Ohio Attorney General’s Drug Use Prevention Grant and Application Guidelines

The Ohio Attorney General shall use amounts in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Programs Fund to award grants to law enforcement agencies to establish and implement drug abuse resistance education programs in public schools. Grants awarded to a law enforcement agency under this section shall be used by the agency to pay for not more than fifty per cent of the amount of the salaries of law enforcement officers who conduct drug abuse resistance education programs in public schools. The Attorney General shall not use more than six percent of the amounts the Attorney General’s Office receives under division (F)(2)(e) of this section to pay the costs it incurs in administering the grant program established by division (F)(2)(e) of this section and in providing training and materials relating to drug abuse resistance education programs.

The Attorney General shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly each fiscal year on the progress made in establishing and implementing drug abuse resistance education programs. These reports shall include an evaluation of the effectiveness of these programs.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office processes Drug Use Prevention (DUP) applications, awards and program reports through an online grants management system (GMS). As a reminder, if your agency has already created an account in the GMS, you may simply log in and start a new request. If your agency has not used the new GMS, you will need to establish an account.

If you have forgotten your password, please select “Forgot your password” to have a password emailed to the email address on file. If you have forgotten your user name or experience other technical difficulties, please email DrugUsePrevention@OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.

Drug Use Prevention Grant Management System (DUP GMS)

Applications for the coming school year are due the first Monday of May prior to the opening of the program on September 1. For a more comprehensive schedule of reporting dates, visit the Drug Use Prevention Grant Management System.

Law enforcement agencies located in Ohio.

Per Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.191(F)(4), programs eligible for funding include:

1. D.A.R.E. Programs: D.A.R.E. certified peace officers presenting elementary and middle school D.A.R.E. programs.
   
   Agencies offering the official D.A.R.E. program must complete at least one ten-week curriculum to be considered eligible for funding. Officers are expected to counsel groups and meet one-on-one with students regarding drug use prevention issues in accordance with the amount of time spent teaching the lesson plan.
2. School Resource Officer Drug Use Prevention Programs: Drug Use Prevention Education programs presented by School Resource Officers.
   
   Agencies offering drug use prevention education programs by School Resource Officers are encouraged to select from the table of recommended evidence-based curricula (Table 1). The selected programs must be taught according to the recommended timetable of the program. School Resource Officers who wish to instruct a drug use prevention program that is not on the approved curriculum list must submit additional information demonstrating the program’s effectiveness. Programs not on the approved curriculum list will be reviewed and approved at the discretion of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Patrolling, search, seizure and investigative activities are not eligible for grant funding. In addition to conducting a drug use prevention program, School Resource Officers are expected to counsel groups and meet one-on-one with students regarding drug use prevention issues in accordance with the time spent teaching the lesson plan.
   
   If awarded grant funding, your agency may be required to submit D.A.R.E. or S.R.O. training information for each peace officer funded.

All programs funded during the grant cycle must provide OTC/RX drug abuse prevention education. Planned activities must be specifically included in the agency’s grant proposal, and a summary of the efforts must be included in the final report. Failure to comply with this requirement can result in recovery of awarded grant funds.

All programs and presentations must be verified by a public-school superintendent on the mid-year and final reports.

Summer programs conducted off school grounds but in conjunction with a public school may be considered. The program must be verified by a public-school superintendent whether held at a public school or, during the summer, off school grounds.

Per Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.191(F)(4), the Ohio Attorney General’s Drug Use Prevention Grant covers up to 50 percent of the salary for D.A.R.E. and School Resource Officers conducting drug use prevention education in public schools. The drug use prevention education must be approved by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

The peace officer’s base hourly wage DOES NOT include fringe benefits such as insurance, retirement, unemployment taxes or a vehicle. Other costs associated with the funded program — including supplies, travel, training, food and beverages, prizes and awards, telephone and internet costs, and other overhead costs — are not eligible for funding under this grant.

Typical allowable costs are classroom time, class prep time (up to two hours of prep time for every one hour of classroom time); group counseling or one-on-one counseling (up to one hour for every one hour of class time); and unique events, such as camps, a D.A.R.E. booth at county fair (up to one hour for every one hour of class time). Other nontypical costs may be allowed at the discretion of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Per Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.191(F)(4), Drug Use Prevention Grant funding shall be used only to support programs conducted in conjunction with public schools. If grant funding is awarded, agencies will subsequently be required to submit a list of public schools in which the programming will take place. The applicant agency affirms by the submission of this application that each public-school superintendent has agreed to work with the agency in its efforts to provide drug use prevention programming during the grant period of September 1 through August 31. The Grant Acknowledgement and Authorization Form required to be submitted with the grant application must be signed by the public-school superintendent of each school district in which a grant-funded peace officer will be teaching while using Drug Use Prevention Grant funds.

Funded peace officers may perform work in nonpublic schools during hours paid by other funding sources.

During the grant period, all funded agencies are required to submit two reports documenting both fiscal and programmatic activity per the grant contract. These reports will be used to help fulfill the Attorney General’s obligation to report grant activities to the Governor and Ohio General Assembly annually, as required by Ohio Revised Code 4511.191(F)(4).

Drug Use Prevention Grant funds will be awarded in four payments, issued in October, December, March and June. Payments are contingent upon the timely submission and approval of the required Mid-year Report. Any funds left unused by the grant recipient shall be returned to the

Ohio Attorney General’s Office,
Finance Section,
30 E. Broad St., 15th Floor,
Columbus, OH 43215.

Please make checks payable to: Treasurer, State of Ohio.

Any funding not used in accordance with the above guidelines shall be recovered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.