American Workforce Policy Advisory Board – Call to Action: The American Workforce Policy Advisory Board has released a call-to-action to help the millions of workers who need assistance now, and build the resilient and agile workforce of the future powered by skilled American workers. Specific actions:

• Expedite American workers’ return to employment and upward mobility by investing in career pathways and implementing skills-based hiring practices.
• Remove obstacles to the modernization of American education and training to accelerate reskilling and facilitate innovation in workforce development.
• Build the technological infrastructure necessary for the future of work.

Find Something New: FindSomethingNew.org can help workers of all ages and backgrounds identify the right path for their career goals by recommending multiple educational pathways, providing aptitude testing, offering a directory of critical resources for child care, food assistance, internet access and more. Educational pathways featured include online learning, professional certification programs, associate’s degrees, and vocational, technical and trades education.

Economic Impact Payments: The CARES Act provides for Economic Impact Payments to American households of up to $1,200 per adult for individuals whose income was less than $99,000 ( or $198,000 for joint filers) and $500 per child under 17 years old – or up to $3,400 for a family of four. More information can be found here.

Preserving Jobs for American Industry: The CARES Act offers meaningful financial support to American businesses and job creators so they can better support employees and be prepared to get back to business as soon as possible. More information can be found here.

Supporting Child Care: The CARES Act provided an additional $3.5 billion to the Child Care and Development Block Grant to support families with child care options during this public health crisis. Additional information and State-level information can be found here.

Dislocated Worker Grants: The U.S. Department of Labor is providing Dislocated Worker Grants to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19. State-by-State data and additional details can be found here.

Assistance for Communities

CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grants: The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA)is awarding CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grants to assist communities in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. These grants are being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program, which provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit the recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

Opportunity Zones: Opportunity Zones were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on December 22, 2017, to stimulate economic development and job creation, by incentivizing long- term investments in low-income neighborhoods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump directed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council to focus on underserved communities impacted by the virus. For more information, visit opportunityzones.gov.

• Opportunity Zones Best Practices
• Opportunity Zones Toolkit Volume 1
• Opportunity Zones Toolkit Volume 2

How to Help

If you or your organization are interested in helping the effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, FEMA has established a website (www.fema.gov/coronavirus/how-to-help) with more information. Examples for the private sector include:

Donate Supplies and Equipment

• If you represent a business that would like to donate medical supplies, equipment or pharmaceuticals, please provide details on what you would like to give. This form is for donations only.

Sell Supplies and Equipment

• If you are interested in doing business with FEMA with your company’s non-medical goods and/or services, submit your inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Procurement Action Innovative Response Team (PAIR) team at [email protected].
• The federal government is purchasing medical supplies or equipment under the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Request for information (RFI). Visit the DLA website for more information.

Developing Medical Countermeasures

• If you would like to meet with a federal agency regarding a vaccine, diagnostic, therapeutic or other medical device that you are developing for SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, please go to medicalcountermeasures.gov.

Other Forms of Help

• If you or someone you know represent a hospital or healthcare provider in need of medical supplies, please contact your state, local, tribal or territory department of public health and/or emergency management agency.
• If you represent a private sector business and wish to learn more about getting involved in a way that is not listed here, please e-mail [email protected] or visit our National Business Emergency Operations Center page.

For additional information, please visit FEMA’s website: https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus/.

Guidelines for Opening Up America Again

President Trump has unveiled Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, a three-phased approach based on the advice of public health experts. These steps will help state and local officials when reopening their economies, getting people back to work, and continuing to protect American lives. Please click here for more information: Guidelines for Opening Up America Again

·         Testing Overview (HERE)

·         Testing Blueprint (HERE)

·         Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools and Homes (HERE)

·         CDC guidance for Camps, Child Care Programs, Schools, Mass Transit, Restaurants And Bars, and Workplaces

·         CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again (HERE)

·         CDC videos on washing hands, wearing gloves, wearing a cloth face cover, practicing social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing toys and child care programs, cleaning and disinfecting your homes, staying safe at summer camp, staying safe at aquatic venues, dinning with friends and family with higher risk for severe illness, visiting friends and family with higher risk for severe illness, stopping the spread of germs, and considerations for bars and restaurants.

White House Updates

• Remarks by President Trump on Phase Four Negotiations (HERE)
• Readout from the Vice President’s Governors Briefing on COVID-19 Response & Best Practices (HERE)
• 1600 Daily: President Trump briefs Americans from Oval Office (HERE)

FDA Issues First Emergency Authorization for Sample Pooling in Diagnostic Testing (HERE)

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reissued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Quest Diagnostics to authorize its Quest SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR test for use with pooled samples containing up to four individual swab specimens collected under observation. The Quest test is the first COVID-19 diagnostic test to be authorized for use with pooled samples.

OCR Issues Guidance on Civil Rights Protections Prohibiting Race, Color, and National Origin Discrimination during COVID-19 (HERE)

• Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing guidance to ensure that recipients of federal financial assistance understand that they must comply with applicable federal civil rights laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in HHS-funded programs during COVID-19. This Bulletin focuses on recipients’ compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI).

COVID-19 Health Care Fraud Facebook Q&A | HHS Office of the Inspector General (HERE)

• Learn how to prevent, detect, and report COVID-19 health care fraud. HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) are alerting the public about fraud schemes related to COVID-19.

CDC Stakeholder Call: Youth Sports (HERE)

• Dr. Carolyn Wester, Dr. Jill Daugherty, and Dr. Jennifer L. Murphy shared guidance on youth sports, including what CDC knows at this point and what CDC is doing in response to this outbreak.

U.S. Department of Labor Offers Webinars in Tagalog for Employers and Employees About Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HERE)

• The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced today that it will offer a webinar on July 21, 2020, to help employers and employees in Southern California’s Filipino communities understand the benefits and protections provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The webinar will be offered in Tagalog.

U.S. Support for Democracy, Good Governance, and Human Rights in the Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (HERE)

• The United States is committed to the protection of democracy, good governance, and human rights in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Societies that respect and defend human rights, fundamental freedoms, democratic institutions, and the rule of law are best equipped to respond transparently and effectively to crises.  A robust respect for human rights, as well as whole-of-society action, are necessary parts of the solution to public health crises.  Government responses to the COVID-19 epidemic must not use the disease as a pretext for repression of persons or ideas.

USDA Approves North Dakota to Accept SNAP Benefits Online (HERE)

• U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced approval of a request from North Dakota to provide online purchasing of food to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households.

Register for the DOT Opportunity Zones Program Update Webinar (HERE)

• The United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) invites you to participate at the Department’s “Opportunity Zones Program” Updates Webinar to be held on Wednesday, July 29th. The webinar will start promptly at 2:00 pm, EDT. This webinar will update the public on the recent pandemic of COVID-19, and its impact on the Opportunity Zones program within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

U.S. Department of Commerce Continues to Invest Cares Act Funding to Boost Economic Development Programs Critical to Helping Communities Respond to Coronavirus (HERE)

• EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

For the most up-to-date information, please see the CDC’s website: www.coronavirus.gov.

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