Kansas Fights Addiction board approves four responsive grants, removes $10,000 training from one award

The Kansas Fights Addiction board unanimously approved four responsive grants during its June meeting, approving three awards as submitted and modifying one after a short debate over whether a training expense met the program's short-turnaround urgency standard.

Board staff said 13 applications were received for this quarter's responsive grant review and four met the program's criteria for immediate consideration. The responsive program is meant for time-sensitive requests and runs year-round with quarterly deadlines; truly urgent requests can be brought outside the quarterly schedule.

The first award under discussion, application 4875, requested $150,270 and included a $10,000 line item for an evidence-based, trauma-informed training aimed at staff serving women and children. Staff told the board the applicant framed the training as necessary to support rapid expansion of gender-responsive services, but several board members argued the training itself was not emergent. "This is Sandra. I move that we approve this applicant's proposal minus the funding specific to the trauma informed training," Sandra said during the meeting. The board approved the modified award (reduced to $139,340) by voice vote.

The board also approved a revised capital request from application 4897 after the applicant provided a more accurate capital bid; staff said the award amount was reduced to $171,722 and the board approved it unanimously.

Application 4908 was approved as an urgent request tied to a recent legislative change affecting schools. Staff said the law requires schools to take actions related to naloxone availability and that the statute's effective date is July 1; staff cautioned that final costs could vary depending on how many naloxone kits schools determine they need. The board approved 4908 unanimously.

Finally, the board approved application 4978, a $93,950 award to address workforce barriers for people navigating substance use recovery.

Staff noted this quarter's responsive pool was well below the program's initial illustrative budget of $3 million and that some applications did not meet the responsive standard because they were research, innovation, or sustainability requests more appropriate for other funding vehicles. Board members asked staff to refine the rubric (including adding a sustainability criterion) and to continue tracking geographic distribution to meet the statutory one-eighth-per-congressional-district requirement.

Votes at a glance
- Approval of minutes (May): motion by Sarah Kaylor, seconded by Jason; approved by voice vote.
- Sunflower invoice ($107,997.87): motion by Mike Brier, seconded by Sandra; approved unanimously.
- Application 4875: approved minus $10,000 trauma-informed training; motion by Sandra, seconded; approved unanimously (modified award $139,340).
- Application 4897: approved at updated amount $171,722; motion and unanimous approval.
- Application 4908: approved (urgent; tied to legislative change effective July 1); unanimous.
- Application 4978: approved $93,950; unanimous.

What happens next
Staff will return with proposed rubric refinements (including clearer sustainability criteria) and will continue monitoring congressional-district distribution. Time-sensitive applications that arise between quarterly reviews may be scheduled for special consideration, subject to open-meeting notice and public-access requirements.