CARES Act Archives - Missourinet

Missouri intercepts $78 million in stimulus money from people who owe child support

February 15, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

The CARES Act passed by U.S. Congress last year allowed states to block the first stimulus payment to people who owed child support. Last April, Gov. Mike Parson said he was supportive of using that approach.

Missouri intercepts $78 million in stimulus money from people who owe child support

“If you owe for your children, you need to pay for your kids. They should be a priority of yourselves,” the governor said during a coronavirus briefing on April 10, 2020. “If there’s an opportunity to take that money and make sure we get it to those kids where they need it, by all means we’ll be taking it.”

According to Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones, the Missouri Legislature passed a bill during last November’s special session that allows the state to continue intercepting federal stimulus payments to pay custodial parents money they are owed.

Rebecca Woelfel, spokesperson for the state Department of Social Services, says between May 2020 and January 2021, Missouri captured $78.8 million total in stimulus payments from 60,842 individuals who owe child support.

Woelfel says most of the funds go to the custodial parent. Four-percent of the funds were retained for debt owed to the state for custodial parents who executed an assignment of rights for periods when the family received TANF, temporary financial aid to needy Missouri families.

Under the first stimulus plan passed by U.S. Congress last year, Americans who make $75,000 or less a year received a payment for $1,200 or $2,400 for married couples. Plus, they received $500 per child. The second stimulus payment was $600 per adult, $1,200 per married couple, and up to $600 for each qualifying child.

The payments were intended to provide an injection of cash to millions of Americans struggling to get by while the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy.

Missouri hires company to boost hospital staffing levels during COVID-19 surge

December 2, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri has hired a national company to increase the state’s hospital workforce through February. The move comes as many Missouri hospitals continue to juggle staffing shortages and caring for an increasing number of COVID-19 patients.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on June 16, 2020 (photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s Flickr page)

During a Capitol press conference Wednesday in Jefferson City, Gov. Mike Parson says the plan will help Missouri to deal with an expected surge in COVID-19 cases over the winter.

“We are currently doing all we can at the state level to help with staffing challenges,” he says. “The Missouri National Guard and the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team are already being utilized and we continue to exhaust all other options.”

Parson says the company, Texas-based Vizient, will work to get hundreds of personnel into Missouri hospitals.

“The plan will allow for up to 760 additional staff across the state, including registered nurses, respiratory therapists, certified nurse assistants,” says Parson.
“When fully deployed, this will add nearly 600 total beds to our statewide bed capacity, including some critical care beds.”

Missouri Hospital Association President and CEO Herb Kuhn says the news come not have come at a better time.

“Throughout the past weeks, the infection rates and hospitalizations for COVID-19 have continued to climb. This is happening in all parts of the state. It’s a challenge in communities both rural and urban and it is affecting the ability of all hospitals from rural hospitals to major urban medical centers,” says Kuhn. “In the days and weeks ahead as these workers arrive, they will provide essential support to our hospitals and health care workers – those who have been on the front lines of care since March. These extra skilled caregivers are essential to address the staff shortages that are presenting a critical threat to hospital capacity to Missouri.”

The governor did not have information about the cost of the effort. Parson says the state will fund the project through the end of this year using CARES Act funding, and hospitals will pay for the rest.

“Funding is always issue when we talk about CARES Act funding,” says Parson. “But I think you also have got to remember whatever the cost is, this is about saving people’s lives.”

Today, Missouri reports more than 305,000 have been infected with COVID-19 since March and 4,043 have died from the virus. Over 2,600 are in a Missouri hospital being treated for the illness.

On a side note, Parson says the state has delivered more than 260,000 cases of personal protective gear to healthcare providers, including 17 million gowns, 14.2 million gloves, 7.2 million surgical masks, 4.9 million N95 masks and 1.4 million face shields. According to Parson, Missouri has also allocated over $5 million to expand broadband for telehealth across the state.

UPDATE: Missouri lawmakers to consider $1.27 billion supplemental, to provide more resources for COVID

November 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor is asking state lawmakers to approve a more than $1 billion supplemental budget during the upcoming special session, which begins Thursday in Jefferson City. The funding will provide additional resources to COVID-19.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks at the Capitol in Jefferson City on May 7, 2020, as Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, listens (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) tells Missourinet that the total amount of the supplemental budget is $1.27 billion.

Governor Mike Parson (R) says there’s still CARES Act funding that needs to be distributed to Missourians. The supplemental budget will include school nutrition service programs, job training grants and funding for a domestic violence grant.

The governor also says the supplemental budget will also include funding for child support payments. He says since the Legislature approved the $35 billion state operating budget in May, additional CARES Act funding has been made available to the state.

Haahr chooses southwest Missouri’s Deaton as new House Budget Committee vice chairman

November 3, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A freshman state lawmaker from southwest Missouri’s Noel is the new vice chairman of the powerful Missouri House Budget Committee.

State Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 4, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, has appointed State Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, to the post, saying Deaton will be ready to assist in the committee’s work to appropriate funding during the upcoming special session to combat COVID.

The special session begins Thursday in Jefferson City, and Speaker Haahr says it was important to name a vice chairman ahead of the special session.

Deaton, who is unopposed in Tuesday’s election, was elected to the Missouri House in 2018.

“My top priorities are to support (House Budget Committee) Chairman (Cody) Smith as he guides the committee and work with my fellow committee members as we seek to appropriate taxpayer dollars wisely,” Deaton tells Missourinet.

Governor Mike Parson (R) announced the special session in late October, saying there is still CARES Act funding that needs to be distributed to Missourians. The governor has called a special session on a supplemental budget bill. The amount of that supplemental is unknown, at this time.

“The supplemental budget contains funding for several items, including school nutrition programs, job training grants, emergency solutions grant program for homeless prevention,” Parson told Capitol reporters on October 21.

The governor says the supplemental will also include funding for a domestic violence grant and child support payments.

Speaker Haahr has also added State Rep. Craig Fishel, R-Springfield, to the House Budget Committee.

Parson calls special session Nov. 5 to access additional federal aid

October 21, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Gov. Mike Parson has called another special session – this time to focus on getting extra federal coronavirus funding made available to the state. The federal aid includes funding for school meals, grants for homelessness prevention and job training, child support payments, among others.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on October 15, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

“COVID-19 has had an overwhelming impact on our state, and while we have made great progress, this additional funding will be critical as we continue to respond and work through the recovery process,” Parson says. “We look forward to working with the General Assembly to make sure these funds are distributed across Missouri as soon as possible.”

According to the State Auditor’s website, Missouri has been given nearly $3 billion in federal CARES Act funding. The state has allocated out about $1.7 billion of the money.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, says the governor’s call for a special session is a political stunt.

“When the legislature passed the current state budget in May, it granted the governor broad authority to spend federal coronavirus relief funds precisely so he would have the flexibility to act without calling lawmakers back to Jefferson City. As a result, it is highly questionable whether this special session is even necessary,” says Quade. “The governor’s response to the pandemic has ranged from indifference to incompetence and thousands of Missourians have died. Calling a special session this close to an election he is in jeopardy of losing seems more like a desperate political move than leadership.”

Lawmakers are scheduled to begin the session November 5.

This is the second special session Parson has called lawmakers back to Jefferson City for this year. Over the summer, he called one to have the Missouri Legislature pass crime legislation.

Missouri’s Hawley: increases in social isolation from pandemic may be contributing to surges in drug addiction

September 18, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s junior senator is urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the mental health needs of Americans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) speaks to Missourinet during an interview on March 25, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Senator Hawley’s office)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) has written a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, calling on the agency to deploy more of the $425 million that Congress appropriated to the agency to boost mental health and substance abuse treatment services during the pandemic.

“I’d like to see more money come to our state and local health care providers,” Hawley tells Missourinet. “I’d like to see HHS set up a system to get that money out the door.”

Senator Hawley, who serves on the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, says the agency has distributed $14 million in CARES Act funding to Missouri certified community behavioral health clinics. He also says the agency has established an emergency grant program, targeted at suicide prevention.

But Hawley says more should be done to increase access to services. He says that for older Americans, loneliness due to social isolation and distancing has skyrocketed.

Senator Hawley also says increases in social isolation and anxiety because of the COVID pandemic may be contributing to surges in drug addiction. He says he’s seeing reports from across Missouri about significant increases in Narcan doses deployed by EMS personnel to combat drug overdoses.

“This time has been extraordinarily hard on people from all walks of life, but especially those who struggle with substance abuse, some who’ve begun to struggle during this time with substance abuse,” says Hawley.

He also says treatment facilities for drug addiction are under severe strain because of pandemic-related interruptions.

A University of Missouri professor who serves as the director of the Missouri Center for Addiction Research and Engagement says increased isolation and more daily life stressors are some of the challenges people are facing during the pandemic.

Mizzou professor Denis McCarthy says some residents have also experienced job losses and business closures, during the pandemic. Professor McCarthy says each type of stress is associated with an increased risk of alcohol and drug use.

Southeast Missouri getting $3 million in CARES Act funding to expand rural broadband

August 20, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing nearly $3 million in the expansion of rural broadband internet service to southeast Missouri. During a Zoom call Wednesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senator Roy Blunt and Missouri Ag Director Chris Chinn announced the federal CARES Act funds are going to Big River Communications for the expansion.

Southeast Missouri getting $3 million in CARES Act funding to expand rural broadband

Chad Rupe, the USDA’s administrator for rural utilities service, says the funding will provide broadband to thousands of Missourians.

“Big River Communications is receiving a $2.9 million award to lay over 53 miles of high-speed fiber broadband to connect 4,839 people,” he says.

Perdue says the funding will help to sustain rural communities.

“We’ve got some wonderful communities out hear in which many people love to live but if they’re disadvantaged and cannot connect to the global marketplace, that’s a real disadvantage,” says Perdue.

Chinn says the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s goal is to have 90% broadband coverage in the state by 2025 and the CARES Act funding will help to speed up the timeline.

Construction is set to start next month, and the first availability of the new broadband is expected by the end of the year.

By Will Robinson of Brownfield Ag News

Missouri designates $7.5 million to help schools cover costs of PPE and cleaning

August 9, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

State officials say several million dollars in federal funding will help Missouri schools cover costs of personal protective equipment (PPE).

State Rep. Dr. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, gets ready to speak on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on April 8, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson says $7.5 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund has been allocated to a cost-share program with counties, to help Missouri schools cover PPE costs. The money will also help schools cover costs of cleaning and medical supplies for school buildings and buses.

The governor says schools can use relief funds provided under the CARES Act for any COVID-19 related expenses, including PPE costs.

Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven and state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams will testify Tuesday morning in Jefferson City, before the bipartisan House Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention.

Committee Chairman State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, tells Missourinet that the number one issue he’s hearing about from his constituents is about school plans. He has a nine-year-old and a six-year-old in public school.

Commissioner Vandeven will be testifying about schools.

Chairman Patterson says that Dr. Williams will testify about the trajectory Missouri is on. Dr. Patterson, a private practice general surgeon, is interested what will happen if/when a COVID-19 vaccine is developed. Patterson wants to know if DHSS has a plan in place.

DHSS says Missouri now has had 58,927 cases. That is up from Friday’s number of 57,379.

Governor calls on Missouri counties to send CARES Act funding to health departments

August 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services survey shows in at least 50 counties, the local governments have not passed federal coronavirus relief funding to their health departments. The state has received billions of dollars in CARES Act money to help it deal with the pandemic that has infected more than 55,000 Missourians and killed at least 1,273 others.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 27, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

During a press conference Wednesday at the state Capitol, Gov. Mike Parson called on county leaders across Missouri to prioritize the distribution of those funds. Parson says the state legislature passed a spending bill requiring the federal aid to be delivered to counties within ten days, which he says the state did.

“But so far, much of this money has not been distributed to those on the front lines of the public health response,” says Parson. “I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for these funds to be distributed and utilized, especially when it comes to testing and contact tracing.”

Parson says state government can help but contract tracing largely depends on local health departments.

“That is why it is so critical that our local health departments receive the CARES Act funds so they can continue building up contact tracing and testing efforts in their communities,” says Parson.

In several cases, county commissions have been at odds with their health departments over how they have handled the pandemic.

Missouri continues to have spike in crisis calls and requests for services during COVID-19

July 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

State Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer says mental health providers in rural and urban Missouri are experiencing significant increases in crisis calls and requests for services. During a Capitol press conference, he says state officials recognize the COVID-19 crisis will contribute to increases in depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and other challenges. Gov. Mike Parson has authorized $10 million in federal coronavirus funding to help Missouri’s community behavioral healthcare providers.

Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer

“Many of those providers have seen significant losses, along with increased costs. These funds will be essential to preserving access to care during a time when the need has never been greater,” says Stringer.

He says the funds can help with staffing levels, improve technology and boost abilities to reach and serve people through means other than traditional in-person care.

Missouri is also putting $620,000 of CARES Act funding toward continuing a public awareness campaign about suicide prevention.

“We hope to reach all Missourians who are in suicidal crisis as well as their friends and loved ones who can help intervene,” says Stringer. “And we will have a special focus on middle-aged men in rural areas. That group has the highest suicide rate of all.”

The department is once again partnering with the National Crisis Text Line to encourage Missourians to text a counselor when experiencing a crisis. The agency’s information about suicide prevention can be found by clicking here.

Parson has also authorized $20 million in federal aid for Missouri’s behavioral health and developmental disability services. Stringer says the funding is available for qualifying group homes, supported living, adult daycare and employment providers.

“Our contracted community providers, who as a result of the pandemic, have also lost revenue due to disruptions in service while incurring additional costs for things like testing, PPE and overtime,” says Stringer.

Department spokesperson Debra Walker tells Missourinet the information to apply is being sent directly to providers.