Rep. Russo announces $122 million to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, support affordable housing projects and confront child and elder abuse

Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) announced today that the state Controlling Board approved several items of note this week, including the allocation of $35.6 million to purchase rapid COVID-19 testing kits and $8 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to support local health departments and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The Controlling Board also approved multiple items to support access to affordable housing, including $36 million for nonprofit homelessness providers and local governments and $1.4 million that will be distributed to the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, the Ohio CDC Association, Habitat Humanity of Ohio, and Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing.

“The release of these vital funds by the Controlling Board will provide strong supports for our more vulnerable populations and infrastructure,” said Rep. Russo.  “Investing these federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars now will not only support Ohioans during this economic recovery, but will pay off in the years to come.”

The Controlling Board approved other measures Monday to support Ohioans amid the coronavirus pandemic, including:

• $24 million to rehabilitate dams across Ohio;
• $9.5 million, through ARPA and the Child Abuse Prevention Act, to confront child and elder abuse;
• $7.5 million over the next two years to conduct home assessments for children in foster care.