The Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday approved the state Department of Human Services' request for $30 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to fill gaps in mental health and substance abuse services across the state and the state Department of Finance and Administration's request for $16.8 million for the University of Arkansas at Monticello's Forest Health Research Center
The council also approved the finance department's requests for $12 million in American Rescue Plan funds for Mercy Fort Smith, $7 million for CARTI in El Dorado, and $6 million in nursing program support for three private colleges.
In another action Friday, the Legislative Council approved requests for state restricted reserve funds totaling nearly $19 million for projects at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the state departments of human services, public safety, transformation and shared services.
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion federal American Rescue Plan Act, which is designed to help the United States recover from the economic and health effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
Arkansas' state government was awarded $1.57 billion in American Rescue Plan state fiscal recovery funds.
With the Legislative Council's approval Friday of the five requests totaling $71.8 million in American Rescue Plan funds, the amount available for allocation will be $250.2 million, state Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin said.
The finance department said its request for $6 million in American Rescue Plan funds would provide $2 million each to Harding University, John Brown University, and Ouachita Baptist University to support equipment purchases, facility expansion and other nursing program support. The funds are aimed at helping private colleges increase their Bachelor of Science in Nursing program enrollment by 25% to help address Arkansas' nursing shortage.
During a legislative subcommittee meeting Tuesday, state Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, said she advocated for a request for American Rescue Plan funding for Philander Smith University School of Allied and Public Health last year but was advised at that time that one of the reasons the school's request couldn't be funded "was because it was more General Improvement Fund."
In response, Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, said at that time "as far as the conversation that we were having before, there was not detailed plans for how those institutions were going to utilize the money and I think that's what we were talking about in reference to the old General Improvement Fund program -- not that one exists today."
But Chesterfield said she doesn't oppose these latest requests for American Rescue Plan funds, but she doesn't want to have one set of rules for some and another set of rules for others.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday she approved the state Department of Human Services' multifaceted plan to use American Rescue Plan funds to fill gaps in mental health and substance abuse services earlier this month, and she appreciates lawmakers' consideration and support of this request.
The governor's office said the American Rescue Plan funded plan is one element of a broader plan the administration is developing to complete the health continuum of care for individuals with mental health needs, intellectual disabilities, or physical disabilities and those Arkansans who are elderly and aging.
"This larger plan will outline [the Department of Human Services'] initiatives that focus on prevention through crisis to recovery or stability," the governor's office said in its news release. "It is aimed at providing treatment and supportive services to enable vulnerable individuals to live safely in their own homes and communities, and additional details are forthcoming."
Asked why the governor supports the requests for American Rescue Plan funds for the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Mercy Fort Smith, CARTI in El Dorado, Harding University, John Brown University and Ouachita Baptist University, Sanders' spokeswoman Alexa Henning said Friday in a written statement that "The governor is focused on projects that help take Arkansas to the top like investing money in public safety, better health outcomes, and education."
The state Department of Finance and Administration said its request for $16.8 million in American Rescue Plan funds will allow the University of Arkansas at Monticello to build a new Arkansas Forest Health Research Center within its College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Peggy Doss, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, said Friday in a written statement the establishment of the Arkansas Forest Health Research Center is a historic milestone for the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Arkansas, and the southeast United States.
"This state-of-the-art facility will enable cutting-edge research in forest health and management by fostering collaboration between academic researchers and industry professionals," she said.
"I am deeply grateful for the tremendous support from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders as well as Rep. Jeff Wardlaw [of Hermitage], Sen. Ben Gilmore, Rep. Mike Holcomb, Sen. Matt Stone, Rep. Howard Beaty, and the Arkansas Forestry Caucus," Doss said. "The Arkansas Forest Health Research Center is a testament to their vision and leadership, and it will have a positive impact on the industry and the environment for generations to come. The University of Arkansas at Monticello community is honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of establishing the research center at its institution and is committed to being a conscientious steward of the center."
The finance department said its request for $12 million in American Rescue Plan funds to grant Mercy Fort Smith is to secure funding to help pay for the construction of a state-of-the-art Cancer Center as part of Mercy Fort Smith's expansion project in the River Valley.
"The grant is intended to support phase II of the initiative, which involves building a modern, free-standing Cancer Center, while providing access to Cancer care services in the growing River Valley," the finance department said, and the project will double patient capacity while broadening the array of providers and services.
The Cancer Center is projected to cost about $100 million with Mercy committing $70 million and the Cherokee Nation providing a $8 million gift, according to the Mercy Health Foundation.
The finance department said its request for $7 million in American Rescue Plan funds to grant to CARTI will allow more access to cancer care services in south Arkansas communities. The grant will support facility expansion and enhance existing service offerings to provide additional treatment and detection modalities, according to the department.
In its request for the funding, CARTI said it invested the initial $12 million in Phase 1 of a new cancer center in El Dorado. CARTI said the total project cost is $19 million, and "we are working to complete this vision with Phase II."
RESTRICTED RESERVE FUNDS
The Legislative Council also approved the following requests for state restricted reserve funds:
-- The state Department of Human Services' request for $8 million to pay for the construction of Phase 1 and a portion of Phase II of the master plan at the Jonesboro Human Development Center.
Phase 1 of the master plan involves the construction of a health center/clinic to serve as an anchor building around which new beneficiary residences will be constructed as part of Phase II, as funding is available, Department of Human Services Secretary Kristin Putnam said in a letter to Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson.
"It is anticipated that the $8,000,000 in restricted reserve funding will cover the cost of constructing the new health center/clinic to complete Phase I, and then also the construction of one new residence as a start to Phase II," she wrote in her letter.
-- The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's request for $6.5 million to accelerate several projects and maximize federal funding.
Out of the $6.5 million, $2 million will be used for the Glaise Creek Green Tree Reservoir restoration project, Commission Director Austin Booth said in a letter to Hudson.
Booth said $2 million of the $6.5 million will be used for the Centerton Hatchery to increase capacity at the hatchery while reducing "our toll on the watershed." The commission will leverage this funding with federal Community Directed Federal Funds to complete the project, he said.
Of the $6.5 million, $1.5 million will be used for Lake Conway to accelerate boat lane work to the summer of 2024 and aim for earlier project completion, Booth said, and $1 million will be used for Lake Wilhelmina renovations.
-- The state Department of Transformation and Shared Services' request for $4.2 million to help hire the consultant McKinsey & Co. to conduct efficiency reviews for organizational strategic alignment, personnel, procurement, real estate, vehicle fleet management and information technology. The transformation department plans to use $1.3 million of its funds to cover the rest of the tab for the consultant.
-- The Department of Public Safety's request for $200,000 to allow the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training to provide Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training to law enforcement employees around the state. The funding provides for necessary equipment and program training costs, the department's Chief Fiscal Officer Karen Perry said in a letter to Hudson