Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA)
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, with ONDCP and HHS, is accepting FY 2026 CARA Community-based Coalition Enhancement Grants to support current or former Drug-Free Communities recipients working to prevent and reduce youth substance use. The program focuses on opioids, methamphetamines, and prescription drug misuse among youth ages 12 to 18 in U.S. communities. Applicants must be domestic nonprofit coalitions or affiliated nonprofit entities and document that local opioid and/or methamphetamine use rates are significantly higher than the most recent national estimates, using Monitoring the Future and NSDUH data; sustained long-term trends are not required. Awards are up to $75,000, with an estimated 50 awards and $18.75 million in total program funding, and electronic applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 8, 2026; questions may be directed to CARA_NOFO@cdc.gov.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants are community-based coalitions addressing opioid, methamphetamine, and/or prescription drug use/misuse by local youth. They must be a nonprofit (as defined by the IRS as a 501(c) organization); or an entity that the Administrator determines to be appropriate; or part of, or is associated with an established legally recognized domestic, public or private nonprofit organizations. For example, state and local governments, federally recognized tribes, state-recognized tribes, urban Indian organizations (as defined in Pub. L. No. 94-437), public or private universities and colleges, professional associations, voluntary organizations, self-help groups, consumer and provider services-oriented constituency groups, community- and faith-based organizations, and tribal organizations. (Pub. L. No. 114-198 Sec 103). In addition, applicants must document rates of misuse of opioids or use of methamphetamines that are higher than the national average over a sustained period. The statutory authority for this program (Section 103 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act) limits eligibility to domestic public and private nonprofit entities that are current or former Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program recipients. The intent of the CARA Support Program is to fund coalition activities in the United States and does not authorize the funding of organizations or activities outside the United States. A CARA legal applicant (an organization applying on behalf of a coalition, the coalition, or the applicant coalition) must reside within the United States and/or the U.S. territories. In furtherance of the Trump Administration"s Statement of Drug Policy Priorities, the CARA Support Program is committed to protecting American youth from the dangers of drug use. CARA Support Program applicants are expected to support applicable Executive Orders, including but not limited to: Executive Order 14168: Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, Executive Order 14159: Protecting the American People from Invasion, Executive Order 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, Executive Order 13768: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, Executive Order 14182: Enforcing the Hyde Amendment