August 4, 2022
8/4/22 – OASAS Meeting w/ Sean Byrne, Deborah Davis, Constance Burke and advocates representing various provider associations
Topic: Federal Funds Disbursement and Claiming
OASAS has pushed out a considerable amount of federal funds to its’ providers through a variety of new funding initiatives. Their challenge now is the pace of
vouchering and spending of these funds by providers.
To Date:
Workforce Funds – out of $19.3M, just $16.8 have been applied for by eligible providers
Stabilization Funds – out of $20M, just $15.3 have been applied for to date.
SAPT Supplemental Funds – out of $104M, OASAS has RFP’d $73M but only paid out about $15M.
At this point, there are a number of funding initiatives in motion and contracted for. Some providers have hit the 120 days or more mark but have not yet filed an expense report seeking reimbursement. Specifically, out of 657 contracts totaling $43M, 218 are past 120 days.
There is a link on the OASAS website under the ‘SAPT Initiatives’ tab that includes an archived video and Q&A that answers questions on these procurements. There is also a Q&A with about 35 questions archived in this location that may be useful. Here is a link: https://oasas.ny.gov/procurement
Sometimes, providers wait until end of term to submit… problem is that if the state has questions about what you submit and there is a prolonged back and forth process between the provider and the state, the liquidation period may expire and then there is no opportunity to reimburse.
For Supplemental Grant 1, current time period for spending the funds is March 2023 and OASAS has received permission to offer providers no cost extensions however state also has a federal reporting requirement it must meet and they need ‘real time’ information for their in reporting.
If you have questions about any of the mechanics associated with accessing funds, use this mailbox: COVIDfundsAP@oasas.ny.gov
Finally, it sounds like OASAS is about to issue a procurement that is very large ($$) and designed to help providers sustain existing services. This is one more reason for providers to regularly check the Procurement portion of the OASAS website here: https://oasas.ny.gov/procurement