Help Is Here Roundup: Federal, State, and Local Officials Continue to Highlight Child Tax Credit and Other American Rescue Plan Provisions

6 min readJul 22, 2021

Federal, State, and Local officials from across the country continue to see benefits from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) as it provides critical relief for their communities.

This past week, the IRS distributed over $15 billion in Child Tax Credit payments. Additionally, ARP funding and provisions continue to allow state leaders from both parties to build back better. In Virginia, the governor announced $700 million in funding to expand access to broadband across the state. Additionally, the National Endowment for the Arts announced $135 million in ARP funding dedicated to assisting nonprofit culture organizations and local art agencies that suffered during the pandemic.

See more examples below of how the American Rescue Plan continues to benefit communities across America:

HELP IS HERE STATE AND LOCAL STORIES:

CO: Denver decides where it will spend 15% of American Rescue Plan money. Much of $46 million going to hiring, restoring cuts made during the pandemic. [The Denver Post, 07/19/2021]

AR: Little Rock mayor ‘angered’ by shootings, will steer $1M toward violence prevention. [ABC 7 KATV, 07/19/2021]

GA: Atlanta to receive $170 million in federal funds to help fight violent crime. [CBS 46, 07/21/2021]

GA: Nearly $900K in federal money earmarked for Georgia to aid COVID response in underserved communities. [11 Alive, 07/18/2021]

IN: ‘Unprecedented’ state revenue growth triggers tax refund for Hoosiers. [NWI Times, 07/18/2021]

KY: Louisville making $2.5 million available for LG&E customers past due because of pandemic. [WDRB, 07/20/2021]

MA: EPA Announces $200k Under the American Rescue Plan to Fund Environmental Justice Initiatives in Massachusetts. [EPA.Gov, 07/15/2021]

MA: Local health center getting close to $1 million. [Conway Daily Sun, 07/19/2021]

MA: NH Delegation Announces More than $3.1 Million for NH Small Rural Hospitals to Bolster COVID-19 Testing & Mitigation. [Pappas.House, 07/15/2021]

MD: Coppin State University is set to clear $1M in student debt. [WBALTV, 07/19/2021]

MO: Messenger: A $500 post-pandemic infusion is headed to those in St. Louis who need it most. [St Louis Dispatch, 07/15/2021]

MO: How Springfield schools will spend $3M to expand health, counseling services. [Springfield News Leader, 07/15/2021]

NC: WCU providing $500 emergency grants for students for fall semester. [ABC 13, 07/16/2021]

NJ: Murphy signs $135M more in relief for small businesses struggling with COVID pandemic. [NJ.com, 07/22/2021]

NY: ‘It gave us new hope’: Federal money brought many WNY restaurants through pandemic. [The Buffalo News, 07/19/2021]

OH: Ohio’s plan for spending $4.4 billion in stimulus money on K-12 schools approved by U.S. Department of Education. [Cleveland.com, 07/15/2021]

OK: Oklahoma schools hiring more mental health staff. Counselors say it’s ‘a long time coming.’ The state dedicated $35 million of its COVID-19 stimulus funds to hire more counselors and mental health professionals in schools. [The Oklahoman, 07/19/2021]

OK: Oklahoma will use remaining $498 million from American Rescue Plan on K-12 schools. [Fox 25, 07/16/2021]

OR: Salem-Keizer to get an additional $151M in federal relief funds. [Statesman Journal, 07/15/2021]

SC: $10 million in student debt is wiped out for 2,500 South Carolina students using stimulus funds. [Insider, 07/19/2021]

TN: $830M headed to Tennessee to reopen schools, help kids impacted by pandemic. [News Channel 5, 07/15/2021]

TX: Houston ISD aims $1.16B in federal funds at learning losses, staffing and students’ emotional needs. [Houston Chronicle, 07/16/2021]

VA: Northam announces $700 million plan to achieve universal broadband accessibility across Virginia. [The Washington Post, 07/16/2021]

HELP IS HERE STATE AND LOCAL SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS:

AZ House: