CARES Act Funding Announcement

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther along with Columbus City Council and Franklin County today announced CARES Act funding to increase family stability.

Columbus will use $6.2 million of CARES Act dollars to help childcare providers handle new regulations, including reduced teacher-child ratios, reduced maximum class sizes and new sanitization protocols that are crucial for the health and safety of both the children and the teachers. Franklin County will contribute an additional $2 million of their own CARES Act dollars for this initiative. The combined $8.2 million will go to childcare providers that serve low-income children in opportunity neighborhoods in Columbus, or in Groveport, Reynoldsburg and Whitehall.

In addition, more CARES Act funds will be used for rental and utility assistance. In May, the City announced $2.6 million of CARES dollars to be used for rental assistance programs through IMPACT Community Action. The dollar amount will be amended to $10 million to be voted on by Columbus City Council this evening. This City will also allot just over $1 million to be used for utility assistance grants. These funds will be distributed through various social services agencies to help families who have been unable to pay for utilities because of COVID-19.

The City has received $157 million CARES Act dollars from the U.S. Treasury to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act funding must be used for expenditures necessary to address public health issues due to COVID-19.