The Board of Supervisors approved the initial project recommendations for Phase One Funding Allocations for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which the County received in May 2021. Project proposals had to fit in one of the three Board-approved strategic investments for priority issue areas: Housing and Homelessness, Health, and Economic Response. These are some of the projects the Board of Supervisors approved for funding:
Landlord Engagement and Re-Housing Supports: $10 million -- This program will improve re-housing outcomes for people experiencing homelessness with an array of supportive services, landlord engagement strategies and incentives, and flexible rental subsidies.
Sacramento County Social Health Connect: $5 million -- A Social Health Information Exchange (SHIE) is a countywide data infrastructure that links medical, behavioral health, social services, and housing data from multiple sources.
Community Nursing Encampment Unit Pilot: $700,000 -- This public health nursing team will provide outreach, client advocacy and professional case management to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Community Nursing Children and Families Unit: $1.5 million -- This Public Health Nursing team will provide nursing assessments and interventions, care coordination, linkages to health resources, and health education to pregnant and parenting families experiencing, or who are at risk of, homelessness.
Substance Use Respite and Engagement Center: $2.6 million -- Funding to support the Substance Use Respite and Engagement (SURE) Center program operated by WellSpace Health, which provides short-term (4-12 hours) recovery, detoxification, recuperation from the effects of acute alcohol or drug intoxication.
Project RoomKey Medical Services: $1 million -- Provides medical services for individuals in Project RoomKey, including health education and care coordination, harm reduction, wellness and supportive care, COVID-19 testing and vaccination.
Academic Support and School Readiness: $1.2 million -- This project addresses the negative impact of academic disruption and remote learning due to the pandemic on foster children, families and caretakers.
Building Strong Families: $3.9 million -- Funding will go toward Family Support Navigators to connect families to critical services in geographic locations that were hardest hit by COVID-19.
Retail Food Permit Fee Waiver: $6.8 million -- Waives the annual operating permit fees from the Environmental Management Department for approximately 7,161 retail food businesses in Sacramento County.
Small Business and Non-Profit Grants: $7.5 million** -- Directs grants of $5,000 to 1,500 Small Business and Non -Profit organizations in unincorporated Sacramento County that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaboration, Business Support Services: $1.8 million -- Funds the Sacramento Inclusive Economic Development Collaboration (Sac IEDC) for operations dedicated to providing assistance, counseling, in-language support, County program outreach and other services to businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
Business Environmental Resources Center, Business Support Services: $200,000 -- Funds the Business Environmental Resource Center (BERC) for operations dedicated to providing assistance, counseling, County program outreach and other services to businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
**Grant application opportunities will be announced at a later date.
County Staff continue to develop and scope out projects with a focus on opportunities to provide funding for economic recovery, health, homelessness and housing. Please note, this is only a partial list. You can visit the following link to view the full list of project summaries. American Rescue Plan Act funds provide local fiscal aid to support COVID-19 response efforts, cover increased expenditures, replenish lost revenue and mitigate economic harm from the COVID pandemic. For more information, visit the County’s American Rescue Plan Act webpage.