Applications for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency’s (OJJDP) Community and Schools Youth Drug Prevention Program are due on November 9, 2026.

This opportunity supports substance use prevention programs for youth in schools and extracurricular settings in coordination with law enforcement and community coalitions. This includes building community-based capacity and implementing a continuum of prevention strategies that address youth substance use, such as education, early intervention, mentoring, referral to treatment, and investigations in coordination with local law enforcement and community coalitions. Funding for the grants are up to $750,000 over three years. 

For governmental organizations and nonprofits pursuing OJJDP funding, EDC can help turn OJJDP’s priorities into a strong, evidence-based plan—aligning school-based and out-of-school substance misuse prevention efforts with cross-sector community partnerships, implementation readiness, and continuous quality improvement.

Effective responses must connect substance misuse prevention, early identification and intervention, family and community engagement, and strong referral pathways. EDC helps communities translate these needs into practical, evidence-based strategies that are sustainable and aligned with OJJDP priorities, using prevention science.

How EDC Can Help

EDC has helped strengthen the nation’s response to substance misuse for more than 35 years and supported schools, state agencies, community coalitions, and prevention professionals in building effective, sustainable prevention programs. 

We bring deep cross-sector expertise in substance misuse prevention and response, school mental health, and evaluation to help districts strengthen upstream primary substance misuse prevention; as well as system-wide policies, protocols and practices that support early identification, intervention, referral, and coordinated supports for students with substance misuse-and other behavioral health needs through Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS).

Considering partnering with EDC to gain access to experts who can help:

• Conduct local substance-use prevention needs assessment and MTSS planning
• Prioritize risk and protective factors and evidence-based strategy selection for substance misuse prevention
• Provide substance misuse prevention capacity building trainings for educators, administrators, families, community providers, and law enforcement on effective substance misuse prevention
• Develop family engagement strategies to provide caregivers with tools and approaches to prevent or address youth substance misuse
• Strengthening identification, referral, trauma-informed response, and tiered supports for youth
• Identify key community partners, coalition building, and cross-sector community planning
• School and non-profit implementation cohorts with coaching and communities of practice
• Evaluation, performance measurement, and continuous improvement

Considering applying?

If your community is exploring an OJJDP application, now is the time to begin planning. 

To discuss how EDC can support your planning, proposal development, implementation design, or evaluation approach, reach out to Ben Spooner, Director of Prevention Solutions, to schedule a 30-minute call or contact us at solutions@edc.org any time!

About EDC

Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that works with partners to advance every person’s journey to learn, work, and be well. For over 65 years, EDC has partnered with communities, governments, and the private sector to improve education, workforce development, and health outcomes.

Across the U.S., EDC has helped strengthen prevention and wellbeing systems by building the behavioral health workforce, supporting cross-sector partnerships, informing public policy, and helping schools and communities put evidence-based approaches into practice—reaching more than 75,000 professionals, supporting over 600 schools and communities, and contributing to national prevention policy through more than 300 federal briefings.