California Services to Science Academy (CSSA) Cohort 2.0: Technical Support and Assistance for Promising and Innovative Prevention Programs

Purpose: The CSSA Cohort 2.0 grant supports youth-serving non-profit community or tribal organizations, or counties implementing Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant (SUBG)-funded prevention programs in California to strengthen and evaluate innovative substance use prevention programs. Funding and technical assistance will help build evidence of effectiveness and expand youth and young adult prevention efforts statewide. Description: The CSSA is a Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) program that provides an opportunity for primary prevention providers who are delivering locally developed and innovative substance use disorder (SUD) prevention interventions to generate evidence as either practices or case studies of intervention implementation or adaptation to serve as a resource on the Substance Use Prevention Evidence-Based Resource (SUPER) website for other prevention providers across the state. The CSSA Cohort 2.0 will support prevention providers seeking to generate and demonstrate credible evidence of effectiveness for locally developed and innovative prevention activities, with the goal of increasing the number of effective interventions to be featured on the SUPER website, thus strengthening prevention providers’ ability to address SUDs and behavioral health-related challenges across diverse communities. CSSA Cohort 2.0, managed by the University of California, Los Angeles Integrated Substance Use & Addiction Programs (UCLA-ISAP) will work with grantees to craft individualized, site-specific evaluation plans to help generate evidence of intervention impact. Additionally, there will be optional pre-planning meetings with each grantee site to review general evaluation strategies and skills and develop plans for training and technical assistance through monthly individual and group sessions to support grantees with customized feedback for ongoing data collection and reporting. Grantees will be expected to participate in mandatory ongoing evaluation training and technical assistance through monthly Learning Collaboratives, group sessions, individual check-ins, and coaching calls. Selected grantees will receive funding up to $102,500 per organization to be used to plan and implement individualized evaluation activities of the CSSA Cohort 2.0 across California. The project period is December 1, 2026 through March 1, 2028 (15-months). All eligible youth-serving non-profit community or tribal organizations, or counties must submit their completed applications online via a Qualtrics form embedded on the SUPER website no later than 5:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on May 29, 2026. Eligibility Requirements Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit Public Agency Tribal Government Non-profits, tribal governments, and public agencies providing SUD prevention services in California are eligible. Applicants must serve youth, young adults, or families and demonstrate capacity for equitable, community‑based prevention. Priority goes to organizations serving under‑resourced or marginalized communities. Eligible Geographies: Statewide. Must be located in California and service California. Important Dates Application deadline The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight. 5/29/26 17:00 Expected award announcement The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant. 9/25/2026 Period of performance The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized. 12/01/2026-3/01/2028 Funding Details Total estimated available funding The total projected dollar amount of the grant. $820,000 Expected number of awards A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display. 8 Estimated amount per award Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display. $102,500 Letter of Intent Required? Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent. No Requires Matched Funding? Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source. No Funding Source: The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number. Federal and State Funding Source Notes: California Services to Science Academy Cohort 2.0 is a DHCS program funded through the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Proposition 64 California Cannabis Tax Fund, Allocation 3, Youth Education, Prevention, Early Intervention, and Treatment Account. Funding Method: The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly). Reimbursement(s) Funding Method Notes: Funds will be distributed to grantees in four (4) payments aligned with completion of: 1. Pre-Implementation Activities ($50,000) 2. Implementation Activities (Two payments of $20,000 each) 3. Post-Implementation Activities ($12,500) Grantees will submit invoices to UCLA-ISAP once the following deliverables have been completed. Additional information is listed in the RFA. How to Apply State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying. Grant guidelines Online application Resources Grantor’s site Planned events For questions about this grant, contact: Carissa Loya, 1-323-391-3460, [email protected] Similar to This Grant Consumer Protection Department of Financial Protection and Innovation CalMoneySmart 2026-2028 Grant Program 4 weeks ago More Details about CalMoneySmart 2026-2028 Grant Program Disadvantaged Communities Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Proposition 4 Nature Based Solutions and Climate Adaptation Grant Program 1 month ago More Details about Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Proposition 4 Nature Based Solutions and Climate Adaptation Grant Program Disadvantaged Communities Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery Local Government Waste Tire Cleanup Grant Program (TCU21) 1 month ago More Details about Local Government Waste Tire Cleanup Grant Program (TCU21) Disadvantaged Communities Department of Forestry and Fire Protection CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development 2 months ago More Details about CAL FIRE Business and Workforce Development

Purpose: The CSSA Cohort 2.0 grant supports youth-serving non-profit community or tribal organizations, or counties implementing Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant (SUBG)-funded prevention programs in California to strengthen and evaluate innovative substance use prevention programs. Funding and technical assistance will help build evidence of effectiveness and expand youth and young adult prevention efforts statewide. Description: The CSSA is a Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) program that provides an opportunity for primary prevention providers who are delivering locally developed and innovative substance use disorder (SUD) prevention interventions to generate evidence as either practices or case studies of intervention implementation or adaptation to serve as a resource on the Substance Use Prevention Evidence-Based Resource (SUPER) website for other prevention providers across the state. The CSSA Cohort 2.0 will support prevention providers seeking to generate and demonstrate credible evidence of effectiveness for locally developed and innovative prevention activities, with the goal of increasing the number of effective interventions to be featured on the SUPER website, thus strengthening prevention providers’ ability to address SUDs and behavioral health-related challenges across diverse communities. CSSA Cohort 2.0, managed by the University of California, Los Angeles Integrated Substance Use & Addiction Programs (UCLA-ISAP) will work with grantees to craft individualized, site-specific evaluation plans to help generate evidence of intervention impact. Additionally, there will be optional pre-planning meetings with each grantee site to review general evaluation strategies and skills and develop plans for training and technical assistance through monthly individual and group sessions to support grantees with customized feedback for ongoing data collection and reporting. Grantees will be expected to participate in