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“A new and emerging workforce must be upskilled and trained to move the needle on Oklahoma’s 12% unemployment rate, and it is incumbent upon education in Oklahoma to innovate and respond quickly,” said Governor Kevin Stitt. “Tri County Tech is breaking the mold of continuing education by offering several accelerated courses targeted for industries where there is known demand and ample opportunity for career growth.”

Tri County Tech’s Skills to Rebuild program will get students into the workforce in as little as 2 months by offering accelerated certifications in the areas of accounting, health care, nursing, child development, computer networking/cybersecurity, and manufacturing. Skills to Rebuild is unique in that it shortens the traditional time it takes for a student to complete these programs by an average of 20% while maintaining high educational standards for certifications and graduation. Furthermore, most courses will be offered virtually and on evenings and weekends to accommodate working students.

Read more about GOVERNOR, TRI COUNTY TECH ANNOUNCE TUITION-FREE PROGRAMS TO ACCELERATE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.

Governor Stitt also announced his intent to file an executive order for OSDH to develop a color-coded alert system to notify citizens and local elected leaders of Oklahoma counties with growing levels of community spread, with additional public health recommendations associated with the color alerts.

“The Trump administration will soon be rolling out a color-coded system to help Americans make decisions based on the presence of COVID-19 in their counties,” said Gov. Stitt. “Oklahoma is going to support this effort, and I have instructed OSDH to review the White House’s material and further enhance this color-coded system to address our unique needs and pandemic experience in our state. We need Oklahomans to be vigilant and informed. Wear a mask when you cannot physically distance well; socialize outdoors; and wash your hands often. Personal responsibility is key to protecting the lives of your loved ones.”

“Tuesday’s spike will not be the last one we expect to see in the coming days. We asked Oklahomans to get tested before and after attending large scale events, and they have been active participants in our public health efforts by showing significant interest in our testing pods across the State,” said Commissioner Frye. “As COVID-19 positive cases have increased, 40% of them have been adults in the 18 to 35 age range who typically don’t have symptoms. Younger adults need to be especially careful as potential carriers of COVID-19. We need all Oklahomans to work together to protect the lives of older and more vulnerable loved ones as families come together over the holiday weekend.”

The three CARES Act grants announced today are as follows:  

The $50 million grant will support OSDH’s three core components, 1) expanding testing capacity, 2) modernizing reporting systems, and 3) expanding contact tracing and case investigation. Roughly $35 million will go towards expanding the public’s access to testing and expand public health labs ability to more rapidly deliver results. At this funding level, OSDH will be able to independently sustain the State’s current testing goal of testing 100,000 individuals a month. The remaining $15 million will allow OSDH to digitize and modernize data entry systems in the State health department and across county offices. It will also support OSDH’s efforts to make contact tracing services more efficient through enhance technology platforms that have state-of-the-art security to protect individual’s personal information.

“The Stitt administration’s testing strategy will include more robust telemedicine capacities for Oklahomans living in rural communities and seeking COVID-19 screening and testing,” said Sec. Pollard. “Our greatest goal is to continue to position Oklahoma as national leaders on the latest testing capabilities and strategies. This will help us support children and teachers who are going back to the classroom and quickly deploy resources to support businesses in their reopening efforts.”

The CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund will be used to purchase mobile health units that will allow OSDH and county departments to make testing and screening of COVID-19 more accessible. The funding will purchase 9 trailers and 18 vans that are retrofitted to deliver core public health services, to include GPS and Wifi to be connected into TeleHealth systems to advance the delivery of quality health care in rural parts of the State. Each OSDH regional director will propose a plan for the placement of these mobile health devices. These plans will involve developing local partnerships with the education sector, private sector, and local community leaders on how best to deliver rapid, free COVID-19 services while the Oklahoma awaits a vaccine or treatment.  

To complement the Stitt administration’s reopening plan of long-term care facilities and nursing homes, $35 million will go towards helping each facility increase infectious disease protocols as well as provide financial support for the purchasing of PPE, additional cleaning supplies, and telehealth medicine.  

With these funds, each facility will be eligible for up to $15,000 specifically for contracting or employing a trained infection preventionist to craft a plan unique to each facility to minimize the presence of COVID-19 and to monitor for potential outbreaks.

Read more about GOV. STITT JOINS STATE HEALTH LEADERS IN ANNOUNCING THREE NEW CARES ACT GRANTS.

“Protecting our food supply is so important, as as your governor, I am grateful for everything you (agriculture producers) are doing to keep food on our stores’ shelves,” Stitt said. “Today’s announcement is a strong step in that direction. I am excited about the job opportunities this will create.” 

Read more about Oklahoma increases aid for meat processors through CARES Act.

The program will provide reimbursements to organizations paying landlords for rent and will be administered through local nonprofits. Assistance also will be available directly to individuals or families. Organizations are eligible for up to $300,000, and individuals and families are capped at $3,600.

The state will partner with Restore Hope, Legal Aid, Upward Transitions and the Inasmuch Foundation, among others.

“As Oklahoma begins to re-open businesses, it is critical we help our neighbors who are at risk of losing their homes due to the sudden disruption in our economy,” Stitt said.

This comes more than a week after the Tulsa City Council sent a resolution to Stitt asking for a statewide moratorium on evictions through July.

Stitt said the grant program was created since he did not have the legal authority to put that moratorium in place.

Read more about rental assistance, small business relief programs announced.

“As Oklahoma begins to re-open businesses, it is critical we help our neighbors who are at risk of losing their homes due to the sudden disruption in our economy,” said Gov. Kevin Stitt. “In a recent review of the pending eviction cases in Tulsa County that are not covered by the CARES Act, 75% of these cases did not have a previous eviction filed. The pandemic has resulted in a number of Oklahomans facing housing instability and food insecurity, and thanks to collaborative ideas from the State Legislature and funding support from our Congressional delegation, we can be confident that Oklahoma will rise stronger as we begin our recovery process.”

The Eviction Mitigation program will provide reimbursements to organizations paying landlords for rental assistance to individuals or families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual and families will be capped at $3,600 in eviction mitigation. Administered through local non-profits, the State is partnering in Tulsa County with Restore Hope, Schusterman Family Foundation, Legal Aid and Community Action and in Oklahoma County with Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, Inasmuch Foundation, Legal Aid, Community Action Partnership and Upward Transitions.

The Governor also announced today the creation of the Oklahoma Business Relief Program (OBRP) to support local businesses impacted by COVID-19. OBRP offers vital funding for businesses that have suffered revenue loss due to the pandemic.

In the coming weeks, participating financial institutions will process business applications and submit approved applications to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Applications will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis and grant funds will be provided to the business through the financial institution. During the first phase of applications, at least 20% of the program funds will be designated for minority owned businesses.

Read more about GOV. STITT ANNOUNCES TWO NEW CARES ACT GRANT PROGRAMS: BUSINESS RELIEF PROGRAM, MITIGATION PROGRAM.

From June 1 to June 10, the State received a total of $7.5 million in reimbursement applications from more than 60 cities and counties for operation expenses related to the presence of COVID-19.

“Help is on the way to Oklahoma’s cities and counties whose services have been impacted by the presence of COVID-19,” said Gov. Stitt. “We are grateful for Oklahoma’s Congressional delegation who made these critical funds available. It has made government more agile for adapting its workforce and services, to include purchasing critical personal protective equipment and enhancing sanitation of public areas or communal facilities. The State has built a robust platform to get these funds out the door efficiently and quickly while also providing thorough oversight, and we expect to see the number of reimbursement applications to at least double in July.”

Governor Stitt was joined for the announcement by Edmond Mayor Dan O’Neil, Lawton Mayor Stan Booker, McAlester Mayor John Browne, Woodward City Council Member Roscoe Hill, Pittsburg County Commissioner Charlie Rogers, Comanche County Commissioner Alvin Cargill and Payne County Commissioner Chris Reding.

Read more about GOV. STITT ANNOUNCES 1ST ROUND OF CARES ACT FUNDS DELIVERED TO CITIES, COUNTIES IMPACTED BY COVID-19.

Incentive grant funds were made available through $8 million from the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) set-aside amount from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund and $8 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) discretionary funds. Under the CARES Act, the OSDE funds must meet “emergency needs” of districts in response to COVID-19, while GEER funds must be expended to schools “most significantly impacted by coronavirus.”

Hofmeister said the partnership will help educators bridge the “digital divide” and strengthen distance learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we plan for a new school year after the major disruptions we experienced this past spring, we must do all we can to ensure districts can provide digital instructional delivery and social-emotional supports to every student when needed. This is no easy task as districts grapple with budget shortfalls and various unknowns stemming from the pandemic. School leaders are rising to the challenge, however, and these incentive grants will go a long way toward helping fuel their heroic efforts.”

Use of GEER funds to provide additional connectivity for schools is critical, according to the Governor.

“I welcome this partnership with Superintendent Hofmeister and OSDE to maximize the impact of our federal dollars on students,” said Gov. Stitt. “Digital transformation has been one of my priorities since I took office and we are working on more projects to help ensure technology is an enhancement to learning rather than a barrier.”

Read more about Gov. Stitt, Supt. Hofmeister announce $16 million in Incentive Grants to Oklahoma schools.

“The State has put into place a sound platform to thoroughly review and quickly process reimbursement needs from cities and counties impacted by COVID-19,” said State COO John Budd. “We have 94 cities and counties who have already engaged with the State, and we encourage all others to reach out to the State as soon as possible to begin discussions on how these federal funds can support their services impacted by the novel virus.”

Cities and counties will be able to submit reimbursement applications during the first 10 days of every month, with the remainder of the month reserved for the State to review and validate applications as well as process payments. Per federal law, CARES FORWARD will process COVID-19 related reimbursements from cities, counties and State agencies until the end of January 2021.

Read more about 94 CITIES, COUNTIES REGISTER FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR COVID-19 EXPENSES.

“Our mission is to maximize all federal dollars available during this unprecedented time and to ensure this money is spent with integrity on COVID-19 related expenses, emergencies and pandemic preparedness,” said Gov. Stitt. “These CARES Act dollars will allow us to recover from COVID-19, rebuild our economy, ensure we are prepared for what may come in the future and help us carry out our vision of becoming a Top Ten state.”

The new web-based platform allows the State to effectively and transparently process reimbursement requests and deploy funds to communities in need of financial relief from COVID-19 related expenses.

All cities and counties who have COVID-19 related expenses are asked to set up an account at [governor.ok.gov/crfgrants]governor.ok.gov/crfgrants in order to submit reimbursement requests and carefully review the guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury.

“The members of our federal delegation have worked tirelessly to secure this funding for Oklahomans, and we are so thankful for all they are doing in Washington D.C.,” said Gov Stitt. “Congress awarded this money to the states with the expectation that governors would work with local communities to ensure these dollars were distributed quickly and on target.”

Read more about GOVERNOR STITT JOINS LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERS IN ANNOUNCING CARES ACT FUNDING PORTAL.