BJA FY 20 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) | BJA 2020 17023

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2020 17023

The BJA FY 20 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Created under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), this program is designed to help jurisdictions build or strengthen practical, coordinated responses to substance use issues, with a particular focus on illicit opioids, stimulants, and other drugs of abuse. The core idea is to move beyond isolated efforts and instead support comprehensive, on-the-ground strategies that improve how communities identify substance use problems, respond to immediate risks, connect people to treatment, and provide ongoing support for recovery.

COSSAP provides both financial support and technical assistance, meaning awardees are not only funded to carry out their plans but can also receive guidance to improve implementation and outcomes. The program is site-based, which generally indicates funding is meant to support work happening directly within the applicant community or jurisdiction, rather than purely statewide planning without localized delivery. Supported activities typically align with the full continuum of response: early identification and intervention, public safety and public health coordination, treatment linkage, and recovery supports. The emphasis on comprehensive efforts reflects the reality that substance use crises touch multiple systems at once, including law enforcement, courts, corrections, behavioral health providers, emergency services, and community-based organizations.

Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. This eligibility structure signals that the program aims to reach a wide range of communities, from large states with multi-jurisdiction strategies to smaller local governments and tribal nations addressing specific local needs. The grant instrument type is a standard grant (not a cooperative agreement), and the activity categories are listed under Health, Humanities (with cultural affairs referenced in CFDA context), and Information and Statistics, reflecting the program's intersection of health-focused interventions, justice system operations, and data-informed decision-making.

For FY 2020, the funding opportunity number is BJA 2020 17023 and the CFDA number is 16.838. The opportunity was posted on February 21, 2020, with an original application closing date of May 21, 2020. The award ceiling is $6,000,000 per award, indicating BJA anticipated funding projects that could range from moderate to very large in scale depending on the jurisdiction, proposed scope, and program design. BJA expected to make approximately 120 awards, which suggests broad national distribution and an intent to fund many communities rather than concentrating funding in just a handful of large recipients.

In practical terms, this grant opportunity targets communities seeking to develop, implement, or expand coordinated substance use strategies that improve outcomes for individuals and strengthen community systems. It is explicitly focused on those impacted by illicit opioids and stimulants, but it also covers other drugs of abuse, allowing applicants to tailor approaches to the substances driving harm in their area. Overall, COSSAP FY 2020 is positioned as a major BJA funding stream for jurisdictions trying to reduce overdose risk, improve treatment and recovery connections, and build sustainable cross-system responses that address substance use as both a public health and public safety challenge.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the health, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), information and statistics sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 20 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.838.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 21, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 21, 2020. (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 $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 120 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for BJA 2020 17023

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