March 2026

Greetings,

I’m pleased to share the March edition of the Grants Management Newsletter. This month marks six years since the national emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Although the national emergency formally ended on April 10, 2023, states across the country continue to address the lasting impacts of the pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program has played a critical role in supporting communities through this recovery – providing essential resources to stabilize services, strengthen infrastructure, and promote long-term resilience to communities.

As the program enters its final phase, our collective focus is shifting from implementation to closeout. The months ahead will require continued coordination to ensure that projects are completed, funds are fully and properly expended, and all reporting and compliance requirements are satisfied. While significant progress has been made across agencies and projects, this stage presents an important opportunity to reinforce accountability, resolve outstanding items, and position the state for a successful and orderly closeout.

To this end, the OMES GMO team has been working to transition to a proactive closeout posture. While comprehensive formal closeout guidance has not yet been released by the United States Department of the Treasury, the OMES GMO team has begun requesting information from state agencies related to program documentation, agency record retention plans, and legacy reporting. In the coming weeks, agencies can expect additional communication outlining closeout expectations, key milestones, and recommended practices to support timely and compliant project completion.

Lastly, quarterly program reporting will be submitted at the end of the month. OMES GMO requests that state agencies submit their reports for the prior quarter on or before April 10 to support timely consolidation and review.

As always, the OMES GMO team remains available to provide support throughout this process. We appreciate the continued collaboration and commitment demonstrated by our partner agencies and look forward to working together to ensure a successful closeout of these programs.

Sincerely,

Parker Wise
Director of OMES Grants Management Office

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• Metrics
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• In the news
• Resources
• Collaboration corner
• Subrecipient spotlight

Note: These metrics reflect data as of March 30. Please visit the ARPA-SLFRF Program Tracker for the most up-to-date information.

• $1.36 billion, or 72.7%, of total funds disbursed.
• $67.3 million disbursed in February 2026.
• 27 initiatives fully disbursed to date.
• $187.5 million disbursed in Q4 2025.

GMO would like to thank everyone who responded to our call for submissions for the ARPA-SLFRF Share Your Story project. We have passed along your submissions to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and will keep you updated about any developments.

Our team would also like to remind agencies that the deadline to send quarterly reporting information to GMO is April 10. Be on the lookout for email communications from Ryan Sherer. 

During performance of the ARPA-SLFRF award, a need for clarity about the program or federal financial assistance may arise. OMES GMO is here to help. If you would like our team to submit an inquiry for additional guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury or if you have questions concerning your program, please complete this ARPA-SLFRF Guidance Request form.

• New mental health facility set to open in south Oklahoma City
• Mental health department set to begin transferring patients to new Oklahoma City hospital location
• Citizen Potawatomi Nation Receives $1,052,946 Grant for System Improvements from the OWRB
• ODMHSAS closes on hospital purchase, establishes Oklahoma City Behavioral Health Campus (OKCBHC)
• Town of Allen Receives $89,443 Grant for System Improvements from the OWRB
• The Weleetka Public Works Authority Receives $10,000 Grant for System Improvements from the OWRB
• Wellston Public Works Authority Receives $208,218 Grant for System Improvements from the OWRB
• Oklahoma Broadband Office closes first expansion projects in Western Oklahoma
• CareerTech, partner agencies forge new low- to no-cost apprenticeship path to teacher certification

Grants.gov has unveiled its "next generation" in Simpler.Grants.gov. This new site is intended to increase transparency as well as usability for grants professionals. According to the development team's roadmap, the intention is for the platform to eventually replace all Grants.gov functionality by 2027. 

The Simpler.Grants.gov team recently hosted a public demonstration of the new initiative with the Council on Federal Financial Assistance (COFFA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and you can watch the COFFA demonstration now.

Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation

This month, we are highlighting our partners at the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) for their work with the Manufacturing Skills Academy, which just graduated its first cohort at the end of February!

OMES staff members were graciously invited to the graduation ceremony, where the speakers, including some of the graduates themselves, pointed to the transformational effect that this program is already having on Oklahoma City’s youth and its manufacturing prowess.

The Grants Management Office, in partnership with OCAST, has disbursed nearly $6 million of ARPA-SLFRF funding to the Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology for the Manufacturing Skills Academy program.

Oklahoma City Behavioral Health Campus

February also saw the opening of the Oklahoma City Behavioral Health Campus! The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) purchased the former SSM Health facility to strengthen the state's mental health care offerings. The annex has 32 beds, and patients will start being transferred to the new facility shortly.

The Grants Management Office, in partnership with ODMHSAS, has disbursed over $27 million of ARPA-SLFRF funding to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse for the Griffin Memorial Hospital program.