The Travis County Commissioners Court and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett celebrated federal dollars allocated to address community needs and assist local nonprofit organizations at a Monday press conference.
Several speakers credited Doggett for securing the $51 million from the Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, which was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act. The Commissioners Court allocated the funds to the social safety net in Travis County, including residential jail diversion with mental health and addiction treatment, eviction prevention, food access, child care assistance and a trauma recovery center.
In 2021, commissioners pledged $110 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to address homelessness throughout the county.
On Monday, Doggett thanked the commissioners and praised their allocation choices. He noted that the American Rescue Plan Act, which set aside this direct support for local governments, was passed by Congress without Republican Party support.
“I think today we see how that money went to use and why it was important to empower local governments to decide what the most urgent needs were and how to address them,” said Doggett, D-Austin. “The nearly $50 million that these community service organizations are receiving today include a wide range of services. Not just talking about public safety, but doing something about it.”
In addition to $5.3 million in eviction prevention and $4 million in food access, the allocation includes $4.4 million in child care assistance across eight different services in the county. It also includes $500,000 for a dual-language pre-K program at Del Valle ISD and $500,000 for after-school programs on the east side.
“I think our county is a great example of how using federal funds to invest locally in people and organizations can move us forward,” Doggett said.
Commissioner Ann Howard called the funding a “game changer” for Travis County and its nonprofit partner organizations. “This unprecedented funding will deliver real and meaningful results for the people of Travis County,” she said.
Howard said she is excited for the county to leverage the one-time infusion of federal funding to strengthen the network of nonprofit service providers that it depends on to deliver services.
“Congressman Doggett, I just want to say it’s a pleasure to serve with you the people of Travis County. You’re the real deal. And it’s a real treat for both us and our nonprofit community to have your leadership,” she said.
Commissioner Jeff Travillion echoed Howard’s comments. “It is very meaningful when you have the cell phone number of your congressman. And you can call him after midnight. And you talk about things that you need his help on. And he will answer the phone. And he will convene a meeting. And he will assign the right people to do things that will make our community better.”
He continued: “It says something about our community when the congressman knows grandmothers who have been working in this community for 50 years. It says something when he knows the pastors of churches.”
After the remarks, Doggett told the Austin Monitor he was in attendance to thank the “real heroes” who are the service providers in the nonprofit community.
“More than anything else, their kind of comments are about our good working relationship. With the House under Republican domination, it is a real challenge to pass any meaningful legislation there. And so I really refocused a lot of my efforts to how can we – whether it’s the county commissioners or the school board or the city – work to try to solve some community problems. And that’s what we’re doing. It’s working.”
The Monitor asked Howard about a moment in her remarks during which she appeared close to tears.
“I think the emotion is our nonprofit community works day in and day out,” she said. “And our nonprofits are living week to week and month to month. Always doing more with less. And our nonprofit community, you see them here today – Caritas, SAFE, LifeWorks, Integral Care – they are working so hard together. That’s just unprecedented the way they collaborate. And to have funding that can help fund their collective work. I think it’s that connection between empowering the experts on the ground to really help change lives.”
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Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.
