The federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27, 2020. While most people are familiar with CARES Act items like the $1,200 stimulus payments for individuals, increase in unemployment payments, and loans for small businesses, there has been less coverage of the other funding items in the bill.
We completed a thorough review of the CARES Act this week and we’re breaking down appropriations you may not have heard about in the news.
Why is this important? Some of this funding will be released via competitive grants in the coming months, so this information can help agencies prepare to apply for those grants.
In other cases, funding will be released to states using formulas like relative population. This information can help your agency understand what sort of support the federal government will provide to states and municipalities, and how that may affect your operations.
Department of Commerce
- $10m in grants to minority business centers and minority chambers of commerce to provide education, training, and advising to minority business enterprises. Matching funds requirement is waived, as is the requirement to charge fees to business for assistance.
- $1.5b for economic adjustment assistance
Department of Health & Human Services
- Health Resources & Services Administration
- $29m per year for fiscal years 2021 through 2025 for Telehealth Network and Telehealth Resource Centers Grants
- $79.5m for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 for Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development, and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grants. Eligibility is expanded from rural public or rural nonprofit private entities to entities with demonstrated experience serving, or the capacity to serve, rural underserved populations, and the grant period is expanded from three years up to five years.
- $125.5m appropriated for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 for Healthy Start, and targeted needs have been broadened from “low birth weight” to “poor birth outcomes (such as low birthweight and preterm birth) and social determinants of health.”
- Health Professions Workforce Programs
- Scholarships – $51,470,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Loan repayments – $1.19m for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Educational assistance in health professions regarding individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds – $15m for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Primary care training and enhancement – $48,924,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Training in general, pediatric, and public health dentistry – $28,531,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Area health education centers – $41.25m for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Health professions workforce information and analysis – $5,663,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Public Health Training Centers, public health traineeships, preventive medicine and public health training grant program, health administration traineeships and special projects – $17m for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Education & training related to geriatrics – geriatric academic career awards of at least $75k for individuals training in geriatrics. Total of $40,737,000 appropriated for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Authorized clinical nurse specialist programs – $137,837,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Nursing student loan funds (schools can establish a loan program) – $117,135,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2025
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- $1.5b for grants to or cooperative agreements with States, localities, territories, tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian health organizations, or health service providers to tribes, including to carry out surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, infection control, mitigation, communications, and other preparedness and response activities
- Not less than $500,000,000 shall be for public health data surveillance and analytics infrastructure modernization
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services
- $250m for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Expansion Grant program
- $50m for suicide prevention programs
- $100m for activities authorized under section 501(o) of the Public Health Service Act
- $15m for tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian health organizations, or health or behavioral health service providers to tribes
- Administration for Children & Families
- $900m for Low Income Home Energy Assistance
- Child Care and Development Block Grant – $3.5b to supplement state funds for child care assistance for low-income families. These funds can be used to continue to make payments to child care providers in the case of decreased enrollment or closures related to COVID-19 to ensure they remain open. States are encouraged to put conditions on payments that require providers to keep staff on payroll. Funds can also be used to provide child care to essential workers without regard to income eligibility.
- $750m for making payments under the Head Start Act, including for Federal administrative expenses, and allocated in an amount that bears the same ratio to such portion as the number of enrolled children served by the agency involved bears to the number of enrolled children by all Head Start agencies. Additional funds won’t count toward grantees’ “base grant” amounts. Up to $500,000,000 shall be available for the purpose of operating supplemental summer programs through non-competitive grant supplements to existing grantees determined to be most ready to operate those programs by the Office of Head Start
- $2m for National Domestic Violence Hotline
- $45m for Family Violence Prevention and Services formula grants as authorized by section 303(a) of the Family Violence and Prevention and Services Act with such funds available to grantees without regard to matching requirements. Funds can be used toward temporary housing and assistance.
- $25,000,000 for carrying out activities under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
- $45,000,000 shall be used for child welfare services as authorized by subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act; match waived.
- Administration for Community Living
- $820m for activities authorized under the Older Americans Act, including $200m for supportive services; $500m for nutrition services; $100m for support services for family caregivers; and $20m for elder rights protection activities; and $50m for aging and disability resource centers.
Department of Labor
- $345m available through 9/30/22 for the dislocated workers assistance national reserve; these funds may also be used to replace grant funds previously obligated to impacted areas.
Department of Education
- “Education Stabilization Fund” – $30.75b to remain available through September 30, 2021
- Institutions of higher education receive no less than 50 percent of such funds to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care).
- 1% for grants for states with the highest COVID-19 burden
- $3,013,500,000 for Emergency Education Relief Grants to states using a formula of overall population and number of children. These can support:
- Emergency grants to LEAs that state deems most impacted by COVID-19 to support ongoing functionality of LEAs
- Emergency grants to IHEs that state deems most impacted by COVID-19 to support ongoing functionality of IHEs
- Any other emergency education support needed, including provision of child care and early education, social and emotional support, and protection of education-related jobs
- $13,499,250,000 – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund for states based on ESEA formula
- States subgrant 90% of funds to LEAs including charters in relation to their relative proportion of funds under part A Title I of ESEA
- $14,237,250,000 – Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
- 90% of total:
- 75% according to relative share of FTE enrollment of Federal Pell Grant recipients
- 25% according to relative share of FTE enrollment who are not Pell recipients
- 7.5% formula appropriations to defray expenses and for grants for students
- 2.5% for IHEs with greatest unmet needs
- 90% of total:
- “Safe Schools and Citizenship Education” – $100m to remain available through September 30, 2021, to supplement funds otherwise available for “Project SERV”, including to help elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools clean and disinfect affected schools, and assist in counseling and distance learning and associated costs
Department of Agriculture
- $8.8b for Child Nutrition Programs through 9/30/21
- $15.81b for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through 9/30/21
Department of Housing & Urban Development
- $5m for the Office of Public and Indian Housing
- $10m for the Office of Community Planning and Development
- $1.25b for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance
- $850m for both administrative expenses and other expenses of public housing agencies for their section 8 programs, including Mainstream vouchers
- $400m for adjustments in the calendar year 2020 section 8 renewal funding allocations
- $685m for public housing agencies to maintain normal operations
- $300m for Native American Programs
- $65m for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program
- $50m formula allocations
- $10m in one-time funds for existing permanent supportive housing grantees
- $5b for the Community Development Fund to remain available until September 30, 2022 – via formula or to existing grantees
- $4b to existing grantees and states for Homeless Assistance Grants
- $1b for Project-Based Rental Assistance
- $50m for Housing for the Elderly (section 202)
- $15m for Housing for Persons with Disabilities (section 811)
- $2.5m to remain available until September 30, 2021, for contracts, grants, and other assistance for Fair Housing Activities
- $1.5m for the Fair Housing Assistance Program Partnership for Special Enforcement grants to address fair housing issues relating to coronavirus
- $1m for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program for education and outreach activities under such section 561 to educate the public about fair housing issues related to coronavirus
Department of Justice
- $850m to be awarded pursuant to the formula allocation (adjusted in proportion to the relative amounts statutorily designated therefor) that was used in fiscal year 2019 for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program
National Aeronautics & Space Administration
- $75m to fund research grants and other necessary expenses
Bureau of Indian Affairs
- $69m for tribal colleges/universities, salaries, transportation, and IT (with minimum $20m for colleges/univ)
National Endowment for the Arts
- $75m available until 9/30/21 with 40% for state arts agencies and 60% for direct grants. Fund can go toward general operating expenses and match requirement is waived.
National Endowment for the Humanities
- $75m available until 9/30/21 with 40% for state humanities agencies and regional arts orgs and 60% for direct grants. Fund can go toward general operating expenses and match requirement is waived.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- $75m for fiscal stabilization grants to public telecommunications entities
Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
- $50m for grants to expand digital network access, purchase internet accessible devices, and provide technical support services
