Public Submission Process

Introduction

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.9 trillion economic relief package to deliver aid to American states, counties, and cities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cobb County, Georgia will receive more than $147 million as its ARPA allocation.

Based on the results and analysis of community engagement interviews, focus groups, listening sessions and a community needs survey, the County has approved investment guidance that sets aside ARPA funding for projects that address 20 subtopics in five priority areas of need below:

Community Health – to enhance mental, physical, and behavioral healthcare services

• 1.1 Mental Health – $12.1M to address mental health and the provision of mental health services for the public, including services for seniors and youth
• 1.2 Public Health Disparities – $7.6M to address public health particularly for underserved communities
• 1.3 Substance Abuse – $3.6M to address substance abuse prevention, rehabilitation, and/or community education
• 1.4 Healthcare Capacity – $2.1M to address access and availability of healthcare
• 1.5 COVID-19 Mitigation – $0.3M for ongoing efforts to reduce transmission of COVID-19

Support Services – to enhance programming and services for vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community

• 2.1 Affordable Housing – $13.8M to address the supply and availability of affordable housing in Cobb County
• 2.2 Homelessness – $4.6M to address services for the homeless population and underlying factors contributing to housing insecurity
• 2.3 Rental & Mortgage – $2.7M to address either targeted rental or mortgage assistance
• 2.4 Food Security – $2.2M to provide food options for vulnerable residents

Economic Development – to aid recovery through the business sector and workforce opportunities

• 3.1 Workforce Development – $12.3M to address training, skills development, placement and other measures to increase labor participation
• 3.2 Small & Minority-Owned Business – $5.8M to address negative economic impacts to small & minority-owned businesses that have been hardest hit by the pandemic
• 3.3 Employee Retention – $2.8M to address talent and retention for businesses and organizations
• 3.4 Hospitality & Tourism – $1.5M to address negative economic impacts to the hotel and tourism businesses impacted by the pandemic

County Infrastructure – to enhance the County’s physical and/or structural capacity to meet operational responsibilities

• 4.1 County Facilities* – $7.3M to keep Cobb County facilities functional and safe for residents and employees in light of the pandemic
• 4.2 Stormwater* – $7.1M to address stormwater infrastructure maintenance and upgrades
• 4.3 Broadband & Digital Equity – $4.9M to address the accessibility, affordability and quality of broadband services, particularly for residents who are experiencing a digital divide in access or services

Public Safety – to assist in keeping Cobb County residents safe

• 5.1 Mental Health Response* – $8.2M to address mental health-oriented emergency response capabilities
• 5.2 Court Backlog* – $3.7M to address the backlog in the County courts resulting from the pandemic, to enable them to handle cases safely and in a timely manner
• 5.3 Public Safety Hiring, Retention & Staffing* – $3.4M to address the current and future pipeline of Cobb County’s public safety workers
• 5.4 First Response* – $2.1M to address the increased demands of first responders to meet Cobb County’s emergency response due to the pandemic

* Open to applicants representing Cobb County government only.

Beginning June 6, 2022, Cobb County is calling for project applications in line with these priority areas and subtopics. Applications must be submitted by the deadline of September 9^th, 2022 at 5 pm EST.

This application process is open to individuals that wish to submit project ideas, even if they do not have the ability to carry out those projects, as well as organizations that have the capacity to implement specific proposals.

If the applicant is unable to execute on their idea, the applicant will not receive ARPA funding directly. However, if the application is strong enough, it may be considered for a process to identify entities capable of execution.
 

Submission Criteria

• Projects must serve Cobb County and its residents
• Projects submitted must align with at least one of the five priority areas and at least one subtopic associated with the chosen priority area.
• Project submissions from organizations outside of the Cobb County government must align with one or more Economic Development, Support Services, and Community Health subtopics, or Broadband & Digital Equity. Submissions from organizations outside of the Cobb County government will not be considered for Public Safety subtopics or County Facilities or Stormwater.
• Projects must support communities impacted or disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please see question 3.3.
• Projects must consider equity in their project plans. 

Please note: This application is not for individual household or business direct grants.
 

Application Instructions

Please note, your changes may not be saved if you leave or exit the application window and come back to finish the application later. Please plan on completing the application in one sitting.
 

Application Evaluation

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received and will be scored on how fully they satisfy the following criteria:

Please note, additional information from applicants may be requested as needed. Final funding decisions will be made by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.

Section I: Applicant Information and Eligibility

1.1 General Information

1.2  This application is open to both organizations and individuals. Organizations should be able to execute their proposed project, and thus answer “yes” to this question. Individual applicants who do not have the ability to execute their project idea should answer “no.” If these applications are strong enough, they may be considered for a process to identify entities capable of project execution. Applicants that are not able to execute their project will not receive funding directly.

1.3  For organizations only:

To determine the district, search your organization address here: 

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https://www.cobbcounty.org/board/district-commissioners/find-your-commissioner

Section II: Detailed Project Scope, Timeline, & Budget

2.1 A scope, often outlined in a Scope of Work (SOW), is a detailed description of the proposed project and all its activities. This includes the project’s purpose and objective, what activities will be carried out to achieve them, and a project timeline. The purpose of the scope is to clearly define what a project will encompass and what it will not. The scope should provide detail on how the project will get to the objectives. Please describe the expected project scope (outline of project activities) in as much detail as possible.

2.2 Please attach a chronological project timeline (MS Excel or Word file preferred) with an estimated timetable and brief description of each activity. You may use as many rows as you need.

2.3 For each activity identified in Question 2.2, please provide a line-item budget of project expenses (MS Excel or Word file preferred). This should only include expenses to be paid for with the requested ARPA funding.

2.4  Indirect costs can be general overhead costs and/or administrative expenses indirectly related to project implementation. Indirect costs are usually captured through a percentage of total project costs also known as an indirect rate. If the applicant has not previously established an indirect cost rate with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, an organization may use a default indirect rate of 10% of the project’s modified total direct costs (MTDC). MTDC means all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward, regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award.

2.8  For County Staff Only

Section III: Targeting Impacted Populations & Equity

3.1 Projects are encouraged to be designed in a manner that cultivates equity. For the purposes of ARPA, projects are encouraged to be designed in a manner that cultivates the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

• Target population: Are the populations that you intend to serve through your project part of impacted and/or historically underserved, marginalized, or adversely affected groups?
• Awareness: How equal and practical is it for residents/households/businesses to become aware of the services funded by your project?
• Access and Distribution: Are there differences in levels of access to the benefits or services of your project across different groups? For example, are there administrative requirements that may result in disparities in the ability for groups to access the benefits or services of your project?
• Outputs and Outcomes: Are the intended outcomes of your project focused on closing economic or public health gaps caused by the pandemic or historical circumstances? Do your outputs and outcomes aim to disaggregate progress by equity dimensions (such as race, ethnicity, or income) where relevant?

Incorporating equity into project plans means considering the dimensions above and prioritizing support for communities with the highest need.

Does this project incorporate equity by supporting residents of Cobb County who are part of underserved communities and/or have been denied consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment?

3.2  Qualified Census Tracts can serve as indicators of areas with increased need. A census tract is a statistical subdivision of counties that may include a few neighborhoods in a city or, in rural areas, may include several towns. The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) as those which demonstrate a poverty rate of at least 25 percent. Alternatively, 50 percent or more of its households must have incomes below 60 percent of the area’s median household income.

To view Qualified Census Tract locations, follow the link found here:

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https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sadda/sadda_qct.html

3.3  Cobb County ARPA funding must be used to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to facilitate a strong recovery in communities that were impacted by the pandemic.

ARPA guidelines define a “low-income household” as a household with income at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the size of its household based on the poverty guidelines published most recently by the Department of Health and Human Services; or income at or below 40 percent of the Area Median Income for its county and size of household based on data published most recently by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A “moderate-income household” is defined as a household with income at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the size of its household based on poverty guidelines published most recently by the Department of Health and Human Services; or income at or below 65 percent of the Area Median Income for its county and size of household based on data published most recently by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The table below lists the upper thresholds for both low- and middle-income households in Cobb County as defined by ARPA.

Section IV: Key Performance Indicators

4.1 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), sometimes called ‘outputs’, are data points to measure project impact. They indicate the state of a project’s performance. KPIs provide an opportunity for applicants to measure and evaluate their project both during and after the project ends.

By defining the KPI with a clear target number and benefit/service, project evaluators can compare current or actual data to the original KPI and assess how a project is tracking to its goals.

Several examples are provided below for illustrative purposes only.

Example 1: Proposed Project is intended to address Household Assistance and/or Housing Support

KPIs for Proposed Project:

• 600 (Target Number) Households are anticipated to receive eviction prevention services (Output).
• 400 (Target Number) Affordable housing units are anticipated to be preserved or developed (Output).

Example 2: Proposed Project is intended to address Negative Economic Impacts

KPIs for Proposed Project:

• 1,200 (Target Number) workers to enroll in sectoral job training programs (Output).
• 950 (Target Number) workers to complete sectoral job training programs (Output).
• 400 (Target Number) people to participate in summer youth employment programs (Output).

4.2 Project Outcomes: Outcomes are the intended or desired changes expected to result from a project. Outcomes build off KPIs by explaining the deeper value or change they are intended to bring. For example, for the KPI ‘600 individuals enrolled in a job training program’, the intended outcome may be to measure if the enrollees’ unemployment rate decreased.