The American Rescue Plan – Implementing Funds to Impact Communities Now

The American Rescue Plan – Implementing Funds to Impact Communities Now

The American Rescue Plan – Implementing Funds to Impact Communities Now

We are quickly approaching the first 90 days since the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law to provide access to critical emergency funding following the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of Americans lost their jobs at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many continue to struggle to find gainful employment today or catch-up on delinquent bills. The ARPA offers funding to state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) governments to help restore economies and support communities that continue to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

What is the American Rescue Plan Act?

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called ARPA, is a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that offers economic relief to a variety of sectors and individuals to support the nation’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.

Funding for the ARPA is divvyed up as follows:

  • Stimulus Checks: $400 Billion
  • Unemployment Benefits: $163 Billion
  • Childcare: $56 Billion
  • Schools: $170 Billion
  • Public Health: $109 Billion
  • State and Local Governments: $350 Billion
  • Small Business: $48 Billion
  • Housing Assistance: $45 Billion
  • Food Assistance: $12 Billion

State and Local Governments – What’s Available?

SLTT entities were significantly impacted by the pandemic. Due to stretched funding, many were forced to cut services or even essential workers from their workforce – including frontline responders and educators. ARPA allocated $350 billion to provide emergency relief to SLTT governments that slowly continue to recover from the COVID-19 economic crisis.

SLTT entities may request this funding on a rolling basis, here.

SLTT ARPA funding allocations are listed below:

Amount ($ billions)
States & District of Columbia $195.3
Counties $65.1
Metropolitan Cites $45.6
Tribal Governments $20.0
Territories $4.5
Non-entitlement Units of Local Government $19.5

 

The U.S. Department of Treasury offered flexible terms on how SLTT can best utilize these funds. A focus has been placed on rebuilding America’s workforce and investing in stronger, resilient, and more energy-efficient infrastructure:

  • Support public health expenditures, by funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff;
  • Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector;
  • Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic;
  • Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors; and
  • Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet.

IEM stands ready to help you with what we do best – design programs to address your state and community specific needs by leveraging this historic funding. Our disaster and crisis management experience coupled with our work with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 funds and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds as well as other federal grant programs that have been implemented to address public urgencies, will ensure an effective and timely use of these funds,.

IEM’s Expertise in Action

Programs & Benefits Administration

IEM has managed billions of dollars in disaster assistance. We supported states in their implementation of ARRA grant efforts and led the fastest CDBG-DR recovery in the program’s history. With respect to CARES Act funding, IEM helped local communities design grant programs that addressed small business financial gaps and childcare costs for vulnerable communities trying to return to work. We have the experience with designing programs that achieve intended outcomes. Through effective grant logic modeling and experience with grant compliance, we can help states and communities to optimize the effect of this funding.

Our team of national leaders have the experience, resources, and relationships to successfully oversee your next project to support your community’s COVID-19 recovery.

IEM can offer a full menu of services to support your needs:

  • Program Implementation and Management
  • Technical Assistance
  • Outreach, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
  • Grants Automation Software
  • Case Management and Call Centers
  • Quality Assistance/ Quality Control
  • Fraud Detection and Prevention

IEM developed grants automation software that can easily adapt to your agency’s needs – our IQ suite blends innovative technology with streamlined processing. Various iterations of this software have been reimagined to adjust to project needs:

  • HRIQ™ software utilized for housing and recovery operations workflows.
  • RentAssistIQ™ software manages and processes emergency rental assistance funds
  • HousingAssistIQ™ software manages and processes homeowner assistance funds

Public Health

IEM has the experience and expertise to successfully operate an effective administrative and grants management program. Since day one, our team has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response supporting jurisdictions from across the country to ensure the safety and resiliency of Americans and aid the return to normalcy.

Our multi-disciplinary team of scientists, medical researchers, epidemiologists, medical preparedness and response planners, disease progression modelers, contact tracers, and public health policy analysts are equipped with the necessary resources and innovative technology to support your jurisdiction’s COVID-19 public health mitigation efforts. IEM Health offers a variety of services to slow down the spread and increase immunity against the coronavirus:

Infrastructure

IEM worked with the state of Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources State Energy Office to develop an online map and reporting portal for their ARRA grant programs. This program sought to maximize energy efficiency and renewable energy benefits to all residents in the state.

Insights by:
Christian Montz, Director, State and Local Response and Recovery
James Clark, Director, Response and Recovery