State- and tribe-allied programs that direct adult offenders with mental illness away from jail and into alternative programs may apply for funding via the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Targeted Capacity Expansion Grants for Jail Diversion Programs grants.

A total of $723,000 is available for two grants that promote "widespread adoption of adult criminal-justice diversion and reentry strategies to avoid the unnecessary criminalization and extended incarceration of nonviolent adult offenders with mental illnesses," according to SAMHSA. Projects should be aimed at providing immediate service delivery to "specific populations or geographic areas with serious, emerging mental-health and substance-abuse problems."

The chief executive of the state, city, or tribe overseeing a public entity or partnering with a nonprofit group must sign off on the grant applications. Applications are due March 27, 2007.

For more details, see the full announcement online at the link above or contact Kimberly Pendleton, Grants Management Officer, at 240-276-1421.