The fourth application period for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Humanitarian funding will open January 15, 2022 and will close on January 31, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. Any agency that provides services may either apply via the EFSP website by selecting Supplemental Funding Info from the home page to access the application for reimbursement of already incurred expenses or contact its Local Board about submitting a Special Funding Request (SFR) for advance funding to meet anticipated needs. Agencies may apply for reimbursement for already incurred expenses from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. If reimbursement was made previously for specific expenses, they will not be considered again and, therefore, should not be included in the application. After review of agencies' applications, Local Boards must submit them to the National Board by February 7, 2022. No application received after the deadline will be considered for funding during this application period. As funding will be extremely limited to meet every request, Primary Services (food and shelter) will be considered for reimbursement first. Should funds remain, Secondary Services, Administrative Services, Equipment and Assets Services, and Transportation Services will be considered. Agencies will be able to apply for funding in each category.
On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law. The Act provides an additional $110 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) to provide humanitarian relief to families and individuals encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). FEMA awarded the funds to the National Board for EFSP on March 18, 2021.
The National Board for the EFSP made guidance and the ARPA application available and the initial application period was from April 19, 2021 - April 30, 2021. Any nonprofit, faith-based or government agency that can document expenditures made to migrants encountered by DHS at the southern border may be considered to receive funds for eligible services provided; current or former EFSP participation is not a requisite for application submission in ARPA. Eligible organizations that provide shelter, food, transportation, basic heath and first aid, COVID-19 testing and associated medical care needed during quarantine and isolation, and other supportive services may apply. Most of the funding is anticipated to be awarded to service organizations from southern border states where the greatest needs are expected to be met.
The remaining $4.1 million from the Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance (SAHA) funds will be distributed concurrently with the $110 million from the ARPA in the application periods. Eligible expenses will be considered and prioritized for reimbursement according to sheltering, feeding, transportation, basic heath and first aid, and then other supportive services. The National Board implemented a funds delivery method based on the submission of Special Funding Requests (SFRs) to expedite the reimbursement of the remaining SAHA funds for eligible costs incurred by nonprofit and governmental organizations assisting this specified population of vulnerable people. To participate, eligible organizations must have been awarded funds in the previous application periods and provided services to migrants at the southwest border from January 1, 2021 through July 31, 2021. The SFR funding method for SAHA will only be available to the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. Local Boards and SSAs can submit SFRs to the National Board for expenses incurred by service organizations until further notice. |
