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Rep. Brown announces more than $78 million to support health, safety and security of Ohioans

May 24, 2021
Richard D. Brown News

Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) announced today that the state Controlling Board approved several items of note this week, including the allocation of more than $7 million in CARES Act funds. The assistance from the federal government will enhance the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections’ COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and pay DRC employees with a hazardous duty supplement. Additionally, The CARES Act funding will provide needed support for Ohio’s National Guard and State Defense Force members who are supporting the state’s COVID-19 response. The item also included $25.5 million for the Department of Education to provide grants for schools and $500,000 for the Department of Developmental Disabilities.

The Controlling Board also approved several measures to support the economic wellbeing of Ohioans by allocating $2 million for the Minority Business Development Division’s Ohio Capital Access Program and $800,000 in Small Business Administration Grants from the federal government to assist businesses recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“After the past year of COVID and economic instability affecting so many working Ohio families, I was pleased to see the Controlling Board appropriate these funds,” said Rep. Brown. “Forward thinking investments like these will not just benefit working Ohio families, but provide vital investments of public funds into the broader economy that benefit us all”.  

The Controlling Board approved a number of other measures on Monday, including:

  • $20 million for Local Child Support Enforcement Agencies administering the Child Support Program,
  • $7.3 million for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to provide medical services and treatment for incarcerated individuals,
  • $6 million for the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services to confront opioid and substance abuse,
  • $5.9 million to provide services for care at psychiatric hospitals,
  • $2 million to provide preschool education for children with disabilities,
  • $1.4 million for the Department of Natural Resources to purchase equipment for land management operations and the protection of public health and safety.