News & Updates for the Mid-Carolina Region
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FEMA Public Assistance Program On-Demand Applicant Briefing
CARES Act Law Enforcement Funding
Telehealth Helping North Carolinians Access Care
Protection of Persons in Nursing and Adult Care Homes
NCCCMA Summer Seminar Cancelled
New COVID-19 Resources
Support for Food Councils
Employment Law and COVID-19
NEA CARES Act Funding
NC COVID-19 Testing Surge Workgroup
Partnership to Study COVID-19
Support for Behavioral Health and Other Services
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FEMA Public Assistance Program On-Demand Applicant Briefing
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All NC local governments and certain nonprofits are eligible to apply to the
FEMA Public Assistance Program
for FEMA reimbursement to assist with emergency expenses related to responding to COVID-19.
The
NC Division of Emergency Management
and the
UNC School of Government
have partnered to produce an on-demand applicant briefing webinar that gives instructions on how to register for FEMA reimbursement, information on general reimbursement eligibility of COVID-19 expenses, tips on documenting expenses, and COVID-19 federal procurement requirements. A link to the free on-demand applicant briefing webinar, a pdf of the briefing presentation slides, and a summary of the FEMA Public Assistance program is available at both websites below:
Please note, the first step toward applying for FEMA reimbursement of eligible COVID-19 expenses is to register your organization in the FEMA Grants Portal. All local governments and nonprofits are encouraged to register in the portal. Even if your organization is not certain whether you have COVID-19 expenses that are eligible for FEMA reimbursement, you are encouraged to register. Y
ou cannot apply for FEMA reimbursement without being registered in the Grants Portal and completing a few simple registration forms
. This very simple registration process is explained in the on-demand briefing webinar. Easy instructions to get started are also available
here.
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CARES Act Law Enforcement Funding
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The CARES Act provided
$850 million
for local law enforcement through the Bureau of Justice Assistance / Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Funding is formula based.
Click here
for funding allocation information.
Known as the
Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding (CESF) Program,
local law enforcement must file the paperwork to receive the funding. Applications are being processed within 7-10 days in order to get the funding out as quickly as possible.
Click here
for application instructions.
CESF funding is designed to assist states, units of local government, and tribes in preventing, preparing for, and responding to the coronavirus. The funding is very flexible as long as it related to COVID-19 response. For example, allowable projects and purchases include, but are not limited to, overtime, equipment (including law enforcement and medical personal protective equipment), hiring, supplies (such as gloves, masks, sanitizer), training, travel expenses (particularly related to the distribution of resources to the most impacted areas), and addressing the medical needs of inmates and others in state, local, and tribal prisons, jails, and detention centers. Recipients of CESF grant awards have latitude in awarding sub-grants that will help in preventing, preparing for, and responding to COVID-19. States are not required to limit their pool of sub-recipients to criminal justice agencies.
Applications will be accepted until
May 29
, but are being approved on a rolling basis. It is highly recommend to apply sooner rather than later.
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Telehealth Helping North Carolinians Access Care
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Using telehealth, North Carolinians can receive services while avoiding the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Doctors and other clinicians across the state are using telehealth to deliver primary care and prenatal care, help patients manage asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic conditions, and provide behavioral health counseling, physical therapy and more. All insurance companies in the state, including Medicaid and Medicare, are covering healthcare visits through telehealth. DHHS and NC Medicaid have developed a video and a flyer to help alleviate concerns and encourage people to talk with their doctors about using telehealth to get the care they need to stay healthy.
Click here
for more information.
Click here
for the video.
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Protection of Persons in Nursing and Adult Care Homes
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NC Medicaid
is providing additional funding to support nursing homes and adult care homes for older adult Medicaid beneficiaries diagnosed with or at high risk of contracting COVID-19. The targeted Medicaid funding will further enable nursing homes and adult care homes to provide the more intensive care needed for residents with COVID-19 and limit the spread of the virus to other residents and staff.
Click here
for more details.
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NCCCMA Summer Seminar Cancelled
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Due to COVID-19, the NC City and County Management Association’s Executive Committee has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 NCCCMA Summer Seminar, which was scheduled for June 18, 19, and 20 in Asheville.
In an email to the membership, the Executive Committee stated, “
[We] would like to extend our gratitude to you and your team members for being on the front lines in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in your communities. There is no doubt that we find ourselves in unprecedented times and this is impacting you, your organizations, and your communities in many unforeseen ways.”
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Support for Food Councils
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I
n response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Community Food Strategies
, a multi-organizational team of food system experts working to support and develop NC’s food councils through trainings, tools, and structured network building, is offering block grants of
up to $1,000 each
to food councils in its network to support immediate and long-term relief efforts. To receive the funding, each council must meet the following eligibility criteria and complete a short application form. The application deadline is
May 1
.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be food councils.
- Applicants must be part of the network of local food councils in North Carolina.
- Applicants must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization or have a fiscal agent that can receive and disburse funds.
Click here
for more information and for the grant application.For more information and the grant application.
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Employment Law and COVID-19
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The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) is hosting a free webinar related to employment law and COVID-19 The webinar is set for
May 1
from
2:30pm until 4pm
.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) have created new rights such as expanded family and medical leave and emergency paid sick leave that local governments need to comply with. In this webinar, participants will be provided with information on the major provisions of these laws and the regulations and guidance that have been issued by the federal government.
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The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) received CARES Act funding. Local arts agencies and local governments are eligible to apply for funding. However, all applicants must be previous NEA award recipients from the past four years (Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, 2019, and/or 2020).
Click here
for more information.
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NC COVID-19 Testing Surge Workgroup
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The NC COVID-19 Testing Surge Workgroup is charged with developing a plan to increase testing, expand testing sites and options, and address testing supply challenges, including the availability of personal protective equipment. The workgroup is composed of internal NCDHHS staff and leaders from the public and private sectors.
Click here
for more information.
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Partnership to Study COVID-19
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The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is working with academic partners across NC to better understand cases of COVID-19 with mild or no symptoms and to monitor prevalence of the disease over time. UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and East Carolina University will assess changes in COVID-19 prevalence in Chatham, Pitt, and Cabarrus counties. Participants will be recruited across different populations and monitored over several months to understand the spread of the virus.
Click here
for more information.
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Support for Behavioral Health and Other Services
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A new resource outlines actions that communities can take to maintain and sustain services for individuals with behavioral health needs and intellectual and developmental disabilities and to reduce the burden on emergency departments and hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategies are directed at local government agencies, community organizations, local management entity/managed care organizations (LME/MCOs), behavioral health providers, hospitals in communities across the state and other partners.
Click here
for more information.
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If you have news, events, announcements or other items you would like included in an upcoming FYI, please
email
Justin Hembree
, MCCOG.
Please let us know if you have questions, need additional details about the information we have shared or if there is a way the Council can be of service.
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Mid-Carolina Council of Governments
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Mid-Carolina Council of Governments is a multi-county, planning, development, and human services organization. We reach across county and municipal borders to provide technical assistance to our local governments and to administer programs that benefit our region’s citizens.
Our mission is to provide creative regional solutions to relevant and emerging issues in
Cumberland
,
Harnett,
and
Sampson Counites
while providing a standard of excellence in the delivery of federal, state, and regional services for our local governments and the people they serve.
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