Please describe how your agency is structured

As a bureau within the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) coordinates Iowa’s substance use-related criminal justice funding and policy development. The ODCP is Iowa’s SAA and is the only state agency that exists with a central mandate to coordinate and monitor all programs affecting a particular issue. Under Iowa Code Chapter 80E, ODCP performs the role of coordinating and monitoring all programs involved with substance use prevention, treatment, and drug enforcement in the State of Iowa.

Please list the federal and state grants your agency administers

Federal Grants:

• Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG)

• COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP)

• Drug Free Communities (DFC)

• Sex Offender Registration & Notification Act (SORNA)

• Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT)

• Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant (Coverdell)

• COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force

• John R. Justice (JRJ)

• Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)-Northern & Southern Districts of Iowa

• Strategic Prevention Framework—Partnerships for Success (PFS)

• State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP)

• Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act

State Grants:

• Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)

• Alcoholic Compliance Checks

• Specialty Courts and Diversion

Please list your top three current priority or focus areas

• School Safety – A top priority of the Iowa Department of Public Safety is the creation and implementation of an Iowa-specific Behavioral Threat Assessment tool and training for local teams.

• Education around the normalization of drug use – One of the greatest challenges Iowa faces is the growing normalization of drug use. Despite the known harms and inherent risks associated with drug use, efforts continue by some to promote the concept of safer use. Efforts to “reduce harm” can be misleading at times and risk fostering a false sense of security. Concepts such as these can cause a shift in societal norms and a diminished perception of risk. In a similar vein, cannabis use has become increasingly normalized. Cannabis or THC beverages, marketed as consumable hemp, can be found on grocery store shelves alongside fruits and vegetables rather than with their more apt counterparts, tobacco and alcohol. This deliberate placement diminishes the perception of harm by presenting these products as healthier or “less harmful” alternatives. As a result, the perceived risk of consuming cannabis declines while its use becomes normalized. When the perceived risk of drug use is reduced, the likelihood of experimentation rises, which in turn opens the door to the threat of ongoing use, addiction, and escalation.

• Improving the operation and efficiency of criminal justice and support systems by reducing barriers to funding through simplification of the application process for grants administered at the state level and demystifying the federal system though outreach, education, and technical assistance in applying for and managing federal grants. 

What is the main thing you would like other NCJA members to know about your agency?

In 2025, ODCP implemented a new grant application process. In an effort to simplify access to criminal justice grant funding, ODCP combined the application process for JAG, SCIP, PSN, and RSAT into a single request for proposals.

The application process was split into two components. The initial written submission simply included a standard budget and a brief abstract. The budget and abstract were scored internally and those that met a minimum threshold were invited to participate in a 30-minute interview with the grant review committee. 

The interview questions and review criteria were shared with applicants in the application instructions and again in the meeting invitation. The questions and criteria were very similar to those used to evaluate written applications in previous years. 

Overall, the simplified application process increased the number of applications submitted, improved the quality of some applications, and identified a few projects that were previously able to camouflage mediocre performance in a written application. The new process allowed for interaction and questions from the grant reviewers which provided greater transparency and clarity in decision making. 

We found that many of the applications received in the combined RFP were eligible for funding through multiple programs. The new process afforded ODCP more flexibility to strategically fund projects in a way that meets program-specific program requirements, such as meeting local pass-through or funding small (<$10K) agencies. 

ODCP also recently published the 2025 Iowa Drug Control Strategy and Drug Use Profile.