Stories

News Story | December 9, 2020

After a slow start, coronavirus relief payments to local Oklahoma governments are flying out of the governor’s office at a rate of many millions of dollars a day.

Through Friday, $233.1 million of the $250 million in CARES Act funds set aside for counties and municipalities had been dispersed, according to a state web site.

In all, more than three-fourths of Oklahoma’s $1.2 billion allocation has been paid.

Federal law mandates the disbursements end on Dec. 31.

Despite some early bumps, Gene Wallace of the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma and Mike Fina of the Oklahoma Municipal League said Friday the process has worked pretty well.

“The governor’s office did a fantastic job to set up and run a completely new program like this,” said Fina.

Signed in late March, the CARES Act included $150 billion to reimburse state and local governments for COVID-related expenses. The money was allocated by population.

Requests were fairly slow at first as counties and municipalities tried to figure out the application procedures and what could be claimed as an allowable expense.

During the summer, the governor’s office calculated allocations based on population for each of the state’s 586 municipalities and 77 counties.

The county allocations were based on the number of residents not living in one of the municipalities. Each county was allocated at least $100,000.

At about the same time, it was determined that public safety payrolls — police, fire and in some cases emergency medical services — qualified for reimbursement. That made the process a whole lot easier for most municipalities.

Read more about CARES money to pay for coronavirus-related expenses going fast as deadline nears.

News Story | October 11, 2020

MIAMI, Okla. — The Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa County was recently selected to receive federal funds to link children and families with needed resources to help reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19.

The club was awarded approximately $300,000 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to operate an on-site Community HOPE Center until the end of the year, said Mackenzie Garst, the club's executive director.

Such centers have virtual learning tools, such as computers and iPads, as well as meals and snacks, extracurricular programs, enrichment activities and other family resources. The funds will cover expenses such as staffing and electronics to help ease children from the traditional classroom experience to virtual learning, Garst said.

“It’s been an adjustment for our kids to get them in the mindset of working virtually and electronically instead of sitting in a classroom with their teacher, but for the most part, they’ve been really resilient and are bouncing back from being out of school for five months,” she said.

The HOPE centers will use community partnerships to provide critical services to families and will serve children ages 5 to 18 as well as their adult caregivers.

Read more about Community HOPE Center established at Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa County.

Press Release | October 7, 2020

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 7, 2020) — One week after the program’s initial deadline, Governor Kevin Stitt announced an extension for all Oklahoma school districts to claim funding for virtual learning resources through Learn Anywhere Oklahoma.

While more than 250 school districts have claimed funding through the program, roughly one third of all districts across the state still do not have an established virtual learning platform. The deadline to register has been extended to Oct. 30.

The Oklahoma Supplemental Online Course Program will be proactively reaching out to districts to assist in connecting all schools to virtual resources that will assist in delivering education during the COVID-19 pandemic and help provide greater access to quality learning opportunities.

“Our top priority is to ensure all Oklahoma students have access to a quality education,” said Gov. Stitt. “Learn Anywhere Oklahoma provides school districts with a tool belt of options for delivering virtual education to individual students or entire classrooms, allowing students to remain engaged in their districts during this historic pandemic.”  

Read more about GOV. STITT ANNOUNCES EXTENSION FOR O.K. PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO CLAIM FUNDING FOR VIRTUAL COURSE OPTIONS.

Press Release | October 5, 2020

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 5, 2020) – Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Eric Hargan, announced new flexibilities for States in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) block grant program after visiting two community HOPE centers. Hargan was joined by Assistant Secretary of HHS’s Administration for Children and Families, Lynn Johnson, whose agency administers the CCDF federal block grant.

“We applaud the work of Oklahoma in creatively addressing the needs of children and families who need support, especially where in-person school is not available,” said Hargan. “The flexibilities we’re offering from HHS will help Oklahoma, and States nationwide, to continue pioneering new ways of ensuring that the needs of low-income children and families are still prioritized when schools are closed to in-person instruction.”

Launched on Aug. 3 by Gov. Kevin Stitt and Secretary of Human Services and Early Childhood Initiatives Justin Brown, Community HOPE Centers have utilized $15 million in CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to fund operations to date.

Community HOPE Centers utilize partnerships to provide resources in response to COVID-19 to children ages 5 through 18 to support their learning, as well as meet their social and emotional needs, using the science of HOPE as their foundation. The locations of the centers have been prioritized in areas of highest need, focusing first where full-time, in-person school is not available, allowing children’s educational needs to be met while parents work. Each center utilizes mental health professionals, OKDHS social services staff, virtual learning tools such as computers and iPads, meals and snacks, enrichment activities and other programming available to support families. Oklahoma is the first state in the nation to launch such a model.  

Read more about Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan Visits two Oklahoma Community HOPE Centers.

News Story | October 5, 2020

Oklahoma announced Monday that it is expanding a program to help children during the pandemic.

The state is helping fund two dozen HOPE Centers across Oklahoma to give children a place to go if their school is undergoing virtual learning. The HOPE Centers have 27 locations that serve 1,700 children across Oklahoma and work by the state helping fund community centers already in place.

“We have an embedded worker within each HOPE Center, which allows us to serve the family, as well,” said Justin Brown, secretary of Human Services and Early Childhood Initiatives. “So, it’s not just the child coming in and being served in a classroom setting with all of those additional resources, but it’s also that the family gets served.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt and federal officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services toured one of the HOPE Centers on Monday. Eric Hargan, deputy secretary with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Oklahoma is the first state with this model.

“We are pleased to see places like Oklahoma working aggressively to come up with solutions and be creative,” Hargan said. “Here in Oklahoma, the governor and his administration have pioneered one solution with the HOPE Center model.”

HOPE Centers are funded with $15 million from coronavirus relief money. On Monday, officials announced they’re putting together enough funding to keep the centers going in 2021 when that money expires.

Read more about Oklahoma expanding program to help children amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Press Release | September 11, 2020

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 11, 2020) – Governor Kevin Stitt’s CARES FORWARD team announced today that reimbursement requests for CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) from cities and counties have quadrupled in the past month and the number of local governments that have begun the process to file for reimbursements has doubled.

This new peak comes a month after Governor Stitt announced the State’s new CRF allocation model, dedicating $250 million to cities and counties to receive reimbursement for COVID-19 eligible expenses. To date, more than 400 cities and counties have begun the process to file for CRF reimbursements, with more than $83 million in CRF already reimbursed back to local governments and another $50 million in the process of being paid or under review.

“We strategically reserved $250 million in CRF to ensure Oklahoma cities and counties have the resources needed to respond and recover from the presence of COVID-19,” said Gov. Kevin Stitt. “After creating more flexibility in the State’s management of CRF, we have seen a strong positive response from local governments in filing for these critical funds and we have worked tirelessly to get the resources deployed as quickly as possible.”

While the $250 million in CRF is available through Nov. 1, all cities and counties must complete a risk assessment form with the State by Sept. 15 in order to qualify for the funds. Cities and counties who have questions about this process should contact the State directly by e-mailing CRFhelp@omes.ok.gov.

Read more about CARES ACT CRF REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS FROM CITIES, COUNTIES QUADRUPLE IN AUGUST.