August 31, 2021

 

COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE

American Rescue Plan Act – Recovery Plan Performance Report
Riverside County – ARPA Recovery Performance Plan

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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 1

2. Uses of Funds........................................................................................................................... 2

3. Promoting Equitable Outcomes .............................................................................................. 4

4. Community Engagement......................................................................................................... 5

5. Labor Practices......................................................................................................................... 6

6. Use of Evidence ....................................................................................................................... 6

7. Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category ........................................................................... 6

8. Project Inventory ..................................................................................................................... 9

9. Performance Report................................................................................................................ 9

10. Required Performance Indicators and Programmatic Data .................................................... 9

11. Ineligible Activities: Tax Offset Provision (States and Territories only)................................... 9
Riverside County – ARPA Recovery Performance Plan

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1. Executive Summary

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or the American 

Rescue Plan (ARP), is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and 

signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, to accelerate the United States' recovery from the 

economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan includes $350 billion 

for eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments. These funds known as the Coronavirus State 

and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provide a substantial infusion of resources to help turn the tide of the 

pandemic, address its economic fallout, and lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery. 

Through the ARP Fiscal Recovery Funds, Congress provided State, local, and Tribal governments with 

significant resources to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its economic impacts 

through four categories of eligible uses.:

a) To respond to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including 

assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as 

tourism, travel, and hospitality;

b) To respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency 

by providing premium pay to eligible workers;

c) For the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue due to the 

COVID–19 public health emergency relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal 

year prior to the emergency; and

d) To make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.

The County of Riverside is dedicated to allocating and expending funds from the American Recovery Plan 

Act (ARPA) in an equitable and proper manner, all in compliance with the U.S. Treasury Guidelines. The 

County developed a preliminary ARPA funds allocation plan in accordance with the Interim Guidelines and 

will modify and adopt a final allocation plan based on the final ARPA Guidelines. A final allocation plan is 

intended to be presented to the Board of Supervisors for consideration and public review and input within 

30 days of the issuance of the final Treasury ARPA guidelines.

The funds allocated are intended to provide recovery support to those sectors of our economy that are 

struggling most to recover from the pandemic, provide a constituent and community-based focus, and be 

a vehicle for transformational investment in our County's recovery, leading to improving countywide 

public health equity outcomes and economic sustainability, in order to build future resilience to better 

withstand impacts from COVID-19 or other future large-scale system threats. The County’s preliminary 

proposed funding allocation categories include Infrastructure, Housing & Homelessness, Economic 

Recovery, County Departments Response, Revenue Backfill, Non-Profit Assistance and Child Care. The 

preliminary proposed allocations for the Economic Recovery, Housing and Homelessness, Infrastructure, 

and Non-Profit Assistance are generally intended to be allocated by Supervisorial districts, or across 
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programs and projects that benefit multiple County districts, in order to provide a broad geographic and 

community reach.

2. Uses of Funds

Riverside County has preliminarily designated the following categories for ARPA funding, pending 

issuance of the final ARPA Guidelines:

Infrastructure

The infrastructure funding category focuses on identifying investments in water, sewer, and broadband

infrastructure. The County is currently compiling a list of and evaluating a wide array of water, sewer, and 

broadband projects, across all county supervisorial districts, with emphasis on underserved 

unincorporated communities. The evaluation process will identify projects that ensure compliance with 

applicable public health and environmental safety requirements, address the most serious risks to human 

health and safety, and assists those communities most in need. 

Riverside County is currently coordinating with local utility districts within the County, to evaluate 

potential partnership opportunities for water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure projects. Water and 

sewer infrastructure projects will align with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) or the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). 

All projects will be required to conform to the requirements of the California Public Contract Code for the 

delivery of public works projects.

Housing and Homelessness

The Housing and Homelessness funding category will target investments to increase local sheltering 

capacity, permanent supportive housing units, and expand the supply of affordable housing. Per the 2020 

Point-in-Time Count, Riverside County had 2,884 homeless residents on a given day; of which the majority, 

2,155 are unsheltered. At present time, the County has less than 700 year-round emergency shelter beds 

available to serve homeless residents. This deficit poses a significant barrier to housing addressing 

homelessness. In addition to limited shelter capacity, Riverside County also has a significant shortage of 

affordable housing units. An investment of ARPA funds in this category, coupled with investments in the 

Infrastructure category, would boost sheltering capacity and support affordable housing projects.

The County of Riverside has identified Housing and Homelessness projects, across all 5 county districts, 

that are being considered for ARPA funding. 

Economic Recovery

This category will develop programs to assist businesses and industries struggling to rebound from the 

pandemic as well as focus on strategic investment projects for the County’s future economic growth and 

resiliency. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of Riverside County’s businesses. 

Accordingly, the County has preliminarily identified categories in which to allocate funds to assist in the 
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revitalization of Riverside County’s economy. Consideration is being given to increasing diversification of 

our economy through targeted investments in order to enhance our overall economic resiliency and 

sustainability and improve the quality of life of our residents. These categories may include, but are not 

limited to the following:

Investments in Tourism, Travel, and Hospitality, which are major business sectors in Riverside County; 

increasing business attraction and retention efforts; expanding our Business Eco System Programs to 

support growing sectors; enhancing Banking and Access to Capital Assistance and Grant opportunities 

for our business community; supporting Neighborhood Revitalization; expanding Incubators/Small 

Business Development Centers; growing a Technology Transfer Center; targeted investments in 

Trade/Technology; promoting Clean/Renewable Energy Business Growth; and other Economic Recovery 

Projects.

County Departments Response

This category focuses on providing needed funding for those Riverside County Departments most closely 

involved in the COVID-19 response and recovery. Projects are being evaluated particularly in the County’s 

health system (Public Health, Behavioral Health, and other supporting infrastructure in the County’s 

Riverside University Health System), along with the Emergency Management Department, as these 

departments continue to be on the front lines of the pandemic response. 

The County’s ARP investments in these Departments will be coordinated with other Federal and State 

funding programs to cover gaps needed in order to maintain a robust vaccination and testing campaign, 

and provide PPE to our health care providers, businesses, and County workforce.

Revenue Backfill

This category covers dramatically reduced interest income and loss of revenue for specific County

departments that were particularly impacted by COVID-19 due to state mandated closures. Several 

County operations, such as County Parks, Animal Services, and the County Fair where significantly 

impacted by the loss of revenue due to the public health closures. The County’s interest investment 

income also experienced significant reductions due to the drop in Federal reserve rates. Final 

determinations on appropriate revenue backfill categories will be made based on the final Treasury 

guidelines.

Non-Profit Assistance

This category provides support to local non-profit organizations as they provide a critical role in 

responding to the public health emergency and its negative economic impacts, by supporting the public 

health efforts, delivering essential social services, and supporting individuals and families in stabilizing 

economically. As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riverside County plans to utilize ARPA 

funding to establish a Non-Profit Initiative to expand financial support and capacity within Riverside 

County’s non-profit sector, and to work collaboratively with local non-profits in service provision and 

improving the quality-of-life of residents in qualified census tracks and other communities 

disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
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The County will assist our non-profit community with technical assistance to achieve greater and more 

sustainable resiliency and establish a Non-profit Roundtable to collaborate with the County on policy and 

outreach, and in general look to grow our partnerships with the Non-profit sector in delivery of public 

services.

On August 25, 2021, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved an initial ARPA allocation to nonprofits in the amount of $1,000,000 which provides each County district with $200,000 to be granted to 

local non-profits through an established Community Improvement Designation Fund program. 

Child Care

This category will support the resilience of the overall economy by allowing more parents to access early 

care and education (childcare) so that they are able to return to work after experiencing the negative 

impacts of COVID-19 within Riverside County. Our business community has identified the expansion of 

childcare as one of the most pressing needs in order to regrow our workforce.

Riverside County’s commitment of American Rescue Plan funding will support long-term investments in

our Early Care & Education (ECE) system requires. In partnership with First Five and other stakeholders 

such as our local school districts, the establishment of the Early Childhood Education Recovery Fund will 

support the resilience of the overall economy by allowing more parents to access early care and education 

so that they are able to return to work after experiencing the negative impacts of COVID-19 within 

Riverside County. These funds are intended to leverage federal, state, and municipal investments in ECE 

to maximize all available resources to begin to mitigate the childcare desert that exists in Riverside County. 

ECE providers also generally operate as small businesses, therefore this allocation will also support the 

recovery of a specific small business sector. These funds will support the urgent need for recruitment and 

retention of the ECE teachers and providers who contribute to the revitalization of Riverside County’s 

economy.

3. Promoting Equitable Outcomes

The County of Riverside desires to promote strong, equitable growth in managing its allocation of ARPA 

funding. The goal is to provide countywide equity and geographic reach across all Supervisorial districts 

through the above-described allocations for Economic Recovery, Housing and Homelessness, 

Infrastructure, and Non-profit assistance. 

The County’s preliminary plan includes programs that are grounded in community engagement and 

collaboration, provide for investments at critical intervention points that can best assist those in need at 

the earliest intervention, and invest in sustainable responses that promote the County’s recovery and 

resilience. 

The desired outcome would be to address the disproportionate negative economic impacts of COVID-19 

on underserved and disadvantaged communities and populations. Plans would focus on increasing

opportunities for increasing public health equity and economic recovery which would most appropriately 
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be done in conjunction with an overall community strategy that layers services such as affordable housing, 

business assistance, and workforce training programs with physical infrastructure improvements. This 

would be accomplished in partnership with our non-profits, and include assistance with food, housing, 

employment programs, and childcare. This response will assist in improving the quality-of-life residents in 

qualified census tracks and communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

4. Community Engagement

Riverside County proposes to provide ARPA funds that focus on the recovery of the communities as the 

County recovers from the effects of the pandemic and build our resiliency into the future.

Community engagement will take several forms including creating an ARP-focused website, utilizing data 

from past community surveys and creating future ones, taking public input at various forums including 

our Municipal Advisory Committees and Community Councils in our unincorporated areas and our Board 

of Supervisor meetings, and broadening our partnerships and information sharing with our Cities, school 

districts, business community, non-profits and other stakeholders.

In December of 2020, the County of Riverside implemented the Unincorporated Communities Initiative

(UCI). The UCI is a focused and ongoing coordinated effort to improve the infrastructure and services 

provided to the residents of our unincorporated communities, with strong emphasis on Disadvantaged 

Unincorporated Communities. Riverside County identified approximately 40 unincorporated 

communities as Disadvantaged due to income levels (below 80% of the Statewide annual median 

household income) and/or deficient infrastructure (water, wastewater, stormwater drainage, or fire 

protection). As a result, a structured outreach strategy was deployed to ensure optimum community 

involvement through a survey generated to obtain public feedback related to infrastructure (water, sewer, 

broadband, drainage...etc.) and services priority needs. In addition to the UCI survey, the County created 

a UCI website, generated a distributed outreach material, issued press releasees and attended community 

meetings to promote and ensure the public engagement with this effort. 

The engagement with the non-profit organizations will provide essential County-wide community support

services that will assist in recovery and increase resiliency of the County moving forward. Small businesses 

will be supported through our Economic Recovery allocation. The programs will be designed to focus on 

mitigating financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stabilize small businesses.

Neighborhood Revitalization efforts will provide an opportunity to address the disproportionate negative 

economic impacts of COVID-19 on underserved communities and populations. 

Riverside County will present the final ARPA funding allocations to the Riverside County Board of 

Supervisors meeting within 30 days of receipt of the final Treasury guidelines and will be providing 

periodic updates on available programs and the investment of funds at Board of Supervisors public 

meetings, on the ARPA website, and through media and social media outlets to keep the community 

informed and involved. 
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5. Labor Practices

As it relates to infrastructure projects, the County of Riverside shall comply with all applicable California 

Labor Laws, Prevailing Wage requirements per State Labor Code Section 1771 and California Public Works 

Requirements in the California Government Code. The County will work with any utility partners that 

issue contracts for infrastructure funds or other partners such as Cities that contract out using Countyallocated funding for building supportive housing so that contracts issued meet all applicable State and 

Federal regulatory requirements for labor practices. 

Furthermore, the County intends to outreach bidding opportunities to Disadvantaged Business 

Enterprises (DBE) including Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) and Women Business Enterprises (WBE).

6. Use of Evidence

The County will adhere to the final reporting guidelines issued by the Treasury for the use of ARPA funds. 

Based on the reporting requirements included in the interim guidelines, it is expected that the County will 

be reporting expenditures where applicable within the following categories, in accordance with future 

approval by the Board of Supervisors of a final allocation plan and specific program expenditures.

7. Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

Category Cumulative 

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

1 Expenditure Category: Public Health

1.1 COVID-19 Vaccination 0 0

1.2 COVID-19 Testing 0 0

1.3 COVID-19 Contact Tracing 0 0

1.4 Prevention in Congregate Settings (Nursing 

Homes, Prisons/Jails, Dense Work Sites, 

Schools, etc.)

0 0

1.5 Personal Protective Equipment 0 0

1.6 Medical Expenses (including Alternative Care 

Facilities)

0 0

1.7 Capital Investments or Physical Plant Changes 

to Public Facilities that respond to the COVID19 public health emergency

0 0

1.8 Other COVID-19 Public Health Expenses 

(including Communications, Enforcement, 

Isolation/Quarantine)

0 0
Riverside County – ARPA Recovery Performance Plan

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Category Cumulative 

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

1.9 Payroll Costs for Public Health, Safety, and 

Other Public Sector Staff Responding to 

COVID-19

0 0

1.10 Mental Health Services 0 0

1.11 Substance Use Services 0 0

1.12 Other Public Health Services 0 0

2 Expenditure Category: Negative Economic 

Impacts

2.1 Household Assistance: Food Programs 0 0

2.2 Household Assistance: Rent, Mortgage, and 

Utility Aid 

0 0

2.3 Household Assistance: Cash Transfers 0 0

2.4 Household Assistance: Internet Access 

Programs

0 0

2.5 Household Assistance: Eviction Prevention 0 0

2.6 Unemployment Benefits or Cash Assistance to 

Unemployed Workers

0 0

2.7 Job Training Assistance (e.g., Sectoral jobtraining, Subsidized Employment, Employment 

Supports or Incentives)

0 0

2.8 Contributions to UI Trust Funds* 0 0

2.9 Small Business Economic Assistance (General) 0 0

2.10 Aid to nonprofit organizations 0 $1,000,000

2.11 Aid to Tourism, Travel, or Hospitality 0 0

2.12 Aid to Other Impacted Industries 0 0

2.13 Other Economic Support 0 0

2.14 Rehiring Public Sector Staff 0 0

3 Expenditure Category: Services to 

Disproportionately Impacted Communities

3.1 Education Assistance: Early Learning 0 0

3.2 Education Assistance: Aid to High-Poverty 

Districts

0 0

3.3 Education Assistance: Academic Services 0 0

3.4 Education Assistance: Social, Emotional, and 

Mental Health Services 

0 0

3.5 Education Assistance: Other 0 0

3.6 Healthy Childhood Environments: Child Care 0 0

3.7 Healthy Childhood Environments: Home Visiting 0 0

3.8 Healthy Childhood Environments: Services to 

Foster Youth or Families Involved in Child 

Welfare System 

0 0

3.9. Healthy Childhood Environments: Other 0 0
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Category Cumulative 

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

3.10 Housing Support: Affordable Housing 0 0

3.11 Housing Support: Services for Unhoused 

persons 

0 0

3.12 Housing Support: Other Housing Assistance 0 0

3.13 Social Determinants of Health: Other 0 0

3.14 Social Determinants of Health: Community 

Health Workers or Benefits Navigators 

0 0

3.15 Social Determinants of Health: Lead 

Remediation

0 0

3.16 Social Determinants of Health: Community 

Violence Interventions 

0 0

4 Expenditure Category: Premium Pay

4.1 Public Sector Employees 0 0

4.2 Private Sector: Grants to other employers 0 0

5 Expenditure Category: Infrastructure

5.1 Clean Water: Centralized wastewater treatment 0 0

5.2 Clean Water: Centralized wastewater collection 

and conveyance

0 0

5.3 Clean Water: Decentralized wastewater 0 0

5.4 Clean Water: Combined sewer overflows 0 0

5.5 Clean Water: Other sewer infrastructure 0 0

5.6 Clean Water: Stormwater 0 0

5.7 Clean Water: Energy conservation 0 0

5.8 Clean Water: Water conservation 0 0

5.9 Clean Water: Nonpoint source 0 0

5.10 Drinking water: Treatment 0 0

5.11 Drinking water: Transmission & distribution 0 0

5.12 Drinking water: Transmission & distribution: 

lead remediation

0 0

5.13 Drinking water: Source 0 0

5.14 Drinking water: Storage 0 0

5.15 Drinking water: Other water infrastructure 0 0

5.16 Broadband: “Last Mile” projects 0 0

5.17 Broadband: Other projects 0 0

6 Expenditure Category: Revenue Replacement

6.1 Provision of Government Services 0 0

7 Administrative and Other

7.1 Administrative Expenses 0 0

7.2 Evaluation and data analysis 0 0

7.3 Transfers to Other Units of Government 0 0
Riverside County – ARPA Recovery Performance Plan

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Category Cumulative 

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

7.4 Transfers to Nonentitlement Units 

(States and Territories only)

0 0

8. Project Inventory

The County will comply with reporting on project inventory requirements that will be required by the 

final Treasury guidelines. 

9. Performance Report

The County will comply with reporting on performance report requirements that will be required by the 

final Treasury guidelines. 

10. Required Performance Indicators and Programmatic Data

The County will comply with reporting on performance indicators and programmatic data requirements 

that will be required by the final Treasury guidelines. 

11. Ineligible Activities: Tax Offset Provision (States and 

Territories only)

Does not apply to Riverside County.