Drug-Free Communities (DFC)

Overview

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program was created in 1997 by the Drug-Free Communities Act, administered by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and managed through a partnership between ONDCP and CDC, the DFC program provides grants to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use.

The DFC program is aimed at mobilizing community leaders to identify and respond to the drug problems unique to their community and change local community environmental conditions tied to substance use. More than 750 community coalitions across the country receive funding up to $125,000 per year to strengthen collaboration among local partners and create an infrastructure that reduces youth substance use.

The DFC program goals are to:

• Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies, and Federal, state, local and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent and reduce substance use among youth.
• Reduce substance use among youth and, over time, reduce substance use among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase risk for substance use and promoting factors that minimize risk for substance use.

In coordination with the DFC Support Program, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Local Drug Crisis grants provide funds to 65 communities to enhance DFC efforts by creating sustainable community-level change to prevent and reduce the use of illicit opioids or methamphetamine and the misuse of prescription medications among youth.

See the complete list of DFC coalitions.