This week’s edition of the Office of Recovery Newsletter features the announcement of two workforce programs approved through the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) process. $30 million will be made available under the Aviation Learning Opportunities & Funded Training (ALOFT) and Delivering Residents and Workforce (DRAW) grant programs.  

Also featured are reporting resources for American Rescue Plan Act recipients classified as Non-Entitlement Units of Government (NEUs). The second NEU project and expenditure report is due April 30, 2023. The Office of Recovery will be hosting a reporting webinar for NEUs on April 5. More details are below.  

Information on the Kansas Education Enrichment Program (KEEP), which is now open for application, is also included. The program provides qualifying parents and guardians with a one-time $1,000 award per child to pay for educational goods and services, such as tutoring and school supplies. Information on the program and how to apply is below. 

For the latest information on Treasury updates and information about resources available to Kansans, see the “Updates to Services and Support” section of this newsletter. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Office of Recovery website at: COVID.ks.gov  

Eligible ALOFT applicants include: 

• Aviation and aerospace manufacturers 
• Supply chain manufacturers that provide services, equipment and manufacturing for eligible aviation and aerospace manufacturers 
• Locally and city-owned airports. 

DRAW applications can include construction of on-site training facilities, vendor training costs, machinery and equipment used solely for training, course development costs, and marketing and attraction costs to attract talent to Kansas. Awardees will have two years to complete their projects and utilize all awarded funds. 

Eligible DRAW applicants include: 

• Mobile workforce training providers 
• Healthcare providers 
• Education providers
• Technology-based businesses 
• Employers working with the blind, visually, or hearing impaired, or persons with disabilities  
• Employers hiring for positions determined as “high demand and high wage” from the Kansas Department of Labor. 

The ALOFT and DRAW grant applications both opened on March 13, with submissions closing at 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 24, for both programs. Guidelines for the grant applications can be found at www.kansascommerce.gov/aloft and www.kansascommerce.gov/draw.  

For American Rescue Plan Act recipients classified as Non-Entitlement Units of Government (NEUs), the second project and expenditure report is due April 30, 2023. Please note however, that NEUs will not be able to submit their second project and expenditure report until the US Treasury prepopulates these reports in the US Treasury Reporting Portal on April 1, 2023. 

To minimize any reporting difficulties that may occur during the reporting process, the Office of Recovery recommends taking the following measures:  

• Confirm Contact Information- As only certain identified representatives can submit Project and Expenditure Reports for local governments, it is advised that NEUs ensure all reporting responsibilities and contact information are current and up to date in the Treasury Reporting Portal. If there has been any changes in information or reporting responsibilities, user roles can be changed within the reporting portal (for further information on changing user roles please reference the US Treasury’s webinar on ARPA Reporting: Changing User Role Designations).  NEUs can also notify the US Treasury directly of any contact information changes using the Treasury email provided below. Specifically to NEUs, should a Point of Contact or Authorized Representative have changed (to include contact emails or phone numbers), please also notify the Office of Recovery as it assists in keeping our records current and up to date.

• Confirm Submission of NEU Agreements and Supporting Documents- As budget documentation, the ARPA signed award documents and the Assurance of Compliance with Civil Rights document were all required of NEUs as apart of receiving ARPA funds, please confirm these 3 documents have been uploaded into the US Treasury Reporting Portal. If your specific NEU is missing these documents, please contact the Office of Recovery and they will be provided.

• Obtain a Unique Entity ID (UEI) – All ARPA recipients, subrecipients and contractors are required to have a UEI and have that number included as part of the reporting process. The UEI is the replacement for the previously used DUNS numbers, and they are issued by SAM.gov. Please consult SAM.gov here if you have questions about obtaining a UEI. 

• Review additional resources provided by the US Treasury- The US Treasury provides ARPA reference materials such as the US Treasury ARPA Final Rule FAQ, the US Treasury Compliance and Reporting Guidance Manual, the US Treasury Portal Recipient Reporting User Guide, and the US Treasury Reporting Portal User Access Guide, which cover areas such as accessing the reporting portal, ARPA project eligibilities, and ARPA reporting and compliance. It may be beneficial to review and refamiliarize with the ARPA reference materials prior to the April 30 Project and Expenditure Report submission.  

The Office of Recovery will be holding a webinar on Annual Project & Expenditure Reporting for NEUs on April 5 at 11:00 AM.  

This webinar will provide a reporting refresher for local governments completing their second annual Project and Expenditure Report, as well as provide a chance for local governments to ask any reporting related questions they may have to an Office of Recovery ARPA subject matter expert.    

To attend the webinar, please use the following link: Office of Recovery April 5 NEU Treasury Reporting Webinar. Please also note for the April 5 webinar, no advance registration will be required, and the link provided above will be all that is needed to attend.  

Should you not be able to attend, you can view the webinar at a later time convenient for you, as Office of Recovery webinars are recorded and stored in the Webinar Materials section of the Office of Recovery website.  

Should any additional questions or need for assistance arise, NEUs can contact the US Treasury directly at [email protected] ( which will also be the main point of contact for any reporting portal technical assistance), or reach out to the Office of Recovery with any questions they may have using the form in the CONTACT US section of the Office of Recovery website. 

KEEP funds may be used on various enrichment and educational activities, including:​  

• Day and overnight camps with academic-related curriculum such as music, arts, science, technology, agriculture, mathematics, and engineering  
• Curriculum and educational materials, including certain technological devices  
• Language classes  
• Musical instruments and lessons  
• Tutoring  

The funds are not eligible for school tuition. 

Eligibility for KEEP funds is determined by financial need, and funds will be distributed to actively enrolled K-12 Kansas students between the ages of 5-18. Students whose household income is less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible. 

Those that previously submitted an idea submission to the SPARK process will be notified of funding opportunities relevant to their proposal once that information is available.  

Programs approved through the SPARK process that are currently open for application include: 

• Community Resource Capacity Accelerator - https://www.dcf.ks.gov/Agency/Operations/Pages/OGC/Grant-RFP.aspx  
• Child Care Capacity Accelerator - https://allinforkansaskids.org/accelerator/   
• Aviation Learning Opportunities and Funded Training (ALOFT) – https://www.kansascommerce.gov/aloft/  
• Delivering Residents and Workforce (DRAW) - https://www.kansascommerce.gov/draw/  

Additional programs will be added to this list as applications open.