Tribal Behavioral Health Substance Use Prevention
🏛 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis (HHS-SAMHS-SAMHSA)
Can you apply?
This grant is for federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortiums seeking to strengthen behavioral health and substance use prevention in tribal communities. Applicants must be organized as tribal entities under federal or state law and demonstrate capacity to operate prevention programs. The grant supports prevention activities that align with SAMHSA priorities, including community-based strategies to prevent substance misuse (especially opioid use), co-occurring mental health disorders, and to build tribal infrastructure for behavioral health services. Geographic scope is limited to federally recognized tribes and their service areas. Activities typically include community education, early intervention, training, capacity building, and culturally adapted prevention programming.
Program description
The purpose of this program is to prevent and reduce substance use and overdose among American Indian and Alaska Native youth and young adults through age 24 by building community-driven prevention systems, services, and partnerships. The program supports prevention, early intervention, overdose response, and connection to treatment and recovery services.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
Demographic focus
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- SF-424 Supplement (Project/Performance Site Location(s) form)
- Project narrative (program description, need statement, objectives, methods)
- Evaluation plan and data collection capacity documentation
- Budget and budget narrative (Form SF-424C or approved equivalent)
- Proof of tribal federal recognition or tribal organization status
- Letters of support from tribal leadership and partner agencies
- Organizational capacity documentation (staff qualifications, prior grant management experience)
- Indirect cost rate agreement (if applicable)
Program contact
- 👤 Shannon Hastings
- 📧 DTP-NOFO@samhsa.hhs.gov
- 📞 202-961-8620
Funding track record
No recent recipient data available for CFDA 93.492 in our database.
This can happen for newer programs, programs that use non-standard award types (loans, direct payments, fellowships), or those funded through sub-agencies under different codes.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.492). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2026 est. | $200,000,000 |
FAQ
Who is eligible to apply for this grant?
Federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and intertribal consortiums are eligible. The applicant must be organized under federal or state law and have demonstrated capacity to serve the tribal population.
What types of activities does this grant support?
The grant supports substance use prevention and behavioral health activities, including community education, screening and early intervention, training and workforce development, coalition building, and culturally adapted prevention programs for tribal communities.
What is the typical funding amount and project period?
SAMHSA tribal grants typically range from $100,000–$500,000 annually with project periods of 1–3 years, though amounts vary by specific program. Check the Notice of Funding Opportunity for exact amounts.
How competitive are these grants?
Tribal behavioral health grants are moderately to highly competitive. Strong applications demonstrate clear epidemiological need data, cultural adaptation of evidence-based practices, and partnerships with health and social service agencies in the tribal community.
What should I prioritize in my application narrative?
Focus on tribal epidemiological data, how the project addresses local prevention needs, cultural appropriateness of your approach, community partnerships, evaluation capacity, and sustainability planning beyond the grant period.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Ground your application in local tribal data: include epidemiological data on substance use and behavioral health needs from your tribal population. SAMHSA prioritizes programs addressing actual community needs.
- Emphasize cultural adaptation: describe how your prevention strategies will be tailored to tribal values, languages, and practices. Generic or off-the-shelf prevention models are less competitive.
- Demonstrate tribal buy-in: include letters of support from tribal leadership, health departments, and partner organizations. Show that the project aligns with tribal priorities and governance structures.
- Build a realistic budget: SAMHSA reviewers scrutinize budgets for alignment with proposed activities. Ensure staffing, evaluation, and indirect costs are justified and reasonable for tribal community scale.
- Plan for sustainability: explain how the program will continue after federal funding ends. This might include revenue diversification, integration into tribal health systems, or fee-for-service models adapted for tribal contexts.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications often fail due to weak community needs documentation specific to the applicant tribe—generic substance use statistics don't suffice. Another common issue is inadequate attention to cultural appropriateness; reviewers expect evidence-based practices meaningfully adapted for tribal culture, not broad assertions. Finally, many applicants underestimate the importance of tribal leadership endorsement and cross-agency coordination, which SAMHSA views as essential for sustainability.
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