12/02/2021
The
latest monthly reports from State Auditor Nicole Galloway detailing state
government's use of federal stimulus dollars intended for the COVID-19 response
show Missouri has received more than $5 billion since April 2020. As the
state's financial watchdog, the State Auditor's Office has issued the reports
since June 2020 examining Missouri government's distribution and spending of
funding received under the CARES Act and other federal assistance programs
passed by Congress.
The
most recent reports show Missouri's spending of federal assistance for the
months of September and October, as well as the cumulative expenditures since
the state began receiving funding in April 2020. The state spent $152 million
in September and $112 million in October; through Oct. 31, 2021, Missouri had
received $5.04 billion and spent $4.71 billion of this assistance.
A significant portion of
the expenditures to date were for services through the state's Medicaid
program, MO HealthNet and other programs receiving federal matching funds
($1.29 billion), and funding passed through to counties and the City of St.
Louis ($521 million). Other funding has been provided to schools, institutions
of higher education, child care providers, long-term care facilities and
developmental disabilities waiver providers. Funds have also been used for food
and nutrition programs, mental health services, purchase of personal protective
equipment, virus testing, contact tracing, vaccine preparedness and access,
workforce development, economic development programs for small businesses,
COVID-19 dedicated personnel costs, emergency rental assistance and other disaster relief purposes.
In
addition to the monthly report examining the state's spending, the Auditor's
Office also has an online tool to give Missourians a detailed look at
expenditures. The COVID-19
Response page tracks not only how much is
received and expended in relief funds, but also lists which state and local
government departments, vendors and expense categories are receiving the most
funding. The information on the website provides data on expenditures and is
updated regularly.
Auditor
Galloway's efforts are similar to work
performed by the previous State Auditor's administration, which reviewed the state's use of funds received through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under Article IV, Section 13 of the Missouri
Constitution, the State Auditor has a duty to ensure the accuracy of the state's
accounting of its spending.
A
copy of the report on Missouri spending of federal assistance in September can
be found here; the report for
spending in October can be found here.