Read more about the article Counties Face April Reporting for Federal ARPA/SLFRF Funds – FAQs Available from NACo
Coronavirus / Economic Development / Health and Human Services / Housing and Community Development / NACo and Federal Issues / Public Safety and Corrections / School Construction and Capital Budgets
Counties Face April Reporting for Federal ARPA/SLFRF Funds – FAQs Available from NACo

NACo has developed resources with the US Department of the Treasury, to help guide counties in their upcoming April 30 reporting due on federal funds provided through congressional enactments during the coronavirus emergency. On April 30, 2024, annual Project and Expenditure (P&E) Reports are due to the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) for all counties, parishes and boroughs that received American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). These required, periodic…

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March 27, 2024
Read more about the article Dependency on Recreation Industry Led Rural Counties to Best Post-Pandemic Job Recovery
Business Affairs / Coronavirus / County News / Economic Development / Employee Benefits and Relations / Feature / Human Resources / Labor / Parks and Recreation / Tourism
Dependency on Recreation Industry Led Rural Counties to Best Post-Pandemic Job Recovery

A new study shows that rural counties with a strong recreation industry across the country were more likely to regain the jobs they lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new analysis from The Daily Yonder, a rural media outlet, shows that while rural counties have not fully recovered jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, those with strong recreational industry presence were more likely to regain jobs. The recreation industry includes travel and tourism, sports, arts…

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January 2, 2024
Read more about the article 2024 Issue Preview: Learning Loss and Educational Recovery
2024 MACo Issue Previews / Coronavirus / County News / Education / Intergovernmental Relations / Winter Series
2024 Issue Preview: Learning Loss and Educational Recovery

With the 2024 Legislative Session rapidly approaching, MACo is profiling some major issues that stand to gather attention in the General Assembly. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (“The Blueprint”) sets ambitious goals to transform Maryland's public education system and invests billions in state and county funding into schools. However, pandemic-related learning loss is threatening Maryland's progress toward those goals. The DLS Issue Papers provide a snapshot of the current state of educational achievement and how…

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December 28, 2023
Read more about the article 2024 Issue Preview: Child Care and Expanding Pre-k
2024 MACo Issue Previews / Coronavirus / County News / Education / Intergovernmental Relations / Winter Series
2024 Issue Preview: Child Care and Expanding Pre-k

With the 2024 Legislative Session rapidly approaching, MACo is profiling some major issues that stand to gather attention in the General Assembly. The Blueprint for Maryland's Future ("The Blueprint") sets ambitious goals for universal pre-K for all three and four-year-olds in Maryland, utilizing private child care networks to meet those goals. In prior legislative sessions, the Maryland General Assembly laid the framework for universal pre-K and responded to Maryland's threatened post-pandemic child care industry. The…

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December 26, 2023
Read more about the article English Proficiency Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels
Coronavirus / County News / Education
English Proficiency Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels

Test scores for Maryland public school students in grades 3 to 8 show English proficiency has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. For the first time in years, Maryland is on track with English proficiency, with public school students in grades 3 to 8 testing above pre-COVID-19 levels. The 2023 Maryland Public Schools Report Card details recent test results for all 24 local education agencies (LEAs) and provides a comprehensive picture of school performance for elementary and middle…

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November 29, 2023
Read more about the article City Employees to Return to Office With Help from ARPA Funds
Coronavirus / County News / Employee Benefits and Relations / Human Resources
City Employees to Return to Office With Help from ARPA Funds

Baltimore City will spend $5 million in ARPA funding to get employees in the office at least three days a week. Starting in 2024, Baltimore City employees working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic will be asked to return to in-office work at least three days a week. Beginning January 2 of the new year, City staff will be able to telework for a maximum of two days per week, a change from the City's flexible…

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October 16, 2023
Read more about the article Student Enrollment Is Down, Teachers Are Up…So What’s Financially Up?
Coronavirus / County News / Education / Employee Benefits and Relations / Human Resources / Labor
Student Enrollment Is Down, Teachers Are Up…So What’s Financially Up?

Expert Chad Aldeman: "With More Teachers & Fewer Students, Districts Are Set up for Financial Trouble." The latest data suggests that more teachers nationwide are employed in American public schools today than before the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, those same schools serve approximately 1.9 million fewer students (a decrease of 4 percent) than pre-pandemic. Education and finance analyst and writer Chad Aldeman recently wrote about this seemingly conflicting situation. A comparison of enrollment…

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October 11, 2023
Read more about the article The Child Care Conundrum: Can We Curtail the Cliff?
Coronavirus / County News / Economic Development / Education / Policy Deep Dive / State Budget and Fiscal Issues
The Child Care Conundrum: Can We Curtail the Cliff?

This article is part of MACo’s Policy Deep Dive series, where expert policy analysts explore and explain the top county policy issues of the day. A new article is added each week – read all of MACo’s Policy Deep Dives. The child care industry has existing significant issues, with seemingly more complex solutions. In fact, experts are calling the increasingly tumultuous situation the “child care cliff.” Maryland's situation proves no different, with the combined forces…

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October 4, 2023
Read more about the article Homeschooling Is on The Rise, Even After COVID
Coronavirus / County News / Education / NACo and Federal Issues
Homeschooling Is on The Rise, Even After COVID

Nationally, data suggests that even as classrooms reopened post-COVID, some students remained at home, with families opting to homeschool instead. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many American families turned to nontraditional options to educate their children, like co-ops, private schools, and homeschooling. According to experts, many of those families have kept their children out of public school systems and have instead continued homeschooling students, even as schools reopened post-pandemic. A recent report from The74 on the…

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September 27, 2023
Read more about the article US Treasury Rules Offer More Flexibility with Local ARPA Funds
Coronavirus / Emergency Management / Health and Human Services / Information Technology / NACo and Federal Issues / Public Safety and Corrections / School Construction and Capital Budgets
US Treasury Rules Offer More Flexibility with Local ARPA Funds

New federal guidelines offer local governments additional, practical latitude in using funds distributed under the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) - welcome news for jurisdictions still navigating the accountability measures for appropriate spending and projects. Expect a breakdown from NACo soon. The U.S. Department of Treasury just released their Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (i.e. Cornyn/Padilla Amendment) that allows counties…

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August 11, 2023
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