PACEs coalitions rarely have the money they need to achieve their aspirations for preventing and addressing ACEs. With the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) providing staggering amounts of money to local governments and school districts, many coalition leaders might be wondering if there are ways to tap into that funding.
The answer is YES, if you’re willing to be a team player and to take some initiative to make strategic connections.
BILLIONS are Now Available
One of the biggest parts of ARPA is the Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, which includes over $122 BILLION going to states, 90% of which is passed on to school districts. This 7-minute video explains the ESSER Funding and how it can support community-wide efforts, including PACEs coalitions and efforts to improve early childhood development.
In addition to spending focused on reducing the risk of people getting COVID-19 in the school facilities, school districts are supposed to use this money to develop and implement strategies to meet students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs. That’s why teaming up with PACEs coalitions makes so much sense!
How to Partner with School Districts
School Districts across the country currently have access to this money. It is NOT a typical competitive grant program. They are supposed to spend it quickly—and they have a great deal of flexibility. However, they do need to be able to justify HOW they are using it. And, frankly, many school districts are overwhelmed with many challenges they face and are struggling with how to best use the ESSER funding.
This 9-minute video shares excerpts from the January 27th webinar that targeted school district leaders to help them see how they can benefit from collaborating with community-based organizations and coalitions like those working on preventing trauma and expanding trauma-informed practices. To help school district leaders understand how they benefit by “sub-granting” some of their funding to your coalition, try sharing this link with school district leaders. https://improvepophealth.org/o...ing-local-coalitions
Upcoming Webinars
I’m leading a series of 4 webinars (with “encore” live presentations of two of them) to introduce these topics, which I describe in this 2-minute video. The next two webinars are ideal for PACEs-related coalitions.
The webinar on Feb. 17 shares some of the powerful options for spending some of the ESSER funding to positively impact youth.
Learn more and register at: https://improvepophealth.org/arp-funds
The webinar on Feb. 22 focuses on the process for partnering with school districts and making the most of the ACEs & Resilience Resource Commons for Communities (ARRCC).
Learn more and register at: https://improvepophealth.org/5-ways-live-encore
There is no charge for these webinars, and you'll learn how to access many other free resources to streamline and accelerate your important work.
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