young people.
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