Announcement: Progress Reporting Changes for 2023

Please review this important update on changes to the

2023 Drug-Free Communities Reporting.

Dear Coalition Leaders,

Hope you had a great holiday season and that your new year is off to a good start.

Historically, DFC coalitions have been required to submit Progress Reports twice annually, in February and August. In an effort to reduce burden to coalitions, ONDCP with input from CDC and the National Cross-Site Evaluation team, have agreed to move forward in proposing, a single annual Progress Report to be submitted in August. The proposal has been submitted to OMB and is in the final stages of review. While seeking final approval, the decision has been made to waive the requirement to submit the February Progress Report next month.

As we prepare to move into an Annual Progress Reporting cycle, to be submitted in August 2023, we want to remind coalitions that you will be required to report on implementation and progress from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023. New Year 1 grant recipients will be asked to report from the start of their grant through July 31, 2023. DFC-funded coalitions will still be reporting on all your efforts throughout the year, just in a single report.

To ensure a seamless submission process for your report and continue to facilitate submission of reliable and accurate DFC data, we strongly recommend implementing a plan to track your data. You have two available supports for tracking. First, you can log in to DFC & CARA Me to create the 2023 Progress Report now and update it regularly. We recommend focusing on updating implementation and open text fields in particular. You can do so by navigating to Reporting > Progress Reports and then creating or editing your 2023 Progress Report. You can also use the Data Entry Tool within the DFC & CARA Me Learning Center to keep track of your activities throughout the year. Spending time monthly to make updates using either of these strategies will help you stay organized and will minimize the workload when it comes time to submit your report.

If you have any questions or concerns about the shift to a single report, please do not hesitate to contact the DFC National Cross-Site Evaluation team. Below you will find contact information and additional updates and reminders to support you in meeting the terms and conditions of the DFC award.

As always, we appreciate the work you all do to prevent youth substance use in your communities. These changes are made with you in mind. We want your focus to be on implementing evidence-based prevention interventions locally.

Best,

Helen Hernandez

Assistant Director

DFC & CARA Program Office

ONDCP

DFC & CARA National Evaluation Team

Have Questions?

The DFC & CARA National Evaluation Team is available to answer any questions you may have related to evaluation, reporting and the DFC & CARA Me system.

Different ways you can connect with us:

Monthly Office Hours

Office hours is a designated time where the DFC & CARA National Evaluation Team, joined by partners from ONDCP and CDC, is available to answer questions and provide assistance to grant recipients. During office hours, you can drop in to speak with a representative from our team. This can include discussing concerns, getting advice, or receiving support.

This month's office hours will focus on newly hired key personnel (within the past 2-3 months) who have recently joined a DFC or CARA coalition. This session will cover information and answer any questions new key personnel may have no matter what year of funding the coalition is in. Key Personnel includes individuals who serve in any of the following roles: Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI), Project Coordinator, or Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) Business Official. Although this session is geared towards new key personnel, all DFC & CARA grant recipients are welcome to attend.

To attend Office Hours this month on January 13th, 2023 from 1:00pm-2:30pm EST please click this link.

Other Reminders

Year 1 Coalitions

If you are a Year 1 coalition, please take time to access the Learning Center to see the resources available to you as new recipients. Resources such as the FY2022 New Recipient Training webinar slides and recording and the FY2022 DFC New Recipient Training Welcome Checklist have been made available on DFC & CARA Me; these resources can be found by typing “New Recipient Training” into the search box in the Learning Center. In addition to exploring the Learning Center, we recommend you work on other items on the welcome checklist, such as entering your sector representatives and submitting a survey for review.

View & Submit Success Stories

ONDCP and the DFC & CARA National Evaluation Team want to acknowledge and thank DFC and CARA coalitions who have already helped to grow the Learning Center by submitting success stories. The Learning Center helps coalitions easily find evaluation-related information and share stories that will help one another. Please check out the Learning Center and read some of the stories for ideas that will help inform your own local work. To submit a Success Story, go to Learning Center > My Success Stories and select “Create Success Story.” Your Progress Report is a great place to start when thinking about accomplishments to share. 

Submit Your Survey for Review

In order to submit core measures, coalitions must first have surveys reviewed and approved. DFC and CARA grant recipients may submit surveys for review at any time. If you have an approved survey in DFC & CARA Me already, and your core measures questions have not changed, there is no need to submit a new survey for review. CARA Grant Recipients must submit a survey for review as soon as possible to submit core measures data with their February Progress Report. Please note that standard survey review takes up to four weeks, so we can no longer guarantee your survey will be reviewed in time to submit data with this upcoming report.

Update Key Personnel & Contact Information

Please check your coalition information, including key personnel names, email addresses, and phone numbers in both DFC & CARA Me and in GrantSolutions GMM. You can check your Key Personnel in DFC & CARA Me by logging into the system, navigating to the Quick Links box on the top right of your screen and clicking the link "View Coalition Information." If the information does not match in the two systems or if any information is no longer accurate, please notify your Project Officer to seek approval for updates/corrections. Accurate, updated information supports ONDCP, CDC, and our team in reaching out to your coalition.

Coalition Snapshots

Please review your coalition snapshots and if you have any questions or think you may have submitted incorrect data, particularly for core measures, please reach out to our team to discuss the issue. You can review data submitted by your coalition from 2016 to present in DFC & CARA Me. Recent updates in key personnel and other coalition information may not be on the snapshots; if the information has been updated in DFC & CARA Me, it will be reflected in your next snapshot.

Best,

DFC & CARA National Evaluation Team