American Rescue Plan Act Funding

Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector

• Delivering assistance to workers and families
• Supporting small business
• For example, a program that invests in additional/expansion of assistance with food, housing, other needs, and employment programs would meet eligibility requirements. A program that further expands access to disadvantaged groups to gain access to education and jobs would meet eligibility requirements.  

Serving the hardest-hit families of low-income and of color which were disproportionately affected by the pandemic by

• Addressing health disparities and the social determinants of health
  • For example, a program that targets low-income households and provides nutritional assistance and access would meet eligibility requirements.
• Promoting healthy childhood environments
  • For example, a program that invests in additional/expansion of community-based programs for low-income youth that were disproportionately impacted by COVID would meet eligibility requirements.  

Serving the hardest-hit communities of low-income and of color which were disproportionately affected by the pandemic by

• Investments in housing and neighborhoods such as increased access to supportive, stable, and affordable housing and housing navigation services to assist households in relocating to areas with increased economic opportunity.
  • For example; 
    • Services to address homelessness such as supportive housing, and to improve access to stable, affordable housing among unhoused individuals
    • Affordable housing development to increase supply of affordable and high- quality living units
    • Housing vouchers, residential counseling, or housing navigation assistance to facilitate household moves to neighborhoods with high levels of economic opportunity and mobility for low-income residents, to help residents increase their economic opportunity and reduce concentrated areas of low economic opportunity.
• Addressing educational disparities

Provide premium pay for essential workers

• Offering additional support (ex. a one-time sign-on bonus or retention bonus) to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors
• Please complete the worksheet  on the right of the page if requesting premium pay. To ensure that premium pay is targeted to workers that faced or face heightened risks due to the character of their work, the Interim Final Rule defines essential work as work involving regular in-person interactions or regular physical handling of items that were also handled by others. An individual who teleworks may not receive premium pay.