At The SPARC Foundation, we work every day to keep families healthy and together. We serve parents who are doing the hard work of recovery, children who deserve safety and stability, and communities working to heal from cycles of harm.
Several years ago, we identified a heartbreaking pattern: families involved in the child welfare system due to substance use were often torn apart – not because they lacked love or potential, but because they lacked access to the right kind of help.
In response, in partnership with the FCT Foundation, we built something new: Family Centered Treatment® with Recovery (FCTR). It’s an innovative, evidence-based model that combines addiction recovery support with family therapy, creating real pathways to healing. Thanks to early investment from the Duke Endowment, we proved it could work. Families stayed together. Parents found sobriety. Children thrived.
Based on this success, we were awarded a five-year, $2 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2021. It was a tremendous vote of confidence – but it wasn’t a check handed to us all at once. Like many federal grants, the funding is reimbursed over time, as we build out programs, hire staff, serve families, and report our outcomes.
We did just that.
We grew our team. We provided life-changing care. And we began training agencies in other states to implement the model and reach even more families. To date, we’ve worked with organizations in 3 states, with plans to expand to 4 additional regions in the next year.
But here’s the part many people don’t know: each year of a multi-year federal grant must be reapproved. And despite doing everything right – meeting every benchmark, delivering on every promise – this year, our funding is suddenly at risk.
No explanation. No wrongdoing. Just… uncertainty.
This isn’t just a budget issue. It’s a breaking of trust – not just with us, but with the families depending on us. If the final year of our SAMHSA grant is not renewed:
We may be forced to stop training other agencies -cutting off a program that has the potential to help countless more families.
SPARC may not be able to continue offering this critical service to local families in crisis.
Seven years of research, refinement, and real-world results could be lost.
And the families who need this help the most – those balancing recovery, parenting, and trauma – could slip through the cracks.
To put it simply: people will suffer. Some will die.
And this isn’t just our story.
Across the country, nonprofits are solving big problems with bold ideas – from fighting the opioid epidemic to developing treatments for childhood diseases. When promised funds are canceled or delayed, the ripple effects are devastating: momentum dies, trust erodes, progress halts.
And it’s not just about the money.
These are reimbursement grants. That means nonprofits front the cost of staffing and services, and the government pays us back. That system already requires faith and risk. But now we’re being told the finish line may be moved – or disappear altogether – just as we near it.
Despite these hurdles, our mission remains clear. SPARC will continue to advocate for the families we serve, the staff we employ, and the future we know is possible.
But we can’t do it alone.
Here’s how you can help:
Share this story with elected officials, funders, and friends.
Support nonprofits that are building new solutions. Your donations bridge gaps when systems fail.
Speak up for transparency, consistency, and accountability in government funding.
We’ve proven this model works. The lives at stake are real. And now is the moment to ensure that innovation is honored, not halted.
