Alabama
Alabama is receiving $3.3 million for community health centers in Gadsden, Montgomery and Mobile, serving 12,000 patients and creating 90 jobs.
Arizona
7/7/09
Arkansas
5/27/09 - According to an Associated Press report, the Arkansas Department of Human Services is hiring 112 temporary workers to focus on family services. As full time jobs become open the state will draw on the temporary workers. Funding for the positions is coming from federal economic stimulus money and from a match by the federal Medicaid program. They are contributing about $3 million each.
The jobs will pay about $28,000 a year and will end at the end of 2010, which is when the $6 million will run out.
The agency says most of the workers will be used to determine the eligibility of families for public assistance, such as for food stamps and Medicaid. Applications are up because of the recession.
Colorado
A local health center is getting a boost from the economic stimulus act. Peak Vista Community Health Centers is set to receive $1.3 million. The money will go toward mobile health centers that provide dental and medical care. Peak Vista, the only health center in Colorado to receive these funds, serves mostly working families--many without health insurance. The non-profit’s CEO/President, B.J. Scott, says the need for their help is growing. Last year, they served 5,000 more people. “They're telling us stories of losing their jobs, losing their health care benefits of course, or not being able to afford health care benefits anymore and therefore looking for services,” she said.
Connecticut
4/7/09 - Food stamp recipients will see a $38 increase in their monthly benefits from the stimulus money.
Delaware
7/6/09 - The state received $93 million in enhanced federal matching for Medicaid (eliminating the current fiscal year deficit) and $2.2 million for health care centers. Total health and human services funding of over $108 million has been distributed, according to the Department of Health and Human Services recovery Web site. Total expected funding is $297 million for Medicaid and nearly $35 million for other health and human services, according to the state recovery Web site.
Georgia
4/13/09 - According to the National Institutes of Health, Georgia will receive over $1 billion in stimulus funding for health related programs. A full listing of program funding allotments can be found on the NIH Web site.
3/16/09 - A proposal by Georgia's governor to cut hundreds of millions of health care dollars from the state's budget could have a severely negative impact, officials say in a story in the Albany Herald. Last week, Gov. Sonny Perdue informed legislative budget writers of his intention to cut payments by $81 million to hospitals and physicians by reducing state Medcaid funds for fiscal year 2010. The federal government matches $2 for every one dollar the state contributes to Medicaid, which means the cuts would actually equal in excess of $320 million for hospitals alone. One of the immediate concerns officials are faced with is how access to health care for patients will be affected.
"Even with the federal stimulus, we still had $500 million in cuts that we needed to make, said Bret Brantley, director of communications for Perdue's office. "These are tough cuts to make."
Hospitals will not be the only entities impacted by the proposal. It is expected to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates for physicians by 6 percent. The state's trauma care network will also be impacted by roughly $35 million. Drug stores and nursing homes may also be hit. The PeachCare program - a state insurance plan for low-income children - will also be threatened, officials say.
Hawaii
6/30/09 - On June 29, the White House announced that Hawaii would receive over $8.5 million in grants to community health centers. The funding comes from the Recovery Act Capital Improvement Program (CIP), and will support the construction, repair, and renovation of move than 1,5000 health centers in the country. According to the White House, more than 650 centers will use the funds to purchase new equipment or health information technology, and 400 centers will adopt and expand the use of electronic health records. A complete list of Recovery Act CIP grantees in Hawaii can be found at http://transparency.cit.nih.gov/RecoveryGrants/grant.cfm?grant=HRSA_CIP.
Senior Nutrition Services: The Executive Office on Aging (EOA) has received $485,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for senior nutrition services. Of this amount, $325,000 in grants was awarded for congregate meals and $160,000 for home-delivered meals.
3/14/09 - The Department of Human Services announced that Hawaii residents enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will gain a 13.6 percent boost in their monthly cash benefits starting April 1. DHS is also working to raise income eligibility for SNAP to the maximum allowed by federal law, provide temporary food aid for people who successfully transition from welfare to employment, and expand outreach to enroll as many residents as possible.
Currently, a three-member household enrolled in SNAP receives a maximum of $725 per month in nutrition benefits. When the higher payments take effect in April, the same household will receive up to $824. The minimum benefit for one- or two-person households will increase from $22 to $25. To help more residents enroll in SNAP, DHS plans to raise the income limit to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level – the maximum allowed by federal law – and eliminate the assets test for qualified households. In addition, DHS wants to provide five months of transitional SNAP benefits to individuals who successfully exit the welfare rolls because their incomes have grown.
Weatherizarion - Hawaii will receive $30 million in federal energy-efficiency grants and weatherization funding as part of the stimulus package. Most of the money, nearly $26 million, will go to a state energy program to offer rebates to homeowners for energy audits and retrofitting homes with more energy efficient applicances. It also will help pay for large-scale renewable energy projects in the state and energy upgrades to state buildings. The remaining $4.1 million will go to a weatherization program that will cover up to $6,500 per home in energy efficient upgrades. The credit will be available to households that make up to $50,720 per year.
Idaho
Idaho is expected to receive $1.1 million over two years to adminster food stamp program, $12 million for child assistance, $3 million for state immunization programs and $12 million for the Department of Labor.
Iowa
3/19/09 - The stimulus package increases food assistance benefits nationwide by 13.6 percent. According to the governor's office, a record 289,000 state residents - half of them children - received food assistance in February, a 15 percent increase from 2008. The current average household benefit is $235 a moth, or approximately $108 per recipient. The average monthly household benefit will increase $32 beginning in April.
Kansas
4/7/09 - The Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas has received $2.3 million to be used to create a summer employment program for youth and $1.3 million for adult and displaced workers.
Kentucky
Kentucky will receive about $272 million for areas like public housing, weatherization, child care, child support enforcement and homelessness prevention.
Maine
3/19/09 - Maine is expected to receive $485,000 in recovery ace funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide meals to low-income older Americans. The amount includes nutrition services provided at senior centers and other community sites as well as home delivered nutrition services.
Maryland
3/19/09 - Maryland is expected to receive $1.6 million in recovery act funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide meals to low-income older Amercians. The amount includes nutrition services provided at senior centers and other community sites as well as home delivered nutrition services.
Health and human services will receive $1.6 billion.
Massachusetts
3/19/09 - Massachusetts is expected to receive $2 million in recovery act funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide meals to low-income older Americans. The amount includes nutrition services provided at senior centers and other community sites as well as home delivered nutrition services.
Minnesota
4/17/09 - An organizaton in rural Minnesota has receive $2.5 million in stimulus funds to provide summer employment for youth in the area. In an article from the Alexandria Echo Press, Dan Wenner, director of Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program stated, "Summer jobs not only provide young people with a chance to earn money, but also provide them a chance to develop skills, learn responsibilty and develop a sense of pride that can only be accomplished through work."
4/13/09 - Stimulus funds will help fund two arts organizations in Minnesota, according to an article appearing in the Minnesota Post. Arts Midwest, a regional arts agency, has been awarded $514,400 and the Minnesota Arts Board will receive an additional $316,200.
The National Endowment for the Arts made the announcement as part of nearly $20 million that will be awarded to arts organizations nationally in the form of one time grants. In July, the NEA is expected to award another round of one time grants, also funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Mississippi
4/13/09 - According to the National Institutes of Health, Mississippi will receive $433 million in stimulus funds for health related programs. A breakdown of program funding allotments can be found on the NIH Web site.
Nebraska
3/23/09 - Nebraska’s U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is sending nearly $700,000 to Nebraska for hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income of uninsured patients in communities statewide as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These funds will not only help hospitals finance care for those in need or who may have lost their jobs and/or health care coverage, it will help prevent those costs from being passed on to other hard-working Nebraskans in the form of higher premiums.
“In times of crisis, we must look out for those that are unable to obtain appropriate care for themselves,” said Senator Nelson. “These funds will help hospitals continue to treat people in need of medical care but are unable to pay the full amount of the services themselves.”
Eligible hospitals are those that serve a disproportionate share of low-income or uninsured individuals and are known as Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH). States already receive an annual allotment to make payments to DSH hospitals to account for higher costs associated with treating uninsured and low-income patients. The funds being sent at this time are an additional payment to cover increased numbers of uninsured and low-income patients. There are approximately 40 hospitals in Nebraska that qualify, including: Columbus Community Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Creighton University Medical Center, Children’s Hospital, Douglas County Community Hospital, Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital in Hastings and the Nebraska Medical Center.
3/16/09 - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the Economic Stimulus Package, provided for a 13.6 percent increase in the maximum allotment for all food stamp households. According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the maximum allotment for a three-person household with no countable income is currently $463 a month; effective April 1, 2009, this allotment will increase to $526 per month.
"People struggling to put food on the table depend on these benefits," said Todd Landry, director of the Division of Children and Family Services, Department of Health and Human Services. "This increase couldn't have come at a better time to help those Nebraskans in need."
New Jersey
3/19/09 - The National Endowment for the Arts will distribute approximately $336,900 to the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as part of its Staffing Preservation program. The arts council has now announced that it will hold a teleconference workshop to help applicants understand how the program will work and how to properly complete the applications.
3/4/09 - Approximately 180 jobs are expected to be saved as $2.6 million in stimulus funds have been allocated to 93 health centers across the state according to a White House announcement.
New York
4/1/09 - Households in New York City that receive food stamps will receive $25 million more a month thanks to an influx of federal stimulus dollars according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. This represents a 13 percent increase.
Ohio
4/16/09 - Ohio will receive $75.6 million in stimulus package money for childcare for poor and working families. Approximately $7.5 million of that money will go towards immunizations distributed through the Centers for Disease Control.
3/23/09 - Nutrition programs in Ohio that are geared toward feeding senior citizens will receive $3.7 million in ARRA funds, according to The Daily Sentinel. The Lorain County Health and Dentistry learned the past Monday that $1.3 million in stimulus dollars were approved to help fund the facility. The health clinic, which services low income residents, expects to add services, medical staff and expand their facility. The money should be in their account by the end of the month.
Oklahoma
5/29/09 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announces Release of Rural Community Development Funds – “WASHINGTON, May 18, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of nearly $56.6 million in essential community facilities and emergency responder projects that are being funded immediately with federal funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 267 projects will help communities in 39 states.”
Three projects in Oklahoma were selected to receive funding totaling $801,011: OK Community Health Centers, Inc. $663,863; Oklahoma Blood Institute $84,648; and Johnston County Commissioners $52,500.
4/13/09 - According to the National Institutes of Health, Oklahoma will receive a little over $300 million in stimulus funding for health related programs. A full listing of program funding allotments can be found on the NIH Web site.
4/2/09 - A recent report in the Tulsa World stated Oklahoma will recieve $3.2 million in stimulus funds for community health centers. The money will be used by 17 centers across the state and is expected to create or save approximately 79 jobs. The funds will allow for improvement and expansion of services offered at the community health centers. Tulsa World also reports that state residents who receive Social Security or federal disability benefits will get a one-time payment of $250 in May.
Oregon
7/7/09 - Nearly $350 million in Medicaid funding has been received, and more than $1.2 million for meals for seniors through the Administration on Aging. From all programs funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Oregon will receive more than $408 million.
Pennsylvania
7/6/09 - According to the state recovery Web site, Pennsylvania expects to receive $4 billion in health and human services money, including funds for Medicaid. Total program funding identified to date appears on the Department of Health and Human Services recovery site.
According to their press release, the state Department of Health has received a grant for nearly $900,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a new program that will inspect and improve environmental safety in foster homes in Erie and Philadelphia. Also, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation announced its receipt of $23.1 million to boost independent-living programs.
More than $360 million has been designated for the TANF State Family Assistance Grants and child care funding will receive $60 million to provide child care to parents working or seeking work, and improve the quality of child care services. Also, the community health centers will receive $16 million and state immunization programs will receive $8.2 million.
Rhode Island
5/16/09 - Rhode Island will receive $800,000 for vaccinations for adults, the Providence Journal reported. Because the state already purchases all childhood vaccines, the federal stimulus money can be used for vaccines for adults, to increase outreach to uninsured individuals and to improve the state immunization registry.
4/27/09 - The Providence Journal reports that the number of state residents receiving food stamps has passed the 100,000 mark for the first time in history. One in ten residents are enrolled in the program. Federal stimulus funds have increased the monthly amount households receive from $2 to $24. Other funds will be used to simplify application forms for the elderly, increase telephone interviews for applicants, hire nine new case workers and eliminate the asset-test, to allow households with some savings to qualify.
According to the Boston Globe, Rhode Island nursing homes are bracing to cut nurses and other nursing home workers, as $5 million is trimmed from the Medicaid nursing home budget in the current fiscal year. This amounts to a roughly 2% cut in Medicaid spending for nursing homes. The Governor had reversed planned cuts to nursing homes after the federal stimulus funding was made available, but legislators enacted budget cuts starting April 15.
3/25/09 - Rhode Island will be able to cut the number of senior citizens on waiting lists for the Meals on Wheels program with the nearly half million dollars in federal stimulus money the state will receive, according to a recent ABC Channel 6 report. Food stamp benefits will also increase $4 to $24 because of additional federal stimulus funds. Enrollment in the state's food stamp program is up almost 20 percent since last year. Nearly 100,000 Rhode Islanders are now receiving the benefit, according to a Forbes.com report.
The Providence Journal reports that RI will receive $300,000 for arts programs from a total of $20 million set aside for states. Meanwhile, another $30 million will be available competitively to arts groups through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In both cases, the goal is the same: to protect existing arts jobs threatened by the economic downturn or refill jobs already lost to layoffs and cost-cutting.
3/18/09 - In his proposal for the 2010 budget and 2009 modifications, Gov. Carcieri has proposed that state Medicaid funds be shifted to other budget areas: $137.3 million in 2009 and $184.2 million in 2010. The budget proposal is facing opposition from Democratic legislators and legislators of Carcieri’s own party. While use of the Medicaid stimulus funds allows for such “supplanting” of state budget funds, in other areas of the governor’s budget there are many more questions about his proposals for spending stimulus funds to plug state budget deficits.
The state received $93.5 million in enhanced federal matching for Medicaid and $2.4 million for health care centers in Johnston and Pascoag.
Tennessee
4/13/09 - According to the National Institutes of Health, Tennessee will receive a little over $900 million in stimulus funding for health related programs. A full listing of program funding allotments can be found on the NIH Web site.
Utah
4/22/09 - According to an April 10 report from the Deseret News, "The Obama administration on Thursday released more economic stimulus funds for Utah, including $22.4 million to help with child care for low-income families, $2.2 million to help with immunizations and $515,000 for emergency shelters and food banks."
The Standard-Examiner reported, "Thanks to government stimulus funds, Utah could get the $12.5 million back that it put up for a veterans nursing home sooner than it thought. Dennis McFall, deputy director of the Utah Office of Veterans Affairs, said he has been told by Veterans Administration officials in Washington, D.C., that the money, $12.5 million, is in either the 2009 or 2010 fiscal-year budget."
3/24/09 - The Utah Legislature recently approved a bill, HB 178, that would add new local provisions for laid off Utah workers to enroll in COBRA, the Salt Lake City Deseret News reports. Under the federal economic stimulus package, workers involuntarily terminated between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, whose annual incomes do no exceed $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for families qualify for subsidies to cover 65 percent of the cost of health insurance premiums under COBRA for as long as nine months, according to the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report.
Vermont
3/19/09 - Vermont’s Head Start and childcare programs could receive more than half a million dollars from the federal stimulus funds, according to WCAX; that could mean 450 more income-eligible children will receive child care and 15 percent will receive Head Start.
West Virginia
4/27/09 - WV hospitals are looking to received some of the $17 million in ARRA funding set aside to facilitate the use of electronic records, a recent Charleston Daily Mail article reports. At least eight state-owned hospitals already use electronic records, many others across the state hope to move away paper file to the electronic system. Though the amounts are as of yet unclear, hospitals using electronic systems can start receiving ARRA funds in 2011.
3/19/09 - The Department of Health and Humans Services announced $1.5 million in ARRA money to aid in foster care and adoption assistance programs for West Virginia.
Wisconsin
4/13/09 - Seventeen community health centers in Wisconsin, including four in Milwaukee, will receive more than $4 million in stimulus funds to meet the anticipating increase in people seeking health care at those facilities. The money is part of $2 billion allocated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for community health centers nationwide.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the stimulus funds will be used at the health clinics in that city to hire additional doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners and other staff. The paper quotes a study by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, which states that one out of every three people in low-income households and one in seven rural households receives primary health care at a community health center.
3/9/09 - Governor Jim Doyle today announced that Wisconsin will receive an estimated $110.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for Wisconsin’s FoodShare program. Starting April 1st, nearly all FoodShare participants will receive a 13.6 percent increase in their maximum food stamp benefit. FoodShare helps people with limited income buy the food they need for their families.
“President Obama understands the difficult times our families are facing and how important this money is to Wisconsin. We need to make sure that our children aren’t going hungry and that people in Wisconsin can put food on their table. Each month, more than 500,000 people across our state get help from FoodShare,” Governor Doyle said. “Not only is it crucial that our families have access to a basic necessity such as food, we also know that investing in this type of program stimulates the economy.”
FoodShare participants automatically will have the extra benefits added to their QUEST card in April. FoodShare members will start to receive letters on Tuesday which announce the increased benefit. Under the law, the increase will stay in place and will not go down in the future. For example, a family of three that receives $250 each month in FoodShare benefits will now get $313 starting April 1st.
Wyoming
5/11/09 - The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides assistance to adults and children within the state to purchase food. Beginning April 1, recipients began seeing an increase in their benefits because of Recovery funding. This increase should continue to September 2010.
Department of Family Services stated in a press release May 5, 2009 that it is looking forward to an estimated $137,000 to aid its Emergency Food Assistance Program. The money will be used to buy food from the USDA, which makes food available to food banks that assist low-income families and individuals. This money won’t be continued pasts the life of ARRA, but the temporary increase will benefit the increase in families who are currently struggling.
4/27/09 - Public comment period has opened for a new project - The Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. The ARRA allocates $1.5 billion for homeless prevention programs, with $1.7 million set to come to Wyoming. For Wyoming to be eligible, substantial changes need to be made to the State Consolidated Plan 2008.
Wyoming reports an increase in homelessness across the state, reportedly due to an increase in unemployment and increased foreclosures. Homelessness Prevention Funds can be used for short/medium term rental assistance. Relocation and stabilization services, as well as other prevention and re-housing projects for the homeless. Wyoming’s action plan can be read here.
According to the WY Department of Health Web page, Wyoming is expecting $400,000 in ARRA funding to increase childhood vaccinations across the state. The Department of Health plans to focus these vaccines on populations that don’t currently get regular vaccinations, states Jan Bloom of the DOH.
$2.6 million in Recovery funds will go to the Wyoming Department of Family Services for additional childcare services. This money will help an additional 500 families eligible for child care subsidies.
Puerto Rico
3/13/09 - Puerto Rico has received $2.6 million in stimulus funds to help two community based health centers. The two centers, one in the town of Ponce and the other in Cidra, will help residents receive affordable health care. It it anticipated that funds will help to cerat 5,500 new jobs at the centers.
U.S. Virgin Islands
4/6/09 - Two health centers with receive nearly $300,000 in stimulus funds. The Frederiksted Health Center will receive $161,000 and the East End Medical Corporation will get more than $131,000. Both centers plan to use the money to improve and expand on the services they currently offer to those in need.