Issue Brief 09-44 House Health Care Reform Bill Includes ARRA FMAP Extension, November 6, 2009
Issue Brief 09-19 TANF Emergency Fund Details Released, April 23, 2009
Issue Brief 09-18 ARRA Restores Federal Match for Child Support Incentive Payments, April 15, 2009
October 2009: HHS Releases Reporting Tool HHS released a Recovery Act Recipient Reporting Readiness Tool that provides grant-specific information to assist recipients prepare for data reporting: http://taggs.hhs.gov/ReadinessTool/
March 18, 2009: HHS Funding HHS Acting Secretary Charles Johnson has sent a letter to governors outlining the HHS funding available to states under ARRA. A copy of the letter is attached.
Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
October 29, 2009: CCDF Financial Reporting Forms The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a program instruction that provides the Child Care Development Fund Financial Form (ACF-696) for FY 2009 and guidance on the changes related to ARRA funding. To view the program instruction, go to: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/guidance/current/pi2009-08/pi2009-08.htm
June 2, 2009: CCDBG Guidance The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released an Information Memorandum that provides guidance on the flexibility within the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The guidance is intended to be a reference tool for states in implementing the additional funding under ARRA and developing their Child Care Development Fund plans. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/guidance/current/im2009-01/im2009-01.
May 11, 2009: Early Childhood Grants The Department of Health and Human Services sent letters to governors that detail Early Childhood Advisory Council state allocation amounts under ARRA and provide guidance for application of the startup grant awards. The application deadline is August 1, 2010. Attached are a copy of the letter that went to governors and the guidance.
April 2, 2009: Head Start, Early Head Start Funding On April 2, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will announce that Head Start and Early Head Start programs will receive funding and be eligible to apply for grants worth $2.1 billion under ARRA. Head Start will receive $1 billion, while $1.1 billion will benefit Early Head Start. Head Start will also receive a separate $235 million increase for FY 2009, bringing the total funding increase for Head Start and Early Head Start to more than $2.3 billion.
October 27, 2009: OFA Q&A Posted The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has posted a series of questions and answers on administrative costs, use of third-party expenditures, and use of gift cards in TANF Emergency Contingency Funds. OFA has also posted more detail on approved TANF Emergency Contingency Fund applications. TANF Emergency Contingency Funds were authorized and appropriated under ARRA (see FFIS Issue Brief 09-19). In order to be eligible to receive resources from the Emergency Fund, a state must demonstrate an increase in the number of families receiving assistance from the TANF program or an increase in expenditures on employment subsidies or short-term, one-time benefits in at least one quarter during FY 2009 or FY 2010. HHS announced the availability of these funds on April 3, 2009, see the HHS press release at: The Questions and Answers can be found at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/recovery/tanf-faq.htm
Details on approved TANF Emergency Contingency Fund applications can be found under Data and Reports at:
July 20, 2009: TANF Emergency Contingency Funds The Office of Family Assistance at the Department of Health and Human Services issued a program notice that instructs jurisdictions to use form OFA-100 when applying for TANF Emergency Contingency funds. A jurisdiction should not resubmit any applications it made prior to the issuance of the July 20, 2009, guidance, but must use form OFA-100 to update and revise data it has already submitted as part of an earlier application. The form and instructions can be found at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/policy/pi-ofa/2009/200905/PI200905.htm
April 3, 2009: Recovery Act Provides $5 Billion to Assist Needy Families Friday, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of up to an additional $5 billion in emergency funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. This new Emergency Fund, established by ARRA, will help states serve more families seeking employment opportunities and other forms of assistance during the economic downturn. http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/04/20090403a.html
September 30, 2009: HHS Awards Funds Under New ARRA Program HHS awarded $46 million to 84 grantees under a new program created by ARRA, the Strengthening Communities Fund. Under the State, Local, and Tribal Capacity Building Program, entities in 29 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rice, and territories received awards. Under the Nonprofit Capacity Building Program, 35 applicants received awards. A list of grants by state is available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2009/scf_chart.html
