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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION FOR ARPA VITAL COMMUNITIES PROGRAM INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2021, the federal government authorized the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) which includes $1.9 trillion in federal stimulus funds to hasten the United States’ recovery from the economic and health effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, specifically, the federal government has authorized and allocated a federal award of approximately $1,000,372,385B of ARPA funding to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on June 24, 2021, the Cook County American Rescue Plan Act Framework (the “ARPA Framework”) was presented to the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners via Resolution 21-3654 accepted the ARPA federal award allocated to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19 in the amount of approximately $1,000,372,385.00; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 21-3654 further authorized the Cook County Budget Director and Comptroller to create and implement a Special Purpose Fund for the ARPA award and other accounting measures to track the acceptance and spending of the federal award; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorized the Chief Financial Officer, Budget Director, Chief Procurement Officer and applicable using agencies to issue grants, contracts and agreements for ARPA programs approved via Resolutions 22-3657 and 22-0637; and
WHEREAS, to further the Policy Roadmap Goal, the Office of the President has developed a menu of Vital Community programs and initiatives which have undergone review and approval through the Project Management Office process to utilize ARPA funding for such programs and initiatives pursuant to the issuance of grants, contracts, and agreements; and
WHEREAS Resolutions 22-3657 and 22-0637 provided that any grants issued regarding ARPA programs in an amount over $1M shall require the approval of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby approves the issuance of the following agreements by the Office of the President to utilize ARPA funding for multiyear terms through Fiscal Year 2024, subject to annual appropriation by the Board, for the Office of the President programs and initiatives as follows:
1. Authorize the Office of the President to enter a Subrecipient Agreement on behalf of Cook County with nonprofit entity RIP Medical Debt in an aggregate amount of up to $12,000,000.00 to implement the Medical Debt Relief Initiative, a program aimed at providing debt relief to eligible Cook County residents to shore up their financial stability and improve health equity. The full term of the Subrecipient Agreement is from August 1,2022 to December 31, 2024. The goal of this program is to purchase and retire the medical debt of Cook County residents who are unable to cover their outstanding medical bills because they are experiencing financial hardship. Program recipients would be residents of Cook County and have incomes up to 400% of Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) or have a medical debt that is 5% or more of their estimated household annual income. RIP Medical Debt will identify recipients who meet Program Eligibility Criteria; will acquire qualified medical debt; will request an advance of Program Funds to acquire such qualified medical debt to the extent authorized in the Subrecipient Agreement; will invoice Cook County for the administrative costs associated with acquiring qualified medical debt and with administering the Program; will communicate with individuals whose debt is retired; and will report on programmatic success and milestones to Cook County as required per the terms of the Subrecipient Agreement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners recognizes that time is of the essence and authorizes the Deputy Chief of Staff - Office of The President at Cook County Government to negotiate and enter into the Subrecipient Agreement that outlines the specific metric and impact data, and compliance with all ARPA reporting and monitoring requirements with the Subrecipient listed above to implement the above programs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the Deputy Chief of Staff - Office of The President at Cook County Government or its designee to modify the agreement and funding allocation to the selected Subrecipient based upon need and utilization.
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