ACF Urges LIHEAP Grantees To Take Actions To Beat the Heat
It was not our intention to address weather-related topics involving grant funds two weeks in a row but this summer’s extreme heat has warranted such discussions. Recent record high temperatures in the Pacific Northwest that were well over 100 degrees created a crisis situation in some households in that region because they lack air conditioning. Meanwhile, the Southwest this week approached recording the highest temperatures ever on Earth.
Realizing that extreme heat kills more Americans than any other weather-related disaster and the threat of extreme weather is disproportionately felt by communities of color, lower-income households and vulnerable populations, the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in a recent information memorandum, urged recipients of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grants to consider reopening their programs and add a cooling assistance component if they still have federal fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding, or funds received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act or American Rescue Plan.
ACF, which oversees the program, also encouraged grantees to adjust the benefits allowed under their cooling assistance and crisis assistance components to allow the purchase of air conditioning units and/or prioritizing air conditioning equipment over fans alone. It also suggested that grantees increase crisis and/or cooling benefit payments for electric bills to help offset the higher demand for air conditioning. LIHEAP funds also can be used to establish cooling center in public buildings (e.g., libraries, community centers); provide targeted outreach to identify households at greatest risk; and educate households about how to keep their homes cool during this time.
If recipients plan to use CARES Act funds for this purpose, ACF reminded them that Sept. 30 is the last day they are permitted to obligate LIHEAP CARES Act funds that may have been carried forward to FY 2021. “We are counting on [LIHEAP grantees] to take additional steps to provide assistance to vulnerable communities during this extreme heat period and other similar heat waves that are likely to hit this summer,” ACF Office of Community Services Director Dr. Lanikque Howard said in the memorandum.
We may often tell folks when saying our goodbyes to “Stay Cool!”, but that really takes on a whole new meaning these days.
Join us for our following Thompson Grants event:
Federal Grants Forum for Institutions of Higher Education | July 21 - 22, 2021
Federal Grants Forum For Tribal Nations | August 11 - 12, 2021
