Supplemental Grant Award to Pace/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa

This notice is to inform the public of a planned $250,000 grant award to Pace/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa to support the Iowa Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Community- Based Initiative. This is not a formal request for applications; assistance will be provided only to Pace/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc., in Des Moines, Iowa. The purpose of the award is to strengthen the families of youth in Des Moines, Iowa at risk for gang involvement and/or first involvement in juvenile court. This program is intended to enhance the substance abuse prevention program provided to these youth, under the prior announcement entitled Iowa Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Community-Based Initiative Guidance for Applicants (GFA) No. SP 97-006, for Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa. This new GFA solicits an application from PACE/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa, to support the existing program SAMHSA first funded in 1997, which expanded substance abuse prevention services among youth gang members in Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa, and encouraged the implementation of substance abuse prevention programs for youth who are vulnerable to gang involvement and the first stages of involvement in juvenile court. CSAP will make this award if the application is recommended for approval by the Initial Review Group and the CSAP National Advisory Council. This will be a sole source supplement to PACE/Orchard Place-Child guidance, Inc. of Des Moines, Iowa due to the ease of expansion and enhancement of the existing successful program with a family strengthening component, and for the following reasons: (1) PACE/ Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. is the only private agency in Iowa with current experience working with substance abuse, delinquency prevention, and truancy reduction in the Des Moines public schools. PACE/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. is also the primary private provider of preventive services under contract with Polk County Juvenile Court; (2) Iowa is one of a few States with Federal and State coordination in this area. CSAP is currently funding Iowa to serve as a national model for coordinating Federal substance abuse prevention funds and activities with the Iowa Departments of Education, Human Rights, Human Services, Public Safety, the Iowa Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse and three State universities; and (3) The location of PACE/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa builds on the experiences of this city in addressing substance abuse among gang members. This serves as a relatively confined model, not possible in larger problem areas, of what benefits can accrue when multi-level State collaboration and Federal participation merge in addressing this subgroup. Therefore PACE/Orchard Place-Child Guidance, Inc. presents unique opportunities to exploit this Federal and State-level coordination in relation to substance abuse prevention services directed at substance abuse among youthful gang members due to its previously established activities in Des Moines. Consistent with the above discussion, eligibility to apply for funds under this initiative in Iowa is limited to PACE/ Orchard Place- Child Guidance, Inc., in Des Moines, Iowa, the only organization currently experienced in working with the required entities thus ensuring no funds need be spent on time lost in bringing the recipient to the required performance level of expertise for this project.