SAMHSA Grant Evaluator for New Grantees and FY 2026 Applicants
For 25 years, EvalNetwork has served as external evaluator on SAMHSA-funded programs across both the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and on numerous other federally funded program evaluation initiatives.
Across FY 2026, SAMHSA posted discretionary NOFOs spanning CMHS, CSAT, CSAP, and 988 Crisis programs. The major competitions in these areas, including Project AWARE (SM-26-005), Mental Health Awareness Training (SM-26-030), and the CCBHC opportunities (SM-26-014, SM-26-015, and SM-26-016), have closed, and FY 2027 is the next planning target. The evaluation criterion on most SAMHSA NOFOs is worth 15 to 25 of 100 reviewer points, and the working budget norm for the evaluation component is 10 to 15 percent of total project budget for service-delivery grants.
Dr. James Pann is principal evaluator at EvalNetwork. He holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, is a professor who teaches program evaluation, and works directly on every engagement.
Evaluation Support for FY 2026 SAMHSA Funding Areas
Each FY 2026 SAMHSA funding stream brings its own evaluation expectations. Below are the funding areas where EvalNetwork most often supports applicants and grantees, mapped to the relevant FY 2026 NOFO numbers.
CCBHC Grant Evaluation Support (SM-26-014, SM-26-015, SM-26-016)
EvalNetwork can support organizations preparing for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic grant opportunities, including CCBHC Planning, Development, and Implementation (SM-26-014), CCBHC Improvement and Advancement (SM-26-015), and Cooperative Agreements for CCBHC Planning Grants (SM-26-016).
CCBHC applicants need an evaluation plan that ties together service access, care coordination, quality improvement, client outcomes, required performance measures, and sustainability planning. Support includes logic model development, measurable objectives, data collection planning, process and outcome evaluation, reporting dashboards, and annual evaluation reports during the proposal stage and after award.
Substance Use, Opioid Treatment, Prevention, and Recovery Evaluation (TI- and SP-prefix NOFOs)
SAMHSA-funded substance use programs require evaluation plans that address service delivery, participant engagement, retention, referrals, outcomes, and required performance data. EvalNetwork can design evaluation approaches for SAMHSA substance use NOFOs across the CSAT and CSAP Centers:
- Opioid Treatment and Recovery: Medication-Assisted Treatment (TI-26-008), Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers (TI-26-013), and Treatment, Recovery, and Workforce Support (TI-26-009)
- Opioid Prevention and Overdose Response: Preventing Youth Overdose (TI-26-017), Preventing Drug Overdoses (TI-26-019), and Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids (TI-26-018)
- Tribal Opioid Response: Tribal Opioid Response (TI-26-012)
- Strategic Prevention Framework: Partnerships for Success (SP-26-002, SP-26-003), the STOP Act (SP-26-001), and Tribal Behavioral Health Substance Use Prevention (SP-26-004)
Evaluation planning includes alignment with SAMHSA’s new SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C reporting tools and SPARS submission workflows, participant-level data collection, implementation tracking, and outcome analysis.
Project AWARE and School Mental Health Evaluation (SM-26-005, SM-26-006)
Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education, SM-26-005) and Trauma-Informed Services in Schools (SM-26-006) require evaluation approaches that track implementation across schools, districts, community partners, behavioral health providers, and youth-serving systems.
EvalNetwork brings combined education and behavioral health evaluation experience that fits school-based and youth mental health programs. Support includes logic models, school and partner data collection plans, training and referral tracking, process and outcome evaluation, and reporting designed for both grant compliance and continuous improvement.
Garrett Lee Smith, Zero Suicide, and 988 Crisis Response (SM-26-007 to SM-26-010, FG-26-001 to FG-26-004)
Suicide prevention and crisis-response initiatives require careful evaluation of implementation, partnerships, service reach, screening and referral processes, training, follow-up, and outcomes.
EvalNetwork can develop evaluation plans for Adult Suicide Prevention (SM-26-007), Implementing Zero Suicide in Health Systems (SM-26-008), Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention (SM-26-009), Garrett Lee Smith State and Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention (SM-26-010), the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Administrator (FG-26-001), State and Territorial 988 Capacity (FG-26-002), Tribal 988 Response (FG-26-003), and 988 Crisis Center Follow-Up (FG-26-004). Evaluation focuses on rigorous follow-up, access, and outcomes that funders and policy stakeholders can act on.
Assisted Outpatient Treatment Evaluation (SM-26-001)
Assisted Outpatient Treatment programs (SM-26-001) require evaluation strategies that address complex systems involving behavioral health providers, courts, community partners, treatment engagement, service coordination, and outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness.
EvalNetwork can support AOT applicants and grantees with logic models, implementation evaluation, outcome evaluation, data collection planning, reporting, and continuous improvement.
Children’s Mental Health, Trauma-Informed Care, and Early Childhood Mental Health
EvalNetwork can support applicants for the Children’s Mental Health Initiative (SM-26-013), the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative Treatment and Service Adaptation Centers (SM-26-003), Community Treatment and Service Centers (SM-26-004), the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Category 1 (SM-26-002), and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (SM-26-020).
Evaluation approaches emphasize cross-system data collection, family engagement, fidelity of trauma-informed practice, and youth and family outcomes.
Evaluation Services for FY 2026 SAMHSA Applicants and Grantees
Whether you’re preparing a NOFO application or already funded and need to deliver on your evaluation plan, here’s how we help:
Write Evaluation Plans, Logic Models, and Budget Narratives for SAMHSA NOFO Applications
A strong evaluation section can make or break your SAMHSA application. We write evaluation plans that reviewers score well because they are specific, feasible, and grounded in your program’s logic model. We build the logic model with your team so it functions as a real program-management tool, not a box to check. Plans include alignment with the new SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C reporting tools and SPARS submission requirements, appropriate validated measures (PHQ-9, GAD-7, AUDIT, DAST, and others), a realistic data collection and analysis timeline, and budget narrative language that reflects the working norm of 10 to 15 percent of total project budget for service-delivery grants.
SUPRT-A, SUPRT-C, and SPARS Data Collection and Reporting
SAMHSA’s new Unified Performance Reporting Tools, SUPRT-A (administrative) and SUPRT-C (client), replaced GPRA and the National Outcome Measures (NOMs) for most discretionary grants effective October 1, 2025. SPARS remains the federal portal where performance data is submitted. We help your team understand what needs to be collected, when, and how. We train staff on SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C administration, troubleshoot data quality issues, support follow-up completion rates, and ensure your submissions meet SAMHSA’s current standards.
Process and Outcome Evaluation Design and Implementation
Once funded, we implement the evaluation plan end to end: designing data collection instruments, establishing data management systems, training staff, and ensuring Institutional Review Board (IRB) compliance when needed. Process evaluation examines fidelity, reach, dosage, and implementation quality, especially during Year 1 when programs are still building capacity. Outcome and impact evaluation uses validated behavioral health measures, pre-post tracking, comparison-group designs when feasible, and qualitative data to answer the question every funder asks: is this program making a difference, and for whom?
Economic Evaluation and Cost Analysis
Behavioral health programs often save far more than they cost, but only if you can prove it. We conduct cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and return-on-investment analyses that translate clinical outcomes into the economic language policymakers and funders respond to. This evidence is increasingly important for sustainability planning beyond the grant period.
Annual Evaluation Reports and Continuous Improvement
SAMHSA grantees submit annual progress reports that include evaluation findings. We prepare clear, compelling reports that demonstrate progress toward your goals, document implementation successes and challenges, and provide the evidence that supports continued funding. Our reports are written for multiple audiences: your SAMHSA project officer, your board, and your community stakeholders. Each reporting cycle also produces actionable continuous-improvement feedback your program can use during the next year.
Why SAMHSA Grantees Choose EvalNetwork
A Psychologist Who Evaluates
Most external evaluators come from policy or public health backgrounds. Dr. James Pann holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, which means he understands therapeutic processes, clinical workflows, and the nuances of measuring behavioral change. This translates into evaluation designs that are methodologically sound and clinically meaningful: evaluations your clinical staff will actually value, not just tolerate.
25 Years of Independent Evaluation Experience
We have been conducting program evaluations since 2000, working with nonprofits, government agencies, and foundations across the country. We have seen what makes evaluations useful to programs and what makes them credible to funders.
Deep SAMHSA Knowledge
We understand the specific requirements of SAMHSA discretionary grants: the new SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C data collection workflows that replaced GPRA and NOMs effective October 1, 2025, SPARS submission timelines, the evaluation plan format that reviewers expect, the annual reporting structure, and the compliance requirements under 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 300. We have helped organizations navigate these requirements from application through closeout.
Mixed Methods Expertise
Numbers tell part of the story. We combine quantitative outcome data with qualitative methods, including client interviews, staff focus groups, case studies, and document review, to provide the complete picture SAMHSA expects. This approach is especially important in behavioral health, where recovery journeys and client experiences matter as much as statistical outcomes.
Culturally Responsive Evaluation
SAMHSA-funded programs often serve diverse, underserved, and historically marginalized communities. We bring cultural responsiveness into every aspect of evaluation, from instrument selection and translation to data interpretation and reporting, so that findings are accurate and meaningful for the communities programs actually serve.
Evaluation That Gets Used
We do not write reports that sit on shelves. Our evaluation findings are designed to be used by program staff improving services, by directors preparing for site visits, by grant writers building the case for continued or new funding, and by boards making strategic decisions.
How We Work Together
- Free Consultation: We start with a 30-minute conversation to understand your program, your funding context, and your evaluation needs. No cost, no obligation.
- Scope and Proposal: Based on our conversation, we develop a clear scope of work and budget tailored to your program and grant requirements.
- Collaborative Design: We work with your team to design an evaluation approach that is rigorous but realistic, aligning with your program’s logic model and your funder’s expectations.
- Implementation and Support: We implement the evaluation plan, train staff on data collection, and provide ongoing technical assistance throughout the grant period.
- Reporting and Dissemination: We deliver evaluation reports that meet SAMHSA’s requirements and tell a compelling story about your program’s impact.
Organizations We Serve
- SAMHSA grantees needing an external evaluator (new and continuing awards)
- Organizations preparing SAMHSA NOFO applications who need a strong evaluation section
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
- Community mental health centers and behavioral health organizations
- Substance use treatment and recovery service providers
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) with integrated behavioral health
- State and county behavioral health departments
- Tribal organizations and tribal behavioral health programs
- Foundations funding behavioral health initiatives
- Hospital systems with behavioral health service lines
- School districts and universities with behavioral health programs
Behavioral Health Meets the Justice System
Many SAMHSA-funded programs serve justice-involved populations, including mental health courts, jail diversion programs, reentry initiatives, drug courts (TI-26-015), Behavioral Health Partnerships for Early Diversion (SM-26-025), and forensic behavioral health services. If your program operates at the intersection of behavioral health and the justice system, our psychology background gives us a unique perspective that bridges both worlds.
If your organization also holds or is pursuing Department of Justice funding, from OJJDP youth programs to BJA treatment courts, see our DOJ grant evaluation page.
Frequently Asked Questions About SAMHSA Grant Evaluation
What is a SAMHSA program evaluator?
A SAMHSA program evaluator is an external evaluation professional who designs and implements the evaluation plan required by SAMHSA discretionary grants. Their work typically includes logic model development, SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C data collection (the new federal reporting tool that replaced GPRA and NOMs effective October 1, 2025), SPARS data submission, process and outcome evaluation, annual reporting to SAMHSA, and continuous quality improvement guidance. Most SAMHSA discretionary grants assume an external evaluator, and the evaluation criterion is typically worth 15 to 25 of 100 reviewer points.
How do I find a SAMHSA evaluator?
The strongest SAMHSA evaluators have three things: graduate-level training in evaluation, program evaluation, public health, or behavioral science; current experience with SAMHSA-specific reporting requirements, including the new SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C tools and SPARS data submission workflows; and a track record across the SAMHSA Center most relevant to your program (CMHS, CSAT, CSAP, or 988). EvalNetwork is a U.S.-based independent evaluation firm led by Dr. James Pann, with 25 years of program evaluation experience across multiple SAMHSA CSAP and CSAT programs and numerous other federally funded initiatives. Free 30-minute consultations are available before any commitment.
What credentials should a SAMHSA evaluator have?
SAMHSA does not require specific credentials for external evaluators in writing, but reviewers and project officers expect a graduate degree (Master’s minimum, doctorate preferred) in a field such as evaluation, psychology, public health, social work, or education research; demonstrated experience with the specific SAMHSA Center funding the program; current familiarity with the SUPRT-A, SUPRT-C, and SPARS workflows that replaced GPRA and NOMs in late 2025; methodological expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods; IRB experience when human subjects data are involved; and ideally membership in the American Evaluation Association (AEA). Experience with the populations SAMHSA programs serve, and with culturally responsive evaluation methods, strengthens both the application and the work after award.
What is SUPRT, and how is it different from GPRA?
SUPRT is the SAMHSA Unified Performance Reporting Tool, which replaced GPRA and the National Outcome Measures (NOMs) for most SAMHSA discretionary grants effective October 1, 2025. SUPRT comes in two parts: SUPRT-A, a brief administrative questionnaire that grantees complete from client records, and SUPRT-C, a shorter questionnaire completed directly by the client or caregiver. SUPRT was designed to reduce the reporting burden of the roughly 40-minute GPRA interview, to align with SAMHSA’s current strategic priorities, and to extend participation to clients as young as 11 years old. SPARS remains the federal submission portal. EvalNetwork works with grantees on SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C workflows, data quality, and SPARS submission from intake through annual reporting.
Do SAMHSA grants require an external evaluator?
Most SAMHSA discretionary grants assume an external evaluator. SAMHSA does not always require one in writing, but the strongest applications include one, and reviewers note its absence. The evaluation criterion is typically worth 15 to 25 of 100 points across NOFOs, and a named, qualified external evaluator strengthens that score. Always review the specific NOFO carefully once released.
When should we bring in an evaluator for a SAMHSA application?
Ideally, before the NOFO is released, or immediately after. An evaluator who joins early can align the logic model, measurable objectives, performance measures, SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C data collection strategy, evaluation timeline, and budget narrative before the deadline rush. Engaging an evaluator 6 to 8 weeks before submission is the most common timeline; engaging in the final week is possible but rushed.
What should be included in a SAMHSA evaluation plan?
A strong SAMHSA evaluation plan typically includes evaluation purpose and questions, a logic model aligned to the NOFO’s required outcomes, process measures (fidelity, dosage, reach, access), outcome measures (SUPRT-A and SUPRT-C plus program-specific indicators), data sources and collection responsibilities, analysis methods, IRB plans, reporting timeline including SPARS submissions, and a plan for using evaluation findings for continuous program improvement.
How much should organizations budget for SAMHSA evaluation?
The working norm across SAMHSA discretionary grants is 10 to 15 percent of the total project budget for most service-delivery grants and 15 to 25 percent for grants with explicit evaluation or research components. Less than 5 to 8 percent is typically a red flag for reviewers. Specific NOFO guidance and project scope drive the final number, and we can help you develop a realistic evaluation scope and budget narrative aligned with the proposed project.
Can EvalNetwork support tribal organizations applying for SAMHSA grants?
Yes. We support tribal organizations and tribal-serving programs applying for opportunities such as Tribal Opioid Response, Tribal Behavioral Health Suicide Prevention, Circles of Care for American Indian and Alaska Natives, Tribal Behavioral Health Substance Use Prevention, and Support for 988 Tribal Response. Our approach centers tribal sovereignty, community-defined outcomes, and culturally grounded evaluation methods.
Related SAMHSA Evaluation Resources
- CCBHC evaluator: FY 2026 CCBHC Grants: Why Applicants Should Line Up an External Evaluator Early
- SAMHSA substance use evaluator: Evaluating SAMHSA Substance Use, Opioid, Prevention, and Recovery Grants: An FY 2026 Guide
- Project AWARE evaluator: Project AWARE Evaluation Planning: What FY 2026 SAMHSA Applicants Should Prepare Before the NOFO Releases
Preparing for an FY 2026 SAMHSA NOFO?
About the Author
Dr. James Pann is principal evaluator at EvalNetwork. He is a psychologist, professor, and program evaluator with 25 years of experience evaluating federally funded programs across the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, teaches program evaluation, and is a member of the American Evaluation Association. He hosts the EvalNetwork podcast and has published in the American Journal of Evaluation, The Foundation Review, and the Journal of Youth Development, where he serves as Associate Editor. Read his full bio.Last reviewed: September 2026
Award status: SAMHSA began announcing FY 2026 awards in late August. The agency awarded $77 million across ten programs on August 31 and more than $383 million on September 8, largely for 988, suicide prevention, and crisis services. On September 25, HHS announced another $247.9 million, including $54.9 million for Project AWARE (SM-26-005). New AWARE grantees can start with our Project AWARE evaluator guide. If you are a new grantee whose application named an evaluator still to be selected, our guide to finding an evaluator for your SAMHSA grant covers what to look for and how fast to move.
Whether you’re preparing an FY 2026 SAMHSA NOFO application, implementing a funded evaluation plan, or looking to improve your program’s data and reporting, we are here to help. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation to talk about your evaluation needs. No sales pitch, just a focused conversation about how we can support your program and your funder’s expectations.