Justice details C.A.R.E.S. Act spending | News, Sports, Jobs

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice detailed specific plans Thursday for the remaining federal COVID-19 relief dollars the state received nearly two years ago.

Speaking during the final COVID-19 briefing before Christmas Eve, Justice laid out funding priorities for the remaining federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (C.A.R.E.S.) Act dollars that must be appropriated by the end of the year or else be returned to the federal government.

“We decided to put these monies into buckets to better help West Virginia in every single way,” Justice said. “We tried to spread this out all across this state. I think we’ve done so.”

According to the State Auditor’s Office, only $122.8 million remains of the $1.25 billion the state received from the C.A.R.E.S. Act for state and local government COVID-19 expenses as of Thursday, down from the $126.7 million that was available Tuesday.

Justice already announced a $48 million dollar program Tuesday to recruit and train new nurses. The effort will fully fund the West Virginia Nursing Scholarship program, develop a nursing faculty loan repayment program to encourage nurses to help educate future nurses, and expand access to nursing programs at Concord University in Athens, Glenville State College, and BridgeValley Community and Technical College in South Charleston and Montgomery.

Additional funding announced Thursday includes a $22 million back-to-work initiative to incentivize residents to re-enter the workforce. New workers would have to be on the job for 90 days before being eligible for the monetary incentive. West Virginia’s unemployment rate remains at historic lows, but the state’s labor force participation rate remains one of the worst rates in the nation.

“The bottom line is our economy needs those people,” Justice said. “We are begging for more and more people to be in the workforce, so I think this initiative will be very beneficial.”

Justice said $10 million would go to an emergency management crisis fund for first-responders, $6 million will go to the Salvation Army Potomac Division for programs in southern West Virginia, $500,000 for light therapy research at Shepherd University, $3 million to West Virginia University for expanding remote work facilities across the state. Additional funds will be used to upgrade state fairgrounds facilities in Lewisburg.

Another $7.25 million will go to food pantries and homeless shelters, with $3 million going to food banks, $2 million going to the Facing Hunger and the Mountaineer food banks, and funding for upgrades at the West Virginia National Guard’s Rock Branch warehouse facility to expand capacity, including coolers and freezers. As part of the $3 million, homeless shelters will receive $200,000 each.

West Virginia Game Changers, a substance abuse treatment and prevention program, will receive $2 million. The Department of Health and Human Resources will receive $2.7 million for pandemic costs. The Do It For BabyDog vaccine incentive program will receive $1.3 million, with $3.3 million going towards accounting to pay for pre-taxes for the incentive gifts residents have received. And $15.2 million would be spread among state agencies.

“That should wrap up the balance of the C.A.R.E.S. money,” Justice said. “I continue to be able to report to you that West Virginia is doing the right stuff and moving forward.”

According to data from the Department of Health and Human Resources, West Virginia has averaged 8,659 active COVID-19 cases per day over a 20-day period. Active cases have largely stayed between 8,000 and 9,300 since Dec. 3. There were 9,285 active cases in the state as of Wednesday.

Hospitalizations have come down slowly since last week, dropping from 634 hospitalizations on Dec. 14 to 574 hospitalizations as of Wednesday, a nearly 10 percent drop in hospitalizations.

Severe COVID-19 cases in intensive care units (ICU) have stayed relatively flat during the same period, ranging from 208 on Dec. 14 to 206 as of Wednesday.

The state reported 5,251 deaths attributed to COVID-19. Earlier Thursday morning, Justice held a day of prayer with religious leaders from around the state to remember those lost to the virus in 2021.

“God above is truly in control of all of this,” Justice said. “Someway, somehow we’re going to get through it.”