City Council Agenda and Packet 2021 04 13 SP

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875,000 children.. ARPA also includes $1 billion for Head Start, to ensure Head Start programs have the resources they need to continue safely providing services to children and families throughout the pandemic. • Family Violence and Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment: ARPA includes $350 million in funding for programs authorized under CAPTA. Families are facing increased stressors related to financial hardship and isolation during this pandemic. This includes $250 million in funding for community -based child abuse prevention programs to provide services to strengthen and support families throughout the pandemic. The funding will ensure that child welfare agencies have the necessary supports to safely prevent, investigate, and treat child abuse and neglect. The proposal also includes funding for domestic violence and sexual assault service providers. • LIHEAP and Water Utility Bill Assistance: ARPA includes $4.5 billion for the Low - Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and $500 million for low-income water assistance. One of the first bills that low-income individuals stop paying when under financial hardship are utility bills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially this winter, non-payment rates have skyrocketed for electricity, heating, and water utilities, posing a mounting risk of utility shutoffs in the middle of the winter, during a pandemic. Funding for LIHEAP and water utility bill assistance will provide vital support to help low income families meet their utility expenses. • Institute of Museum and Library Services: ARPA includes $200 million in funding for libraries through IMLS. These funds will provide emergency relief to over 17,000 public libraries across the country. This funding will allow libraries to safely reopen and implement public health protocols. This emergency relief will enable libraries to provide residents with accessible Wi-Fi, internet hotspots, education resources, expanded digital resources, and workforce development opportunities, which are heavily relied upon services for marginalized individuals. • National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities: ARPA includes $135 million apiece for the NEA and NEH. These funds will support arts and cultural organizations to address layoffs, budget cuts, and implementation of public health protocols to safely reopen. • Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): ARPA includes $1 billion to support CNCS. Additional funding will position AmeriCorps to increase the number of national service participants while making immediate targeted investments to meet the priorities outlined in the Biden Administration's COVID-19 response strategy, including helping schools safely reopen, tackling the growing hunger crisis, and helping communities across the nation address other challenges brought on by the pandemic. • Department of Labor (DOL): ARPA provides additional funding of $200 million for DOL worker protection enforcement activities. This includes increases to the Wage and Hour Division, the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, the Office of the