American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Background on ARRA

In response to the recent economic crisis, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009. The federal government designed ARRA to create and save jobs, revive the faltering economy, and build the foundation for long-term economic growth. The Act includes measures to modernize the nation's infrastructure, enhance America's energy independence, expand educational opportunities, increase access to health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. It also provides for unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability so taxpayers will be able to know how, when, and where tax dollars are being spent.

Spearheaded by a new Recovery Board, this Act contains built-in measures to eliminate waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending. The ARRA website, www.recovery.gov, provides every citizen with the ability to monitor the progress of the recovery. It features information on how the Act is working, tools to help hold the government accountable, and up–to–date data on the expenditure of funds. In addition, the site includes information about Federal grant awards and contracts as well as formula grant allocations. Federal agencies will provide data on how they are using the money, and eventually, prime recipients of Federal funding will provide information on how they are using their Federal funds.

DOR and ARRA

In accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) received $61.8 million in federal stimulus funds for its programs. This includes $56.5 million for vocational rehabilitation (VR), $1.6 million for independent living, and $3.7 million for older blind programs.

The VR ARRA funds constitute a large one–time infusion of VR state grant funding that offers the opportunity to make short-term program improvements that provide long–term benefits. This unprecedented investment will provide our state vocational rehabilitation-related programs with critically needed funds and the opportunities to continue efforts in providing services and advocacy resulting in employment, independent living, and equality for people with disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the DOR's major funding source and federal oversight agency, granted fifty percent of the ARRA funds to the state on April 1, 2009, with the remaining funds granted in disbursements per each fiscal year through June 2010. The funds must be fully obligated by September 30, 2011. The RSA has awarded these funds in addition to the annual grant awards the DOR receives and they are to be used as a supplement to the annual grant, not as a replacement. The RSA also provided guidance on expending stimulus funds. With this guidance as well as stakeholder input, the DOR determined the best uses for the funds and identified practical implementation strategies in compliance with federal regulations.

To learn more about the RSA guidelines, please see the RSA document "Authorized Uses of VR ARRA Funds".

For up-to-date DOR Federal reporting information, please visit: Recovery.gov's Grants - Award Summary for the California Department of Rehabilitation

For up-to-date DOR California State reporting information, please visit: Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research

For more information about DOR and ARRA, please contact us at arra@dor.ca.gov.