Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse (93.959) COVID-19 –Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse (93.959) State Agency: Department of Human Services Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Reporting – Federal Funding Accountability and...
Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse (93.959) COVID-19 –Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse (93.959) State Agency: Department of Human Services Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Reporting – Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) VIEWS OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS AND CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN The Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) does not dispute the FFATA upload dates for three (3) of the thirteen (13) subawards tested, but it disputes that such uploads were untimely. One subaward was uploaded only seven (7) days late. DMHAS submits that it substantially complied, no finding should issue and no corrective action is required in that instance. The two (2) remaining awards at issue were funded with the ARPA Block Grant. On March 24, 2025, U.S. DHHS took unprecedented action and issued a notice of early termination of ARPA funding, purportedly for cause because the Covid-19 health emergency had ended. The notice of early termination and subsequent, revised Notice of Award (NOA), required DMHAS to cease all activities. It also sought to revise the original grant terms, retroactive to the original September 1, 2021 project start date. By way of example, the revised NOA also includes new conditions and certifications required to draw down federal funds. DMHAS complied with the notice of early termination and immediately ceased all activities; it stopped issuing subaward letters, it ceased all subaward uploads into its Contract Information Management System, it stopped all reimbursements, and it stopped all FFATA uploads pending or in process. Also in response to the abrupt early termination of funding, DMHAS issued “stop work” orders to all impacted agencies and advised that there was no assurance of reimbursement as of the effective date of notice. Shortly thereafter, DMHAS joined numerous other State authorities and filed a formal complaint in federal district court, alleging that the early termination was unlawful and caused the States irreparable harm. On April 5, 2025, the court entered a temporary injunction and scheduled a hearing for preliminary injunctive relief. U.S. DHHS moved for reconsideration. Several weeks later, the Court entered a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of the early termination of ARPA until further order of the Court. The cessation of FFATA uploads from the March termination to the receipt of injunctive relief was necessary to: 1. Maintain strict compliance with the revised NOA terms and conditions, including the written obligation to cease all activities; 2. Maintain strict compliance with the revised NOA terms and conditions, by issuing “stop work” orders; 3. Ensuring DMHAS’s “stop work” orders were not superseded by FFATA uploads or USA.Spending publications while the request for injunctive relief was pending, so no individual or entity (including the US Office of the Attorney General, US DHHS, or subawardee) could construe the upload as renewed authority to continue to expend funds through subaward end date; 4. Fully protect the prosecution of DMHAS’s claims in the pending, federal litigation, as well as DMHAS’s defenses; and 5. Mitigate DMHAS and subawardee damages in the underlying litigation. Based on the unprecedented early termination of block grant funding and ensuing litigation, DMHAS submits that the timeline to complete FFATA uploads was stayed. Such determination is consistent with the Court’s preliminary injunction, which makes clear that U.S. DHHS immediately treat any actions taken to implement or enforce the early funding terminations, as null and void and rescinded. Therefore, DMHAS should not be issued a FFATA finding that relates directly to the revised NOAs or the direction to cease all activities, and under these extraordinary circumstances, the uploads in question should be classified as non-reportable and immaterial, with no corrective action required. COMPLETION DATE/ CONTACT PERSON & PHONE# January 1,2025 Gordon Horvath, CFO (609) 544-6817 Gordon.Horvath@dhs.nj.gov John Fogliano, Deputy CFO (609) 438-4278 John.Fogliano@dhs.nj.gov