The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2013 for Cooperative Agreements for State Adolescent and Transitional Aged Youth Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination. The purpose of this program is to provide funding to states/territories/tribes to improve treatment for adolescents and transitional aged youth through the development of a learning laboratory with collaborating local community-based treatment provider sites. Through the shared experience between the state/territory/tribe and the local community-based treatment provider sites, an evidence-based practice (EBP) will be implemented, adolescents, transitional aged youth, and their families/primary caregivers will be provided services, and a feedback loop will be developed to enable the state/territory/tribe and the sites to identify barriers and test solutions through a services component operating in real time. System outcomes will include: needed changes to state/territory/tribe policies and procedures; development of financing structures that work in the current environment; and an assessment and treatment blueprint for states/territories/tribes and providers that can be used throughout the state/territory/tribe to widen the use of effective EBPs. Additionally, youth (ages 12-18), transitional aged youth (ages 18-24), and their families/primary caregivers will be provided services from the grant funds, which will inform the process to improve systems issues. Based on the needs of the state/territory/tribe, applicants can choose to provide services to adolescents and their families/primary care givers only, transitional aged youth and their families/primary caregivers only, or both adolescents and transitional aged youth and their families/primary caregivers. State Youth Treatment cooperative agreements involve both state/territory/tribe infrastructure development/improvement and direct service delivery components. All activities share a common goal of building a solid foundation for sustaining an effective, integrated adolescent and transitional aged youth treatment and recovery support services system. These grants are designed to bring together stakeholders across the systems serving adolescents and transitional aged youth to: develop and/or enhance a coordinated network that will develop policies, expand workforce capacity, disseminate evidence-based practices, and implement financial mechanisms and other reforms to improve the integration and efficiency of the adolescent and transitional aged youth substance use, co-occurring substance use and mental disorders treatment, and recovery support system. While developing/improving state/territorial/tribal infrastructure, grantees are also expected to select two local community-based treatment provider sites to enhance and expand the delivery of evidence-based practices for adolescents and/or transitional aged youth with substance use and/or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. The development of a coordinated system to improve adolescent and transitional aged youth substance use and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders treatment and recovery support services, and the implementation of family informed/family-centered evidence-based practices at the local level will serve as a model throughout the state/territory/tribe to be replicated in other jurisdictions. The expected client-level outcomes of the program include: increased rates of abstinence; enrollment in education, vocational training, and/or employment; social connectedness; and decreased juvenile justice involvement for adolescents and transitional aged youth provided services through this grant. Grantees will be expected to identify and decrease differences in access, service use, and outcomes of services among the adolescent and transitional aged youth populations who are vulnerable to health disparities. In alignment with SAMHSAÂ’s Strategic Initiative on Health Reform, this program aims to assist states/territories/tribes in the development of a process to be used to expand and enhance treatment and recovery systems for adolescents, transitional aged youth, and their families/caregivers with substance use and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. The State Youth Treatment cooperative agreement is one of SAMHSAÂ’s infrastructure and services programs. SAMHSA intends that its services grants result in the delivery of services as soon as possible after award. Service delivery should begin by the sixth month of the project at the latest. The State Adolescent and Transitional Aged Youth Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination cooperative agreements are authorized under Section 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Substance Abuse Topic Area HP 2020-SA.