Greene County Logo American Rescue Plan Act

American Rescue Plan Act:


On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 into law. The $1.9 trillion package is intended to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including the public health and economic impacts. ARPA allocates hundreds of billions of dollars for public health and vaccines, assistance for vulnerable populations, education and housing stabilization, economic recovery assistance and direct assistance for families and individuals. As part of the $362 billion in federal fiscal recovery aid for state and local governments, $65.1 billion is provided as direct aid to counties. The ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds are intended to provide support to state, local, and tribal governments in responding to the impact of COVID-19 and in their efforts to contain COVID-19 on their communities, residents, and businesses. ARPA funds build on and expand the support provided in the first years of the Coronavirus pandemic, including through the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund


While ARPA is similar to the CARES Act of 2020 - both stimulus packages are designed to support the economic response and recovery related to COVID-19 - there are several differences with this new program. The two most notable differences being the timeframe for expenditures and the expanded qualifying uses. ARPA funds are allowed to cover costs incurred by Dec. 31, 2024 and must be completely spent by December 31, 2026. Qualifying uses for ARPA funds include:


Greene County’s ARPA Initiative

Greene County has received both allocations of a two-phase allocation as part of the federal government’s American Rescue Plan. The initial deposit of $28,464,260 arrived on May 19 and the second allocation of $28,464,260 arrived June 9.

In total, Greene County will receive $56,928,520 in ARP funding to support local efforts to recover from COVID-19.


Greene County has completed a needs assessment and has identified our top community needs. They are:

  1. mental health services
  2. affordable housing
  3. services for unhoused persons
  4. small business economic assistance
  5. assistance to nonprofit organizations
  6. household food programs
  7. broadband
  8. childcare and services to foster youth
  9. water and sewer
  10. substance use services
  11. aid to tourism, travel and hospitality industry
  12. education assistance to early learning

How is Greene County utilizing its ARPA funding?


The Greene County Commissioners have approved a spending and allocation plan for our ARPA fund allotment. The plan has been developed using the guidance from the Federal government and through a deliberative process that included community engagement and review of community data. The spending plan that has been developed for Greene County utilizes program designs that are responsive to community needs, address equity, consider relevant labor standards for infrastructure projects, and make use of evidence- based practices as required by Department of Treasury guidance and reporting requirements.


Our funding initiatives have been implemented in four major categories.



To find out more about these initiatives and how Greene County is implementing ARPA funds, please see our latest Recovery Report below.



For further information, please go to the Needs Assessment tab for the full report. If you have questions or desire further information, please call (417) 799-1563 or email [email protected].

For a list of frequently asked questions from the US Treasury, click here.

For the US Treasury's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Final Rule click here

For the US Treasury's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Final Rule Overview click here