OCS DCL-2022-07 ARP Anniversary FY2022

Office of Community Services

  Dear Colleague Letter

DCL#:                           OCS-DCL-2022-07

DATE:                            March 25, 2022

TO:                                 Office of Community Services Grant Recipients

SUBJECT:                   One-Year Anniversary of the American Rescue Plan Act Observance

ATTACHMENT(S):    1. LIHEAP ARP One-Pager (PDF)
                                         2. LIHWAP ARP One-Pager (PDF)

Dear Colleagues,

On March 11, 2022, the Office of Community Services (OCS) sent an email to grant recipients in recognition of the one-year anniversary of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act being signed into law. We also notified grant recipients of our plans to celebrate the anniversary throughout the month. This DCL provides grant recipients with an update on our observance activities and provides additional materials that can be used to highlight the impact of ARP funding and the successes of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) over the past year.

The ARP provided critical and unprecedented support to the children, families, and communities we serve. In particular, the ARP provided $4.5 billion in supplemental funding for LIHEAP and an additional $500 million to help fund LIHWAP.

OCS acknowledges and is grateful for the tremendous work our LIHEAP and LIHWAP grant recipients and subrecipients have accomplished over the last year to ensure these resources reach households in need. We thank you for your continued partnership and efforts to leverage ARP funds to serve LIHEAP and LIHWAP households. OCS also thanks our partners in the Rural Community Development Program and the Community Services Block Grant Network for their efforts, particularly over the past year, to make these programs successful.

OCS’ Celebration of the ARP One-Year Anniversary

This month, OCS took the following steps to observe the ARP anniversary:

• Released videos highlighting the impact of ARP funding on LIHEAP households in Washington, D.C. and Virginia , and the impact of ARP funding on LIHWAP households in North Carolina and Iowa
• Released two videos of Gene Sperling, ARP Coordinator and Senior Advisor to the President, highlighting the importance of ARP funding for LIHEAP and LIHWAP
• Published a LIHEAP one-pager (PDF) and a LIHWAP one-pager (PDF) showcasing how ARP funds are being leveraged to assist households with unmet utility needs across the country
• Posted observance and LIHEAP and LIHWAP related information on various social media platforms, such as Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram
• Hosted a listening session with the White House to hear how Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are coordinating LIHEAP and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program at the local level
• Hosted a second listening session on World Water Day (March 22) with the White House and LIHWAP state and local administrators and CAAs to discuss LIHWAP implementation progress, successes, and challenges

Materials linked above can also be found on our OCS ARP Anniversary website. Please join us in continuing to celebrate this observance throughout the remainder of the month. In particular, we encourage grant recipients to share success stories across your platforms regarding how ARP funds have made a difference in the communities you serve using #ARP365 and #AmericanRescuePlan.

Thank you again for all that you do on behalf of LIHEAP and LIHWAP households. We are so proud to celebrate the incredible work you have done over the past year to connect families and individuals with the vital utility assistance they need and to maximize the reach of the historic ARP funds.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high-quality services to OCS grantees.