On April 9, 2020, CPD’s Acting Assistant Secretary John Gibbs released a memorandum transmitting the guide "CARES Act Flexibilities for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds Used to Support Coronavirus Response." In addition to urging all States and localities not to wait to apply for their allocations, the memorandum grants a waiver for plan amendments with instructions on how a grantee may submit an amendment for allocated CDBG coronavirus response (CDBG-CV) funds. The expedited process allows a grantee to incorporate CDBG-CV funds within the most recent annual action plan, including a 2019 annual action plan.
The guide outlines the CARES Act flexibilities for CDBG grantees. The flexibilities expand the usefulness of CDBG-CV grants and fiscal years 2019 and 2020 CDBG grants for coronavirus response. The CARES Act also authorizes HUD to grant waivers and alternative requirements to be released in the forthcoming implementation notice.
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