OJJDP FY25 Family Treatment Court Program | Apply Online

OJJDP FY25 Family Treatment Court Program (CFDA 16.838) - FAQs

1. What is the OJJDP FY25 Family Treatment Court Program?

The OJJDP FY25 Family Treatment Court Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It is intended to strengthen how courts respond to families affected by substance use by helping jurisdictions build, improve, or scale family treatment court practice in a coordinated, court-supervised setting.

2. What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?

The main goal is to improve safety, stability, and long-term outcomes for children, parents, and families by supporting court-centered approaches that connect parents and caregivers to substance use treatment and related supports, with structured oversight and coordinated decision-making.

3. What is a family treatment court in the context of this program?

In this context, a family treatment court is a court-led model that brings multiple systems together (for example, the court, treatment providers, child welfare, and legal parties) to coordinate substance use treatment engagement, recovery supports, parenting needs, child safety considerations, and permanency timelines. The emphasis is on clear expectations, regular monitoring, and cross-system collaboration rather than disconnected services.

4. Is this opportunity competitive or formula-based?

This is a discretionary opportunity, meaning awards are competitive and made based on the merits of the submitted applications and alignment with OJJDP priorities, rather than distributed by formula.

5. What type of award is OJJDP making under this opportunity?

Funding is offered through a cooperative agreement. This generally means OJJDP expects substantial involvement during the project period, such as collaboration on implementation, monitoring, and performance reporting, rather than issuing an award with minimal agency interaction.

6. How much funding is available per award?

The award ceiling is up to $2,000,000 per award.

7. How many awards does OJJDP expect to make?

OJJDP anticipates making about 11 awards.

8. What kinds of jurisdictions or projects is this program meant to support?

The program is designed for jurisdictions that want to start a new family treatment court, enhance an existing family treatment court, or implement family treatment court practice at scale, including statewide or countywide models. The size of the award ceiling suggests support for robust planning, staffing, service coordination, training, evaluation, and system change activities.

9. Who is eligible to apply for the OJJDP FY25 Family Treatment Court Program?

Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, cities or townships, and federally recognized Tribal governments, along with certain other eligible entities as described in the notice. The program description emphasizes courts and court-related entities as the primary intended applicants.

10. Which court entities are specifically highlighted as intended applicants?

The opportunity highlights court and court-related entities such as State Administrative Offices of the Court, county superior courts (or comparable trial court authorities), and judicial districts.

11. Is this program intended to be court-led?

Yes. The description frames the program as a court-led initiative, typically implemented with partners across systems that interact with families affected by substance use.

12. What types of partners are commonly involved in a family treatment court initiative?

The program summary describes implementation commonly occurring in partnership with child welfare agencies, treatment providers, prosecutors and defense counsel, parent attorneys, guardians ad litem or child advocates, and community-based service organizations.

13. What outcomes is OJJDP prioritizing through these awards?

OJJDP is prioritizing approaches that measurably improve child, parent, and family outcomes. The program summary indicates typical outcome areas include faster connection to treatment, improved retention in care, increased family reunification where appropriate, and reductions in repeat maltreatment or re-entry into care.

14. What kinds of services does the program aim to connect families to?

The central purpose is to ensure families involved in child welfare or related court systems can access evidence-informed substance use treatment and other essential services, delivered with coordinated planning, monitoring, and decision-making under court supervision.

15. Are allowable activities listed in the summary?

The program summary notes that specific allowable activities are governed by the NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity). However, the summary indicates the award is intended to support activities such as planning, staffing, service coordination, training, evaluation, and broader system change aligned with improving outcomes.

16. What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 16.838.

17. What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2025-172515.

18. What is the opportunity category and field?

The opportunity category is discretionary, and it is categorized under Law, Justice and Legal Services.

19. What are the key dates for this grant opportunity?

The opportunity creation date is March 18, 2026, and the application closing date is April 27, 2026.

20. Who is the federal awarding agency?

The federal awarding agency is the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

21. What court system context does this program focus on?

The program focuses on families involved in the child welfare system or related court systems, with an emphasis on coordinating substance use treatment and supportive services through court oversight.

22. What does "implement family treatment court practice at scale" mean here?

Based on the program description, scaling refers to implementing family treatment court practices beyond a single court or pilot, such as adopting countywide or statewide models that embed coordinated, court-supervised treatment and support pathways across a broader jurisdiction.

23. Why is court supervision emphasized in this program?

The program description emphasizes a coordinated, court-supervised setting because it organizes services around clear expectations, regular monitoring, and coordinated decisions across systems. This model aims to address treatment engagement, recovery supports, parenting needs, child safety, and permanency timelines together rather than separately.