Kansas CARES Act Grant Program Support for COVID-19

Challenge:

On March 12, 2020, Governor Kelly declared a State of Emergency in the State of Kansas to combat the novel coronavirus COVID-19. On Friday, March 13, 2020, the President declared a National Emergency, freeing up federal funding and resources to mitigate and respond to this national crisis. As this event is nationwide and requires the response of the Whole Community, the Kansas Division of Emergency Management identified the need for developing and administering two grant programs. These grant programs need to be developed to administer CARES Act funding to local emergency management organizations for planning and emergency operations center capability enhancements. A grant program will also be developed to support private sector partners in procuring and obtaining necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and vetted disinfectant supplies.

Solution:

EM Partners spent a week in Kansas working directly with KDEM to identify and develop formal program processes and procedures for both grant programs. This included the development of eligibility criteria, priority projects, application package and instructions, stakeholder engagement, and messaging strategies. Our team provides support in developing the applications and messaging that was ultimately used. Once the EOC Grant program was launched our team provided technical assistance to over 60 applicants as they were developing their applications and will continue to provide technical assistance to KDEM as the funds get awarded, require reporting and closeout support.

Benefits:

The support we are providing to the State of Kansas allowed them to launch two very important grant programs in a very short timeframe. These grant programs will support the communities around the state are better able to respond to and recover from COVID-19. Our technical assistance allowed more communities to apply for the grant funds and apply for projects that will truly enhance their programs. These grant programs can now be used as a model for future programs.