CARES Act Public Services

Program is now closed.  Projects were awarded at earlier Commissioner meeting.  

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notified Gloucester County, New Jersey that it will receive an allocation of $804,857.00 in Community Development Block Grant funds (CV-1) to be used to prevent, prepare for, and/or respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Public Law 116-136, authorized this allocation to respond to the growing effects of this historic public health crisis.

The CARES Act funding suspends the usual 15 percent public services cap on CDBG expenditures: Gloucester County is allocating approximately $500,000.00 in CDBG-CV funds to qualified non-profit 501(c)(3) agencies serving Gloucester County residents to support a variety of activities that prevent, prepare for, and/or respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Activities are required to provide new or quantifiably increased public services that assist and/or benefit the low- and moderate-income population affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Gloucester County Office of Housing and Community Development is requesting applications from qualified non-profit 501(c)(3) agencies to participate in the CDBG-CV program. Funds must be used for public services associated with assisting and/or benefitting the low- and moderate-income population affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Additional information regarding eligible activities is included within this application. The County is not accepting applications from individuals who need personal housing or other financial assistance. Applications must be for the creation and/or maintenance of a program or project that centers on preparing, preventing, and/or responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Upon receipt, review and ranking of applications received, funding will be awarded to each eligible agency accordingly. Proposed activities will be included to the Substantial Amendment FY2019 CDBG Action Plan and submitted to HUD for approval. Upon approval by the County of Gloucester and HUD, agencies awarded funding will enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with the County of Gloucester.

CDBG-CV grants will be subject to oversight, reporting, and monitoring requirements that each grantee have adequate procedures to prevent the duplication of benefits, which means grant funds may not be used to pay costs if another source of financial assistance is available to pay that cost. Awarded subrecipients will be required to certify during the contract term that there is no supplanting of federal funds for requested programs or projects.

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

Public Services are non-construction social service activities in the community that benefit low- and moderate-income citizens. CDBG-CV regulations allow the use of grant funds for a wide range of public service activities, examples of which are listed in the HUD Quick Guide.

Most CDBG-eligible activities remain eligible under CDBG-CV, provided they are centered on preparing, preventing, and/or responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligible activities include:

(1) Public service activities such as senior services, food provision, emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, childcare, health, drug abuse, domestic violence services, etc.

(2)Public service activities such as providing COVID-19 testing and diagnosis services at a fixed or mobile location.

Low-and Moderate - Income Persons Benefit

The Community Development Block Grant COVID-19 (CDBG-CV) program requires that each CDBG-CV funded activity must principally benefit low- and moderate-income (LMI) persons. Most activities funded by the CDBG-CV program are designed to benefit low- and moderate-income (LMI) persons.

To be considered for CDBG-CV funding a program or project must first meet the following National Objective: Benefit to Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) persons; the CARES Act requirements, and the objective of preventing, preparing for and/or responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

To be eligible for CDBG-CV assistance, a public service project must serve low- and moderate-income persons. To qualify for funding under the LMI category, the persons or households served must have income levels at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI).