WVCAG Supports Tuesday Morning Group Budget Request for Allocation of American Rescue Plan Act Funds

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WVCAG Supports Tuesday Morning Group Budget Request for Allocation of American Rescue Plan Act Funds

West Virginia Citizen Action Group
1500 Dixie St.
Charleston, WV 25311

March 10th, 2022

Via Email

Governor Jim Justice
Ms. Ann Urling, Deputy Chief of Staff
Sherri Foreman, Executive Assistant to Chief of Staff
Office of the Governor
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East
Charleston, WV 25305

Ms. Jill Upson, Director, Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East
Building 1, Room 9R
Charleston, WV 25305

Re: Tuesday Morning Group Budget Request for Allocation of American Rescue Plan Act Funds

Dear Governor Justice, Ms. Urling, and Ms. Upson,

The Tuesday Morning Group submitted the proposal outlined below to the Governor’s Office under the banner of the Tuesday Morning Group’s Economic Justice, Fairness and Equity Movement Proposal.

West Virginia Citizen Action Group fully supports this proposal to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and address economic and health disparities in our communities.

The TMG recommends that Governor Justice request that the Legislature allocate funds to support initiatives in West Virginia’s census tracts with poverty rates 20% or higher as follows:

State-Wide Youth Summer Work and Academic Enrichment Program
$10 million dollars to Workforce West Virginia to administer the program
Special Pilot Project to reconnect the 50,000 plus 16 – 24 years old youth and young adults who are not working and not in school to education, job training and employment.
$10 million dollars to Workforce West Virginia to administer the program

Neighborhood Housing and Economic Stabilization Program to use housing rehab, upgrades, construction, and weatherization as a job training employment and economic development driver in low- income neighbors across the state per the 2004-HB-2950.
$25 million dollars to the WV Housing Development Fund to administer the program
Special Community-Based Pilot Project to Improve Outcomes for at-Risk Youth per 2012-SB-611 and 2017-HB-2188. The project will be a partnership between WV DHHR, Workforce WV, Voc-Rehab, WV State School Superintendent’s office, WV Adult Basic Education and other State governmental, business, and community partners. The partners will create ten (10) satellite clearinghouses to coordinate social and workforce development services to the hard-to-reach populations and to those who experience barriers to education, job training and employment.
$10 million dollars to the WVDHHR and Workforce West Virginia to administer the program
WV Office of Minority Health – Funding to support the office’s efforts to develop, implement and execute a state-wide plan to address and reduce long-standing, well-documented racial health disparities and to create satellite Community and Population’s Health Centers in strategic locations.
$10 million dollars to the WV Office of Minority Health to administer the program
Minority Economic Development Fund – Provide funding so that WV Economic Development Authority can fulfill the intent of the 2004 SB-573 Minority Economic Development law to develop and implement a procedure to promote economic development in heavily-populated low-income and minority communities.
$10 million dollars to West Virginia Development Office to administer the program
Center for Rural Health Development and the WV Rural Health Association
$2 million divided equally to support the expansion of the work of these two organizations

The requests outlined above are consistent with the May 31, 2020, letter that was submitted to the Governor’s Office by the WV State NAACP Conference of Branches and the Charleston Branch NAACP proposing the 20/20/20 Economic Justice and Equity Fund. They are also consistent with the February 1, 2022, letter submitted to the Governor’s Office by the Tuesday Morning Group (TMG) outlining a legislative framework to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19. But, most importantly, they are consistent with the intent of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act which calls for funds to be invested to address challenges exacerbated by COVID-19, to mitigate the negative outcome of COVID-19 and to address challenges faced by those populations that are most vulnerable to COVID-19 due to underlying health and socioeconomic conditions. We believe these proposed projects are consistent with a just, fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 funds to the most distressed communities with the most vulnerable populations. We believe that this is a clear intent of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act law.

Again, West Virginia Citizen Action Group fully supports this proposal, and we urge you to approve the funding of these programs as requested. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Eve Marcum-Atkinson
Communications Coordinator &
Administrative Assistant
WV Citizen Action Group/Education Fund
wvcag.org – wvcaef.org
Office: (304) 346-5891
Mobile: (614) 357-8533
eve@wvcag.org