BJA FY 23 Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry | O BJA 2023 171537

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171537

The BJA FY 23 Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). It is designed to help jurisdictions and community partners strengthen substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery support services for adults who are incarcerated and transitioning back into the community. The program sits within DOJ's broader priorities around civil rights and racial equity, access to justice, support for people impacted by the justice system, stronger community safety, and building trust between communities and public institutions. The basic idea is straightforward: expand and improve evidence-based treatment and recovery supports during incarceration and after release so fewer people return to custody, more people stabilize in the community, and public health and safety outcomes improve.

Funding is intended to help applicants establish, expand, or improve programs that are both evidence-based and culturally relevant. The solicitation highlights that people with SUD who are navigating incarceration and reentry often face major barriers to care, and that these gaps can fuel relapse, overdose risk, and recidivism. Projects supported under this opportunity can focus on treatment in confinement, continuity of care at the point of release, and ongoing recovery supports in the community. The program explicitly calls out the needs of parents of minor children and pregnant or postpartum women, signaling that applicants should be prepared to address how treatment and recovery supports will work for these populations, including their health, family, and stability needs during reentry.

A central emphasis is on responding to the overdose crisis both inside facilities and following release, when overdose risk can spike. The opportunity encourages increasing access to evidence-based SUD treatment, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), meaning FDA-approved medications used alongside counseling and behavioral therapies. In practice, competitive proposals often describe how screening and clinical assessment will occur, how MAT will be initiated or continued during incarceration, how counseling and peer or recovery support services will wrap around that treatment, and how warm handoffs will be made to community providers so care does not drop off the moment someone leaves custody.

Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, cities or townships, special district governments, federally recognized tribal governments, other tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education under the eligibility list provided). While correctional agencies can apply, the solicitation strongly encourages community-based nonprofits, including culturally specific organizations, to apply in partnership with correctional agencies. That partnership focus reflects a common reentry reality: sustainable recovery support typically requires community-based capacity, not just in-facility programming, and applicants are expected to coordinate across corrections, treatment providers, and other reentry stakeholders.

This opportunity is part of BJA's FY 2023 Second Chance Act (SCA) suite, which includes multiple related solicitations focused on reentry and supervision, such as crisis stabilization for reentry, reentry education and employment outcomes, pay for success models, and supervision approaches like swift/certain/fair supervision and HOPE-inspired strategies. The solicitation also points applicants to other BJA programs that may complement this work, including the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-Based Program, the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program for State Prisoners, and the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program. The practical takeaway is that BJA is signaling a broader ecosystem of behavioral health and reentry funding, and applicants should think strategically about how this SUD reentry project fits into a larger, coordinated approach to treating substance use and co-occurring disorders among justice-involved populations.

Key administrative details from the source information include the opportunity number (O-BJA-2023-171537), CFDA number 16.812, and an original closing date of March 28, 2023. Awards are grants, and the listed award ceiling is $1,125,000. Overall, the grant is aimed at helping jurisdictions and their partners build a stronger treatment-to-reentry pipeline that relies on proven clinical practices, culturally responsive approaches, and continuity of care to reduce relapse, prevent overdoses, and lower recidivism.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.812.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-01-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-03-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,125,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for O BJA 2023 171537

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