COVID-19 relief funds-state experiences could inform future federal relief funding
By Patti Cullen, CAE | November 22, 2023 | All members
US Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on state experiences with COVID Relief Funds,
GAO-24-106152. States received hundreds of billions in federal
COVID-19 relief funds. Selected state budget office staff GAO spoke with said they experienced some challenges with planning for and using the funds, such as delays and changes to federal guidance. They also noted the following:
Using pre-existing federal programs to distribute the funds was more efficient for states and the flexibility of new programs allowed them to address unique needs created by the pandemic
Based on their experience with the COVID-19 funding, some states developed new processes and new offices to better manage future federal relief funds
GAO identified several experiences from the selected states that could inform future federal relief:
- Leveraging pre-existing programs—Budget staff in some states said they were often able to use funding for existing programs more efficiently by using existing structures and processes; however, staff also noted that new, more flexible programs were key to addressing the pandemic's unique challenges
- Leveraging existing expertise and processes—States leveraged staff expertise and processes from implementing previous significant federal funding, such as from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to plan and use the COVID-19 relief funds; additionally, some states said their staff experience and capacity with the funds grew over time
- Establishing new units and processes for federal relief funds—Budget staff said they established specific units and processes for COVID-19 relief funds; they plan to leverage these units and processes for future federal relief funds
GAO reviewed plans for the use of the COVID-19 relief funds for eight states—California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington—and interviewed staff from state budget offices and auditor offices. GAO selected these states based on total COVID-19 relief funding, population size, and geographic region.
Patti Cullen, CAE | President/CEO |
pcullen@careproviders.org | 952-851-2487