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​CARES Act Funding and the Coronavirus Relief Fund FAQs​

​​​​CARES Act Funding​

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted on March 27, 2020, and with it the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to help stabilize state, local, and tribal budgets. The relief fund falls under the purview of the U.S. Department of Treasury. Sacramento County received $181 million from the CRF. The County also received a $25 million allocation in CRF funding from the State of California on June 29, 2020.

The CRF Committee asked departments to identify expenses relating to the coronavirus and approved expenditures that meet the requirements of the Coronavirus Relief Fund.​​​

The County has spent $151.3 million.​​​ of the federal CRF money and $13.3 million of the state CEF money.

No. The CRF money used toward payroll costs was deposited into that department's accounts, and then the County withdrew an equal amount and deposited that into the County's General Fund account.

Examples of General Fund Departments include Child Protective and Adult Protective Services; Health Services; Human Assistance; In-Home Supportive Services and homeless services.​​​​

The County will receive approximately $170 million less in General Fund revenues in the last and current fiscal year, as a result of the pandemic.

​These revenues fund critical social and health services from Child Protective and Adult Protective Services, Health Services (Public Health and Mental Health), Human Assistance, In-Home Supportive Services and homeless services.

​​​Freeing up General Fund revenue that otherwise would have gone to payroll costs will allow the County to avoid significant budget cuts and maintain services for FY 2020-21 that the CRF money could not be used for.

Yes. The CARES Act does not allow the use of CRF money to backfill revenue losses directly, but CARES Act guidance clearly says that payroll costs for public safety and health, human services and similar employees can be used for CRF.

To date, the County has approved $72 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) spending for the Department of Health Services.  CRF money has been approved for services identified as needed by Public Health and other departments, including:

  • ​Increased COVID Testing
  • Community-Based Testing
  • Additional Public Health staff
  • Public Outreach
  • Education and Preparation for Community Vaccinations Clinics for Influenza and the COVID-19 Vaccine (once it is available)
  • Dine at Home Sacramento Programs
  • Contact tracers
  • Homeless Response Plan
  • Business Navigators
  • Project Roomkey

Yes, the County is utilizing a variety of state and federal funds besides the Coronavirus Relief Fund to cover costs incurred by the pandemic, so items that were not eligible for CRF may be eligible for those other state and federal funds including FEMA and Project Homekey, among others.​

The County will continue to work at the State and Federal level to obtain additional funding. The State budget commits a portion of the State's CARES Act funding to local governments over and above the $181 million already allocated to Sacramento County. The County has been allocated $25 million. Discussions at the Federal level also suggest there could be additional funding provided for testing and other services required to respond to the pandemic.