COVID-19 Response and Recovery

American Rescue Plan Financial Report


Pierce County's COVID-19 Response and Recovery Report
Pierce County's COVID-19 Response and Recovery Report provides insight into the County's pandemic response efforts in 2021 and 2022. Information is provided on expenditures, American Rescue Plan funding allocations, and service level indicators for programs being provided to Pierce County residents and businesses. 
View the 2021 and 2022 Recovery Plan Performance Report.
View the report on how Pierce County allocated and fully expended $158 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding in 2020.

COVID-19 Response Expenditures


The expenditure charts provide expenditure information from 2021 to 2023 on the County's COVID-19 response and recovery programs and services. Expenditures reflect funding received from multiple federal and state grants, and other pandemic relief grant funding.

American Rescue Plan Allocations


The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, and includes $65.1 billion in direct aid to all counties in America. Pierce County was allocated $175,781,756 in pandemic response and recovery funding, and received half of the funds, $87,890,878, on May 19, 2021. The second half was received in June 2022.
In anticipation of receiving the ARPA funds, the Pierce County Council adopted Ordinance No. 2021-32, which allocated an initial $50.3 million of the anticipated funds. Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier signed the ordinance on April 29, 2021. Remaining funds were allocated or reappropriated with subsequent Ordinance Nos. 2021-53, 2021-85, 2021-91, 2021-100s2, 2022-30, 2022-50 and 2022-76s2. 
A total of $175,913,712* has been allocated to date:
  • $13,273,688 for Essential Government Services
  • $21,475,296 for Public Health Emergency Response
  • $50,021,634 for Economic Stabilization
  • $81,143,094 for Community Response and Resilience
  • $10,000,000 for Revenue Replacement
View Pierce County's 2022 Recovery Plan Performance Report, an annual report submitted to the U.S. Treasury. The report provides information on projects funded and the County's plan to ensure program outcomes are achieved in an effective, efficient, and equitable manner. 
*Amount allocated is greater than total ARPA funding due to interest earnings.
The charts below provide information on how the $176 million in American Rescue Plan funds were allocated. Click on the interactive chart to explore how much was allocated for individual services and programs. 


American Rescue Plan Expenditures


The chart below provides expenditure information on how the County's direct allocation of American Rescue Plan funds have been expended to date. Click on the interactive chart to view expenditures by individual program or service. 

Program Service Levels and Impacts


The information below provides data on the service levels and impacts of the County's COVID-19 response and recovery programs. View the dashboard for further data and information. 

Public Health Emergency Response

COVID-19 Community-Based Testing and Vaccination Programs

Pierce County Department of Emergency Management testing sites were closed in March 2022 as demand decreased and other testing sites became available to the community. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD) continues to collect and manage COVID-19 data across Pierce County. TPCHD information can be found here: TPCHD COVID-19 Pierce County Cases
Emergency Management provided vaccination services from January through June of 2021. 

Economic Stabilization and Recovery

Rollback Relief Grants for Businesses

To provide financial support to qualifying businesses impacted by modified COVID-19 restrictions in May 2021, Pierce County created a grant program to help offset the costs of business disruption. Small businesses were eligible to receive a need-based grant of up to $10,000. Pierce County's Economic Development Department 

Pierce County Business Accelerator Program

In response to the pandemic and the adverse impacts on underserved communities in Pierce County, $5 million in ARPA funding was allocated to launch the Pierce County Business Accelerator (PCBA) program. The goal of the program is to foster innovation and create wealth-building opportunities in Pierce County.
The PCBA will provide business training to 200 business owners with an emphasis on BIPOC, veteran, and women entrepreneurs. Eight cohorts of 25 business owners will meet between October 2021 and July 2022. Classes are in person and will be held in Lakewood, Puyallup, and Tacoma. Instructors are representative of the diversity of each cohort. Upon graduation, participants will be equipped to raise external funding, connected to the PCBA network, financially resourced, professionally coached and empowered to accelerate their business.
"I am new to business and I don't feel qualified, I for sure felt alone. This accelerator has taught me what I needed to know now and has connected me with new friends and a network to do business the right way"
- Business Owner Graduate
"Before this program I was about to walk away from my business, I took a lot of hits and lost hope. After this accelerator I have decided I am keeping my business open and I am ready to take it to the next level, you all have given me hope!"
-Business Owner Graduate

Pierce County Community Navigator Program

The Pierce County Community Navigator program was launched in the Fall 2021 using $2.5 million of ARPA funding. This diverse, inclusive “hub” and “spoke” model connects the cultural knowledge of community organizations to small businesses in Pierce County. Funding allows these organizations to hire business outreach specialists. This model utilizes non-traditional methods of reaching marginalized business communities in Pierce County to provide access to resources.
Pierce County Community Navigator Program outreach specialists report into the Pierce County Economic Development Department. Through our training and support, the goal is for these navigators to reach 3,500 underserved small businesses in our region over the next two years, particularly those owned by BIPOC, women, veterans and people in rural communities.

Hire Pierce County: Next Gen Program

Pierce County Economic Development is partnering with WorkForce Central to implement Hire Pierce County: Next Gen. This young adult internship program is designed to engage young adults ages 16-24 through access to career building experience and a direct connection to the workforce, all while supporting businesses recovering from the pandemic. This program helps young adults gain the skills and training needed to succeed in various industries and is ideal for helping businesses with project-based lifts.
Employer Locations by Zip Code

Community Response and Resilience

Rental Assistance Program

The Rental Assistance program helps to prevent eviction for Pierce County residents impacted by COVID-19 who are behind on rent. Funding is available for rental and utility assistance. For more information, or to apply, click here. 
Household Income of Rental Assistance Recipients
Applicants must qualify as low-income, defined as at or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI). Households with the lowest income are prioritized first, or households who have been unemployed for 90 days or longer. 
Rental Assistance Recipients by Self-Reported Race
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted certain demographic groups, and low-income and socially vulnerable communities have seen the most severe impacts. The chart below provides information on the self-reported demographics of clients who have received rental or utility payment assistance. 

Affordable Housing

In response to the lack of affordable housing for very low-income households, Pierce County has allocated a total of $19.9M to be distributed via a competitive Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in 2021, 2022 and 2023. A preliminary needs assessment by the County's Affordable Housing Action Strategy identified a shortage of 34,000 rental housing units countywide that are affordable to very-low-income households. Projects will serve households who are either homeless, at risk of homelessness and/or housing unstable and will address the harm caused by the lack of affordable housing which has been made worse by the pandemic. The following measures show the funding committed to date and the expected number of affordable rental units and homes that will be available once the projects are completed. 
There are currently six projects on the 2021 Affordable Housing NOFA Waitlist for ARPA funding. The map to the left shows the locations of projects, some projects cover multiple addresses. 
For more information, visit the Affordable Housing Financing page. 

Kids Need To Play! Program

Pierce County Parks and Recreation administered the Kids Need to Play! program to provide discounts for kids’ summer camps and programs.
While remaining safety-conscious, many camps and programs for preschool (ages 3-4) and school-age (ages 5-18) kids were discounted at 60-90% off for all youth across Pierce County. Several public and private recreation providers collaborated on the initiative to bring kids accessible opportunities to learn, create, explore and compete.