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Oakland County youth-assistance program reports $240,100 remaining from ARPA award, says 316 families served
Summary
County staff reported progress spending ARPA funds for youth assistance: roughly $309,900 spent, a balance of about $240,100, and services reaching more than 300 families and about 2,500 children on caseloads.
Oakland County’s Youth Assistance Coordinating Council reported that a multi-year ARPA allocation intended for youth assistance has been widely used for emergency needs, local prevention programs and mentoring, and that roughly $240,100 remained in the fund.
Liz Smith, chief of Youth Assistance, told commissioners that the county received an award in 2022 described during the presentation as $500,000 (one reference in the report also referenced $550,000) and that, to date, the county has spent about $309,900. Smith said 316 families have received direct ARPA emergency supports and roughly 2,500 children are on local youth-assistance caseloads.
Why it matters: Commissioners asked for more detail on spending, especially the remaining funds earmarked for critical home repair and other large needs. Smith said the local offices are using the funds for emergency housing, mental-health supports, car repairs and program development, and that the Youth Assistance Coordinating Council set a $1,500 per-request cap for emergency needs (the committee has made exceptions in particular cases).
Smith said the program had earmarked money for emergency needs, local programming and training across the county’s 26 local offices. "To date, we've spent about ... $309,900 of the original ... $550,000. We have a balance roughly of about $240,100. Three hundred sixteen families have been impacted," she told the Board.
Program examples cited to commissioners included alternative mentoring initiatives — programs called Bucket of Love in Waterford, Silver Linings in Novi and the Wildcat Cub Club in Oxford — where volunteers meet elementary-school students for weekly mentoring and activities. Smith said some mentoring models partner volunteers with senior centers; others provide small-group supports such as tutoring and mindfulness programming.
Smith told the Board the Youth Assistance program has also received a private gift managed through the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan; the interest from that gift is being used to help maintain emergency-needs supports beyond the ARPA award.
Commissioners asked for a presentation by the independent evaluator (Stout) on the legal aid and housing-crisis support evaluation report; several commissioners requested a follow-up session to review the 80-page Stout evaluation in more depth.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff to return with more detailed breakdowns of the remaining ARPA balance and projected spending timelines so the Board can track commitments before the county’s ARPA spending deadlines.
