HELENA — A state advisory board has finalized recommendations on how to spend more than $30 million in federal American Relief Plan Act funds for health care initiatives.

At its meeting on Friday, the ARPA Health Advisory Board endorsed six proposals from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. DPHHS Director Charlie Bretton said their focus is on “one-off” funding opportunities.

One of the largest planned expenditures is $15.5 million to support state and local public health workforces and data systems. This includes funding to continue county and tribal public health positions made through ARPA funds that expire next June, eight epidemiologists and about 13 disease intervention specialists. , public health nurses and other positions. Funding extends to November 2027.

The Montana Association of Public Health Officials supported the proposal, saying the public health department was struggling to find a workforce and the addition of ARPA funding helped rebuild it.

Some Republican members of the committee opposed the plan, fearing that it would essentially create a permanent position that the state might eventually have to pay for.

“This is the whole story that the legislature has been worrying about all along, planting seeds that need to be watered later,” said R-Kalispell Rep. Matt Regier.

Brereton said DPHHS has made it clear to local governments that the funding is for a limited time, but that the federal government may provide continued funding in the future.

“Certainly under my leadership here at DPHHS, there is no expectation that the state will put out General Fund dollars to maintain these positions,” he said.

The commission also decided to approve an additional $14.4 million for programs that provide COVID-19 testing resources to schools and childcare facilities to ensure that in-person services remain available.

Last year, the Commission contributed approximately $18 million to this initiative. So far, schools have used only about $5.2 million of that.

Bretton said federal rules have severely limited his other options for spending the money. He said the CDC initially opened only to K-12 schools before allowing it to expand to childcare centers, but denied several other requests for more flexibility. He said DPHHS hopes to be ready to spend the full amount available in case an unforeseen need arises.

In one case, the leader was able to redirect unused funds. The commission approved moving her $2.5 million to provide a one-time payment of $1,250 to support approximately 2,000 children in temporary foster care placements. Leaders said those caring for children involved in the child and family services sector have been hit particularly hard by inflation.

This fund was originally set aside for families benefiting from the supplemental nutrition assistance program to encourage individuals to obtain new or improved employment. distributed just under $129,000 to Bretton said every effort was made to connect eligible households with the benefits, including contacting all SNAP recipients and following up directly with those who were deemed eligible.

Rep. Mary Caffero, Democrat for Helena, said she was grateful for the offer to help foster care and hoped the state would continue to consider the possibility of raising foster care payments.

“It’s hard to put a dollar on the value of an investment in abused or neglected children,” she said.

Other recommendations the committee approved on Friday include:

• $1.2 million to upgrade state public health labs’ equipment to test for COVID and other diseases and to conduct wastewater tests to monitor disease trends.
• $866,000 to support the Montana Regional Agency on Aging, develop a strategic plan for senior centers, and train health insurance counselors to work with Native Americans.
• $121,000 to support the workforce of four independent living centers in Montana that serve people with disabilities.

As with all ARPA Advisory Board recommendations, Governor Greg Gianforte must give final approval before the funds are officially allocated.