May 2009

Social Work and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

On February 13, 2009 Congress passed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on February 17.  Many provisions of the law may be of interest to Social Workers in a variety of fields.  Furthermore, as part of the Act, all departments and agencies committed to contracting with minority owned businesses.  Grantees also have new data collection, prevailing wage, and similar requirements. Recovery.gov is a site set up to explain provisions of the act, as well as track the spending.

The provisions of interest to Social Workers, with links to pertinent online materials, are outlined below:

The Department of Agriculture received $19.7 billion to increase the monthly amount of nutrition assistance to 31.8 million people.  Also, there are provisions to enable expanded opportunities for broadband technology loans and grants to rural communities.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/?navid=USDA_ARRA

The Department of Commerce received funding for business development, innovative research, construction projects, expanded broadband technology services and other programs that will create jobs in a broad range of occupations and industries.  They also received money to assist with digital TV conversion.
http://www.commerce.gov/Recovery/

The U.S. Census Bureau is getting funds to do the 2010 count, especially for outreach.   Under the proposal, the Census Bureau will invest $250 million in partnership and outreach efforts to minority communities and hard-to-reach populations. This effort is intended to promote participation in the census, which will improve accuracy and facilitate enumeration operations in 2010.  The remaining $750 million will be committed to support early 2010 Census operations that will reduce operational and programmatic risks at a critical stage of the census process.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/2010_census/013536.html

The National Institute of Standards and Technology received funds to support security and interoperability of electronic medical records.  More than $20 million in funds have been transferred from the Department of Health and Human Services for standards-related research that supports the security and interoperability of electronic medical records to reduce health care costs and improve the quality of care.
http://www.nist.gov/recovery/

The Department of Homeland Security received $100 million in funds for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), provided through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant. With this funding, EFSP will have distributed more than $3.4 billion in federal funds over the past 26 years to provide food and shelter to families in need across the United States.
http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1239302787726.shtm

The Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women received a 50% increase to distribute in 5 programs. 
http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/recovery.htm
Specifically, the Recovery Act provided $225 million to the Office on Violence Against Women for five of its existing programs:

• $140 million for the Services*Training*Officers*Prosecutors Formula Grant Program (STOP Program) to promote a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to enhance services and advocacy to victims, improve the criminal justice system's response, and promote effective law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial strategies to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Applicants are limited to U.S. states and territories. State allocations can be viewed here: http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/recovery-grants-awards.htm.
• $8.75 million for State Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Coalitions to support the coordination of state victim services activities, including collaboration and coordination with federal, state, and local entities. State Sexual Assault Coalitions and State Domestic Violence Coalitions will receive up to $78,125 each, and dual Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Coalitions will receive up to $156, 250. Eligible applicants are HHS-designated State coalitions.
• $43 million for the Transitional Housing Assistance Program which provides holistic, victim-centered transitional housing services and related support services that move individuals into permanent housing. Eligible applicants include States, units of local government, Indian tribes, and other organizations with a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• $20.8 million for the Tribal Governments Grant Program to enhance the ability of Tribes to respond to violent crimes against American Indian and Alaska Native women, enhance victim safety, and develop education and prevention strategies. Eligible applicants include federally recognized Indian Tribes, their authorized designee, or a consortium consisting of two or more federally recognized Tribes.
• $2.8 million for the Tribal Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Coalitions to end violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. Eligible applicants are established nonprofit, nongovernmental tribal coalitions addressing domestic violence and/or sexual assault against American Indian and Alaska Native women.
• Remaining funds will support Technical Assistance for grantees including assistance on meeting reporting requirements, as required by the Recovery Act.

The Department of Treasury received funds for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.  The CDFI Fund's mission is to expand the capacity of financial institutions to provide credit, capital, and financial services to underserved populations and communities in the United States.  The CDFI Fund was created for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization and community development through investment in and assistance to community development financial institutions (CDFIs).  The CDFI Fund will issue awards totaling $2 million to recipients of the CDFI and Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Programs.  A first round of awards will be issued by June 15, and a second round of awards by September 15.  The CDFIs will use these funds to provide financing and related services to communities that lack access to credit, capital and financial services.
http://www.ustreas.gov/recovery/

The Department of Energy has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and will work together on weatherization and smart grid to start.  Grants and loans will be made available through HUD’s Office of Affordable Housing Preservation (OAHP) for eligible property owners to make energy and green retrofit investments in the property, to ensure the maintenance and preservation of the property, the continued operation and maintenance of energy efficiency technologies, and the timely expenditure of funds. Physical and financial analyses of the properties will be conducted to determine the size of each grant and loan. Incentives will be made available to participating owners. The terms of the grants or loans will include continued affordability agreements. Grant and loan funds must be spent by the receiving property owner within two years. Full detail of how to apply, and grant and loan terms, will be published in a Housing Notice within 60 days of the Recovery Act being signed into law (by April 17, 2009).
http://www.energy.gov/recovery/
http://www.hud.gov/recovery/