The American Rescue Plan
The American Rescue Plan (ARPA) represents a historic opportunity to invest in people, communities and infrastructure. Ohio is set to receive a total $5.36 billion, separated between two allocations, which must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and fully expended by December 31, 2026. Billions more are coming to Ohio through program-specific, less flexible funds.
With funding of this magnitude, AOF is keeping a close eye on opportunities for advocacy, including continuing to push for transparency, accountability, and a public planning process.
Resources
Advocates for Ohio’s Future and the Ohio Poverty Law Center are helping you stay up to date on Ohio’s American Rescue Plan allocations with OhioARPATracker.org and our accompanying August 2022 report A Billion Here, A Billion There: Where Have All of Ohio’s COVID Relief Dollars Gone? and September 2023 report A Couple Billion Here, A Couple Billion There: Where Have All of Ohio’s COVID Relief Dollars Gone? Check out these resources below!
AOF’s Sign-On Letter to Governor DeWine and General Assembly Leaders
Just a Bite: AOF joined our partners at the Ohio Association of Foodbanks on their Just a Bite podcast for a discussion on American Rescue Plan spending in Ohio. Check out the episode: Our Funds, Our Future: The American Rescue Plan Act in Ohio HERE.
Ohio Mayors Alliance: Resilience and Growth in the Face of Struggle: A Summary of American Rescue Plan Spending in Ohio Cities (September 2022)
Council of State Governments: State ARPA Utilization Database
National Conference of State Legislatures: ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Fund Allocations
NCSL: American Rescue Plan Resources
National Low Income Housing Coalition: State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, Initial Trends in Housing Investments (June 2022)
National Women’s Law Center: Child Care Rescue: How States Are Using Their American Rescue Plan Act Child Care Funds
Press Calls
December 13, 2021
American Rescue Plan Act Flexible State Funds Media Call
The American Rescue Plan Act allotted $5.36 billion in flexible State Fiscal Recovery Funds for Ohio to recover, repay, restore and rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic. Governor DeWine and leaders in the General Assembly have encumbered more than three-fourths of Ohio’s first payment of $2.7 billion. They did this with no opportunity for public input while many local governments reached out to their residents to identify and prioritize the needs of their communities through an open, public, transparent process before deciding on an investment/recovery plan.
With over $600 million remaining of the first payment and $2.7 billion more yet to come, Ohio needs to have a robust state recovery plan that is targeted to support a strong and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn.
A recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that most states, including Ohio’s neighbors in the Midwest, have invested the majority of their flexible ARPA state funds to respond directly to the impacts of the pandemic, including for public health or other health care services; food, housing, and other social services. Unfortunately, some states have used the funds for initiatives that do not address the struggles people continue to experience or the underlying racial and economic inequities exacerbated by the pandemic.
After hearing no plans from the Administration or the General Assembly to hold legislative hearings, Advocates for Ohio’s Future (AOF) held our own public hearing in October to learn about proposed investments in health and human services that have long-term impacts on populations struggling to recover. Read our memo here.
In the spirit of this holiday season, AOF urges the DeWine Administration, leaders in the General Assembly, and state officials to seek out additional public input through an ARP planning process and target remaining state ARPA funds to support those in need.
Webinars
August 19, 2022
In August, AOF and OPLC hosted a webinar delving into how federal funds have been spent and recommendations for immediate and long-term investments of the $1.9 billion Ohio has left to allocate.
Download the slides here and view the recording below.
OCTOBER 7, 2021
STATE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUND HHS PRIORITIES
Advocates for Ohio's Future hosted this webinar about Ohio's $5.36 billion allocation of State Fiscal Recovery Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Since these recovery funds were announced on both the state and local levels, we've seen many local governments reach out to their residents to identify and prioritize the needs of their communities through an open, public, transparent process before deciding on an investment/recovery plan.
In June, Governor DeWine and the General Assembly spent more than two-thirds of Ohio’s first payment of $2.7 billion. They did this with no opportunity for public input. With $850 million remaining of the first payment and $2.7 billion more yet to come, Ohio needs to have a robust state recovery plan. Since there are no plans from the Administration or the General Assembly to hold hearings, we thought we would have one of our own.
AOF members have a lot to say on what everyday Ohioans need for health and economic recovery. Our friends from: Ohio Association of Foodbanks, Children's Defense Fund Ohio, Ohio Poverty Law Center, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, Enterprise Community Partners, The Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers, Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice, Policy Matters Ohio, and Ohio Workforce Coalition shared their priorities, why investments in their proposal is needed and what impact they will have for the populations they serve. The full webinar recording is available below and the full slide deck is available here.
Please also see a letter to Governor DeWine here outlining proposals the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) discussed in the presentation.
AOF released a memo summarizing the proposals presented in this webinar. Read our memo here and our blog post here.
MAY 14, 2021
AOF SPECIAL EDITION WEBINAR: THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
AOF convened a roundtable of 13 expert members to share how much money is scheduled to come to Ohio for many health and human services issues, what it can be used for and what we think is the best use for these dollars. Here’s our roster of excellent speakers and the topic they covered: State Government Funding: Wendy Patton, Policy Matters Ohio; Local Government Funding: Graham Bowman, Ohio Poverty Law Center; Food Assistance: Joree Novotny, Ohio Association of Foodbanks; Medicaid: Loren Anthes, The Center for Community Solutions; TANF: Kelsey Bergfeld, Advocates for Ohio’s Future; Broadband: Susan Jagers, Ohio Poverty Law Center; Child Care: Will Petrik, Policy Matters Ohio; Housing & Homelessness: Gina Wilt, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio; Older Adult Funding: Beth Kowalczyk, Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging; Home and Community-Based Services: Jordan Ballinger, Disability Rights Ohio & the Ohio Home and Community-Based Services Coalition; Behavioral Health: Soley Hernandez, The Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers; Education: Darold Johnson, Ohio Federation of Teachers; Workforce: Rebecca Kusner, Ohio Workforce Coalition.
Click here to download a copy of the slides. Full webinar recording is available below.