Community Development Block Grant CARES Funding

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) CARES funding is available to Michigan counties that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 virus through the Michigan State CDBG Program to assist in their economic recovery efforts.

Earlier this year, Congress appropriated $5 billion in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Michigan has received an allocation of $20.5 million in CARES Act CDBG funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), based on the fiscal year 2020 CDBG formula.

Who is eligible to receive the funds?

There are 77 non-entitlement Michigan counties that are eligible to receive a portion of the CARES Act funding through the Michigan State CDBG Program.

View allocations by county

What formula was used to determine the county allocation?

The formula used to calculate the allocation is based on HUD’s methodology for Round 2 allocations of the CDBG-CV CARES Act funds but was modified, taking into consideration public health needs, economic and housing market disruptions, the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other factors.

HUD’s methodology:

Public health needs

50% - Low Income Elderly
10% - County of Children in poverty

Economic and Housing Market Disruptions

40% - Aggregate count of approved unemployment insurance (UI) claims week ending 3/21/2020 – 4/25/2020 less the aggregate count of UI claims during the same time period last year.

Risk of transmission of coronavirus

15% Modifier – Per capita rate of confirmed coronavirus cases.

The Michigan State CDBG Program considered populations impacted by the virus and the services counties have had to pay for thus far in the pandemic. CDBG replaced the two public health need considerations with a more comprehensive index created by the Center for Disease Control, which also contains these two considerations.

CDBG Allocation Formula:

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60% - Center for Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index
40% - Aggregate count of approved unemployment insurance (UI) claims for week ending 4/25/2020 – 5/30/2020 less the aggregate count of UI claims during the same time period last year (week ending 4/27/2019 – 6/1/2019)
15% modifier - Per capita rate of confirmed coronavirus cases

(60%*SVI + 40%*UI Claims) + 15%*COVID-19 Cases = Weighted Score*

*This weighted score is then ranked to establish the allocation amount.

How can the funds be used?

The funding is designated for COVID-19 related unbudgeted county expenditures used to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus. CDBG will reimburse expenses, not already paid with other federal or state funding, dating back to January 21, 2020, which was the date of the first confirmed U.S. COVID-19 case. Funds can only be reimbursed to the county, and counties can, in turn, reimburse eligible cities, villages, and townships.

Examples of eligible expenditures

Health Care Equipment

Purchasing and distributing personal protective equipment (PPE)
Purchase of sanitation equipment
Purchase of telehealth equipment to allow assisted residents access to health care providers from home

Public Services

COVID-19 testing costs
Setup of quarantine sites
Assist vulnerable populations in accessing food, medical care or prescriptions
Providing units for temporary quarantine purposes
Emergency housing for health care workers

Salaries

Reimbursement for overtime costs for staff time related to COVID-19 response including hazard pay
Hazard pay for essential workers that are managing or maintaining units, or staffing emergency or isolation units (County Sheriff or EMT)

When will the funds be available?

Reimbursement for eligible expenses may be submitted once the grant agreement has been executed and all of the pre-disbursement requirements have been met.

Are there any reporting requirements?

Reporting requirements will be discussed during the two virtual informational sessions on July 21 and July 28, 2020. Also, the grant agreement will disclose all necessary requirements that will pertain to each county’s reimbursement requests.

Resources:

Contact:

Questions may be submitted to the CDBG Team at [email protected].