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Alachua County CARES Act Update

Published on 9/29/2020
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Last updated: 9/29/2020 11:15 AM
Alachua County is in the process of distributing millions in CARES Act dollars to individuals, businesses, and agencies. Distributing these dollars is a unique process and experience for the County. We have created our CARES Act program from scratch to best serve those in need without violating the strict Federal grant guidelines. We are in touch with other counties, and everyone is struggling to get this money out quickly. We have continually evolved and streamlined the process wherever possible and have reduced the documentation requirements to the bare minimum. Even with the minimum requirements, the application is complicated. The vast majority of applications require follow-up for missing documentation. We have fielded over 10,000 calls on the Helpline and answered over 10,000 chat requests and emails. We give each application individual attention to help maximize the award by getting more information in the application.

The good news:

  • 1,171 individuals have received an average of $3,095 for a total of $3.6 million.
  • 119 businesses have received an average of $10,411 for a total of $1.2 million.
  • We are actively reviewing 535 individuals (some are ready to pay, just waiting on the next payment cycle) and 48 businesses.
  • The County has allocated approximately $10 million to assist local agencies who have faced large COVID-19 fiscal impacts such as the School Board, the Health Department, the Constitutional offices, the municipalities, and others.
  • The County is considering using CARES Act dollars to assist non-profits that provide social services, homeless care, and to continue helping public schools.

The difficult news:

  • We are waiting for the required information from 635 individuals and 41 businesses, many that are close to approval.
  • We have 2,104 individuals and 3 businesses waiting for review. We are reviewing them in the order received.
  • The vast majority of applications require follow-up for missing documentation.
  • We have denied 1,114 individuals and 135 businesses. Despite our best efforts to find a way, these are applicants that did not meet the minimum requirements of the CARES Act. Some of these denials are under appeal.

Please be assured that we are continually trying to streamline and speed up this process. Thank you for your patience. 

For more information, contact Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton at 352-264-6979 or msexton@alachuacounty.us.

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