Elevate Youth California: Cohort 8 Standard Track

Purpose: Through this round of Elevate Youth California (EYC) funding, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is making approximately $44 million available to county behavioral health organizations throughout California to expand youth and young adult substance use prevention through environmental change. Description: EYC is a statewide program that addresses substance use disorders (SUDs) by investing in leadership development and civic engagement for youth of color and 2S/LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 26 living in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. This statewide program provides funding and technical assistance for organizations proposing to implement programs that empower youth to be community leaders and create positive policy and systems change. EYC funded partners will be responsible for implementing comprehensive strategies that reduce risk factors ( trauma, disconnection from school/community) and enhance protective factors ( cultural identity, adult/peer mentorship, community and civic engagement) associated with youth substance use prevention. Projects are recommended to utilize evidence-based, promising, and/or community-driven practices in their prevention approach and incorporate social justice youth development in all programming. Funded partners will conduct annual listening sessions to gather feedback from youth and young adults on the impact of prevention efforts and to identify opportunities for project improvement. Additionally, funded partners are expected to actively participate in technical assistance opportunities hosted by The Center, engage in an external evaluation to assess the effectiveness of EYC, and attend one-day regional convenings, at least two over the award period. EYC funded partners will be required to submit biannual progress and financial reports. Success will be measured by progress towards programmatic and environmental change goals and objectives contained in an approved work plan, which must include processes for monitoring and evaluation of youth engagement, prevention environmental change, and participant outcomes through quantitative and qualitative methods. Additional indicators of success include participants' increased knowledge of SUD and its prevention, reduced stigma around substance use services, and evidence of community-level environmental changes related to substance use issues or their root causes. Since the program’s launch, DHCS has awarded $370 million through 517 grant awards. For information about EYC, visit Eligibility Requirements Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit Must be a 501(c)(3) community-based organization or Tribal organization with established and trusted community relationships. Applicant cannot have an active EYC grant. EYC-funded partners whose current award ends by December 2026 are eligible to apply. Fiscal sponsors are the exception and are allowed to oversee more than one active EYC grant. Additional eligibility requirements will be listed in the RFA. Eligible Geographies: Statewide. Must be located in California and service California. Important Dates Expected award announcement The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant. December 2026 Period of performance The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized. 1/01/2027-12/31/2029 Anticipated Open Date August 17, 2026 Funding Details Total estimated available funding The total projected dollar amount of the grant. $44,000,000 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. Dependent Estimated amount per award Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts.

Purpose: Through this round of Elevate Youth California (EYC) funding, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is making approximately $44 million available to county behavioral health organizations throughout California to expand youth and young adult substance use prevention through environmental change. Description: EYC is a statewide program that addresses substance use disorders (SUDs) by investing in leadership development and civic engagement for youth of color and 2S/LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 26 living in communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. This statewide program provides funding and technical assistance for organizations proposing to implement programs that empower youth to be community leaders and create positive policy and systems change. EYC funded partners will be responsible for implementing comprehensive strategies that reduce risk factors ( trauma, disconnection from school/community) and enhance protective factors ( cultural identity, adult/peer mentorship, community and civic engagement) associated with youth substance use prevention. Projects are recommended to utilize evidence-based, promising, and/or community-driven practices in their prevention approach and incorporate social justice youth development in all programming. Funded partners will conduct annual listening sessions to gather feedback from youth and young adults on the impact of prevention efforts and to identify opportunities for project improvement.