Supplement to the Cooperative Agreement With the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc.

SAMHSA plans to supplement an ongoing cooperative agreement between SAMHSA and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. (NASADAD). The supplement augments an effort already underway, and will fund a detailed inventory of prevention activities funded by the ``20 percent set-aside'' within the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, as well as a detailed inventory and analysis of each State's data capability. Consistent with the goal of the existing cooperative agreement between SAMHSA and NASADAD, these projects will support the States in their efforts to establish, improve, and maintain viable and effective substance abuse systems that meet the needs of their clients. SAMHSA has based its decision to fund these projects through the cooperative agreement on NASADAD's unique position as an association of Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse services. As the only National organization representing State substance abuse agencies, NASADAD's membership is composed of the State officials directly responsible for the administration of public substance abuse policies and services in the respective States. NASADAD includes State membership of all but one of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant recipients, as well as full and continuous communication with the leadership and staff of these agencies. Its membership also administers the 20 percent of the States' allotments from the SAPT Block Grant that are required by law to be used for substance abuse prevention efforts. NASADAD enjoys the confidence of its member States, providing the requisite access to carry out the activities of these supplements. In view of the above considerations, SAMHSA has determined that a supplement to the existing cooperative agreement is the most effective way to assist the States by developing a detailed inventory of prevention activities and an inventory and analysis of each State's data capability. The prevention set-aside supplement would address the needs of State and local government officials, the service provider community, other members of the affected public and the Federal government for further information regarding the use of the set aside. While the overall use of illicit drugs has declined in recent years, there has been an increase in the use of marijuana by youth in the United States. This increase is of great concern to the public and the State and Federal governments. In response, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has developed a National Drug Abuse Strategy, the first goal of which is designed to reduce illicit drug abuse by youth. Similarly, the Department of Health and Human Services has designed a Secretarial Initiative addressing this important issue. While Federal efforts can make an important contribution to reducing illicit drug use by youth, States and local governments realize it is essential that they refine and add to the existing base of prevention programs. For maximum effectiveness, these State and local efforts must be science- based and coordinated with other programs. This project will assist States and communities to design more effective programs, and will complement other SAMHSA initiatives to assist the States and service providers such as the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's (CSAP) State Incentive Grant Program, as well as CSAP's new Regional Centers for the Application of Prevention Technology. The project will also foster technology transfer by making available to all a detailed analysis of each State's prevention activities. The supplement related to State data capability is intended to address the States' need for information regarding each State's capability to collect, analyze, and report data on the need for, and provision of, substance abuse treatment and prevention services. The States are currently engaged in a variety of related data collection activities funded directly by, or under the maintenance of effort requirements of, the SAPT Block Grant. These activities include prevention and treatment needs assessments, evaluation of managed care activities, treatment outcome performance pilot studies, a prevention minimum data set, the uniform facilities data set, the treatment episode data set, and numerous data systems initiated and maintained by individual States. By providing information on data activities in all States, this project will allow each State to learn from the experience of others and improve the availability and quality of substance abuse prevention and treatment services. The Federal government is moving aggressively in the direction of assessing performance by measuring outcomes. In this context, the inventory and analysis of State data capability will assist the States in addressing two critical needs. First, it will help them efficiently use Federal funds for data collection activities, thereby improving the performance of the data systems themselves. Second, it will clarify the States' capabilities to measure the performance of their service programs. This project will assist each State in improving its data structure and will provide both the States and the Federal government with the information necessary to plan a realistic transition to performance-based measurement. This notice is not a request for applications; only NASADAD is eligible to apply for the supplement to the existing cooperative agreement. If the NASADAD supplemental application is recommended for approval by the Special Review Committee and the SAMHSA National Advisory Council, funds will be made available.