2020 CARES ACT
FUNDING REPORT JANUARY 2021
CARES Act
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Pierce County
In 2020, Pierce County received $158 million in federal CARES Act funding to help our residents deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds were intended to provide the types of assistance that would allow our community to endure the physical, mental and economic impacts of the most devastating crisis we’ve seen in our lifetime. The following pages provide a snapshot of how Pierce County spent those CARES funds. From personal protective equipment (PPE) to outright grants to support renters, homeowners and business owners, we worked diligently to distribute the funds where help was needed most. To help determine how to allocate the CARES funding, early on we convened a group of community and healthcare leaders. Throughout the pandemic, these individuals provided valuable expertise and perspective as we navigated rough and uncharted waters. We thank them for generously giving hours of their time and input to this critically important work. By the end of the year we allocated the funds in this manner: $65.5M to Emergency Response $46.5M to Economic Stabilization & Recovery $33M to Community Response & Resilience $13M to Essential Government Services Throughout the allocation and funding period, we have maintained a robust online dashboard so that residents, partners, the media and others could see and track allocations and expenditures. You can find that dashboard here. We are proud of and grateful for the work of Pierce County’s employees in carefully but quickly getting CARES funds into the homes and hands of those who desperately needed it.
We especially want to acknowledge Director Gary Robinson (Finance), Director Betty Capestany (Economic Development), Director Heather Moss (Human Services) and Director Jody Ferguson (Emergency Management) and their teams. They spent an extraordinary amount of time in ensuring the CARES money was used effectively and efficiently so that as many people as possible would benefit from it. Our thanks, also, to the members of the Pierce County Council as they thoughtfully engaged with how and where the funds were allocated. They were active and collaborative partners in this effort. Lastly, we want to acknowledge the work of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in their commitment to saving lives. Their dedication to public health is inspiring. Now that the CARES funds have been fully allocated, we want to provide our residents with a transparent and accountable report on how those funds were spent. This report is a snapshot and we invite you to review the comprehensive report at www. piercecountywa.gov/cares. Thank you for the privilege of serving Pierce County. We still have a long road ahead of us, but you can count on Pierce County to be there for you every step of the way until we find our way to recovery. Thank you,
Bruce Dammeier Executive
Derek Young Council Chair
$158M
in Federal CARES Act funding
Federal government required that ALL funds be allocated by December 31, 2020.
$65.5M 42%
Public Health Emergency Response
5.5M
337
PPE items distributed
85k
people stayed at the Temporary Care Center
COVID-19 tests at mobile locations
$46.5M 29%
Economic Stabilization and Recovery Small Business Relief Loan/ Grant
1,011
6,751
Loans/Grants
Commercial Rental and Mortgage Assistance
Adaptation Grant
Employees
602
$16.8M
$5,741
Grants
283
Total Funded
Avg. Grant
Restaurant Rally
Restaurants
$6.9M Funds
38% Minority Owned
32% Minority Owned
44% Minority Owned
32% Minority Owned
50% Women Owned
40% Women Owned
51% Women Owned
37% Women Owned
9% Veteran Owned
7% Veteran Owned
9% Veteran Owned
4% Veteran Owned
$33M 21%
Community Response and Resilience 10.5K
$8.3M
American Indian Asian Black/African American NHOPI White or Caucasian Not Available
435
seniors received services at senior center
rental assistance to households 3.1%
American Indian Asian Black/African American NHOPI White or Caucasian Not Available
10% 22.8% 3.1%
49.6k
residents directly served
35.6% 25.2%
453.9k
clients served via the Emergency Food Network
5.6k
bags of produce delivered to senior centers
County facilities with adaptations
provided in behavioral health services
.058% 2.1% 23.9% .058% 26.5% 42.5%
1,160
families received violence prevention support
$13M 8%
Essential Government Services
38
$1.5M
veterans received housing, food, or vehicle assistance
90k
virtual meeting participants
403
computer & tablets purchased
PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE More than one-third of the CARES Act funding allocated by Pierce County was dedicated to the extraordinary public health needs of our residents. Of the more than $65 million designated for emergency response, more than $25 million of it was used for COVID-19 testing. Throughout the year more than 85,000 COVID tests were administered at locations across Pierce County. To make it easy and accessible for residents to get tested, mobile vehicles brought testing to organizations, churches, schools and workplaces. You can see the testing in action in this video.
In addition to the comprehensive testing effort, the Department of Emergency Management also managed the Temporary Care Center - a location established for those COVID patients without a safe place to isolate or quarantine from family members or loved ones. The operation of the Care Center has housed more than 300 individuals. The Center was funded by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) but the site was managed by Pierce County and is still in operation. You can take a tour of the Center with Executive Dammeier and City of Tacoma Mayor Woodards in this video.
Click to view video
Click to view video
A key component of protecting the health of our community was ensuring that PPE was widely distributed throughout Pierce County.
More than $10 million was spent to purchase and distribute over 5.5 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) including distributing 3.7 million items for school districts to support educators in getting students back in classrooms. In addition to the 5.5 million items that have been distributed, Pierce County is maintaining a supply of PPE to serve medical personnel, first responders and other essential workers well into 2021.
P R I M A RY CAT E G O RY E X P E N D I T U R E S
$65.5M 42% of total CARES funding
$19.5M
Public Health System Capacity
$23.5M
Pro-active Testing and Disease Prevention
$10.8M
$2.6M
$5.4M
$1.3M
Access to and Training on PPE
Contact Tracing
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Public Education Programs
Data Collection, Analysis, Sharing, and Reporting
Contact Tracing A sizable portion of the emergency funds were directed to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to support contact tracing. More than $5 million was allocated to hire, train and manage more than 100 staff to conduct case investigations and contact people potentially exposed to COVID-positive individuals in the community. More than 350 individuals were trained and brought in as surge capacity as needed. The team worked to contact those with the virus within 24 hours of a positive test to limit the spread of the disease.
“
“We are so grateful to receive
sanitizing foggers from Pierce
County Department of Emergency Management. These tools will
allow us to sanitize more quickly so we can be in service faster. This
equipment will sanitize ambulances and masks to CDC guidelines
and keep our staff and patients
safer against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.” Key Peninsula Fire
Public Education Programs Because the virus disproportionately impacts communities of color, several outreach efforts were conducted to reach specific communities with a focus on equity and relevance. Communication and advertising were implemented in a variety of languages and delivered by messengers who are trusted by those communities. A total of $2.6 million was expended on public education programs to ensure that all of the County’s residents - and especially those who might not otherwise be reached - were aware of and understood the steps they needed to take to keep their families and loved ones safe from the virus.
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ECONOMIC STABILIZATION & RECOVERY Pierce County allocated more than $46 million to help keep local businesses open and operating within the restrictions imposed by State officials. Of that amount, more than $35 million was provided to micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the form of emergency small business grants, commercial rent and mortgage assistance, restaurant assistance, relief grants and support for the agriculture industry. One of the first efforts launched by the County’s Economic Development department was the mass distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) so that businesses that had been shuttered could reopen safely for their customers and their employees.
More than 9,800 businesses representing 152,000 employees received masks and thermometers that allowed them to operate. Later in the year, businesses received powerful air purifiers to enhance their safety protocols.
of personalized service and assistance. Whether it was help filling out applications or walking small business owners through a gauntlet of paperwork, the County team made it as painless as possible for business owners to fight for survival.
You can learn more about the PPE distribution here.
The Pierce County Restaurant Rally program was designed to encourage patronage at fullservice restaurants and keep local restaurants in business. The program provided $6.7 million to 283 restaurants that participated in the program.
Click to view video
In addition to disbursing equipment and other forms of support, one of the most valuable things the Economic Development department provided was a high degree
P R I M A RY CAT E G O RY E X P E N D I T U R E S
$46.5M 29% of total CARES funding
$35.8M
$5.5M
$3.7M
$1.5M
Small, and
Response Kits,
readiness to
Training
Medium-Sized
including Personal
reopen, innovation,
Businesses
Protective Devices
and recertification
Support Micro,
COVID-19
Support business
of licenses
Workforce
“
“I must mention in all the channels small business owners have been directed to access through COVID, Pierce County has really been there for us. My business is new, so I didn’t benefit from many of the resources that were designed to help more established companies. I can attribute much of the reason that we’re still standing today to your support. Pierce County was the first to lend me a hand and seemingly simple things like masks and thermometers have been critical to our reopening. Please know that everything you’ve done and continue to do for us is important and so very appreciated!”
COMMUNITY RESPONSE & RESILIENCE CARES Act funds in this category were distributed to people and programs focused on taking care of basic human needs food, shelter, education and transportation, to name a few. Funding supported renters, homeowners, those newly unemployed and those chronically unhoused. CARES Act money was provided to prevent family violence, foster mental health, take care of our veterans, assist working parents needing childcare, and help seniors manage through the challenges of the pandemic.
Approximately $17 million was made available in mortgage and rental assistance, as well as emergency sheltering and affordable housing support. To help spread the word about the funds available to help people with their housing, we placed videos like this in social media and local TV stations:
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to keep a business afloat to parents struggling to be fulltime educators while holding down their jobs, and from adult children unable to visit their elderly parents in congregate care facilities to overwhelmed healthcare workers, caring for the wellness of our community has been daunting. To create more access to sorely needed services, Pierce County allocated $1.5 million to providers of direct behavioral health support and elevated the availability of that help with a social media campaign.
Click to view video
By far, the largest amount of the nearly $33 million in CARES funds dedicated to community response and resilience was focused on helping people stay in their homes and sheltering those without a home of their own.
Another challenge facing our community has been the psychological and emotional toll caused by the impacts of the pandemic. From the stress and anxiety of trying
P R I M A RY CAT E G O RY E X P E N D I T U R E S
$33M 21% of total CARES funding
Click to view video
$15.6M
$4M
$2.2M
$5.6M
$2.3M
$1.5M
Housing Stability and Homelessness
Child and Family Services
Food and Nutrition
Veterans Services
Transportation and Other Services for Disabled and Elderly Populations
Behavioral Health Services
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Thank you very very much for allowing me to have this breathing room! I understand how many people are grasping for help. It makes me feel so much better going forward. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to you and your office for what you are doing for myself and so many of us.
I worked really hard for this home. I am alone and in a business where, well, we are not allowed to work. I would much rather have worked for this, earned it at work. I am sure the time will return.
Thank you again for your office’s hard and diligent work for all of us. You are all angels and I pray you are each rewarded for your support .... I know we are in desperation and sometimes, we forget to say, THANK YOU.”
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ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES One of the biggest challenges in managing through the pandemic in 2020 has been adapting the operations of County government so that essential services would be maintained without interruption. A myriad of activities and obligations must be delivered by county government but how can social distancing be managed in a courtroom jury box? How could couples get a marriage license when the vast majority of the Auditor’s employees had to observe the mandatory stay-athome order? It fell on the County’s Information Technology division to convert hundreds of the County’s employees to a remote workforce nearly overnight. Cataloguing and deploying computers, monitors and assorted other equipment to employees’ homes was done quickly and with the hope the situation would be short
lived. Instead, Pierce County employees remain a mostly remote team. A critical function of government is administering criminal justice in a fair and equitable manner. The accused are owed their day in court and victims expect justice. Converting courtroom operations to a remote experience was a tremendous challenge but the County’s Superior and District Courts created safe and respectful practices for all involved. By the end of 2020, nearly 7,000 court hearings had taken place. This video explains how the team made it work.
Click to view video
Another adaptation took place with the County Council. Council staff faced the need and obligation to make Council meetings accessible to residents while also complying with the Governor’s prohibition on in-person public meeting attendance. The solution? Zoom to the rescue.
Given the greater convenience made possible through digital Council meetings and with many residents were working from home, civic engagement was energetic and enthusiastic.
P R I M A RY CAT E G O RY E X P E N D I T U R E S
$13M 8% of total CARES funding
$6.7M
$2.7M
$3.6M
Pierce County Government
Local Jurisdictions
Justice Services
COVID-19 Response Activities of
Support for
Regional Law and
The year 2020 was filled with uncertainty, fear and frustration as Pierce County confronted a deadly virus. However, County residents came to rely on the services and support provided to them via CARES Act funding. Working with key partners and community leaders, Pierce County effectively managed the allocation and spending of the CARES funds for the benefit of individuals, families, businesses, churches, notfor-profit organizations, seniors and students. Visit piercecountywa.gov/cares to explore the Interactive Dashboard.
To acknowledge and thank the County’s essential employees and their dedication to performing so well in a dynamic, unpredictable environment, a digital “thank you” was created and shared with the team.
VISIT W W W.PIERCECOUNT Y WA .GOV/CARES TO EXPLORE THE INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD