MARICOPA COUNTY CERTIFICATION OF NEED ERA 1.0 VOLUNTARY REALLOCATION REQUEST 110421.PDF

Address: Human Services Department  234 N. Central Avenue, Suite 3000  Phoenix, AZ 85004 
 
Maricopa County 
Human Services Department 
 
 
To: United States Department of Treasury 
From: Maricopa County, Human Services Department 
Date: 11/04/2021 
Subject: Certification of Need—Request Emergency Rental Assistance monies transfer from the State of Arizona 
 
As part of the many efforts to help Maricopa County, Arizona recover from the COVID-19 Pandemic and address its 
ongoing issues, the Human Services Department of Maricopa County has been administering Emergency Rental 
Assistance (ERA) monies provided by both the Consolidated Appropriations Act (ERA 1.0) and American Rescue 
Plan Act (ERA 2.0). Although the County experienced some challenges early on, navigating regulations and setting 
up the infrastructure necessary to administer these funds, the County has assisted thousands of households through 
this program. As of October 2021, the County has obligated more than 75 percent of its ERA 1.0 allocation and 
expended more than 60 percent of its ERA 1.0 allocation. The Treasury’s September ERA excel report confirms this 
expenditure information. Internal data indicates the County assists an average of 360 unique households per week 
and provide an average of $1,741 of rental/utility assistance per household.  
 
Despite all of our successes the County sees a substantial need for more assistance and estimates that the County’s 
current ERA 1.0 and ERA 2.0 allocations may not be enough to fully address ERA needs. For example, due to the 
volume of applications received so far the County has nearly 1000 applications for ERA assistance that need to be 
processed. Additionally, the weekly applications for assistance have either remained high or increased with no 
indications that this trend will change. The County is continuing to improve its practices through various measures, 
including hiring additional staff to process applications and improving the efficiency of our application review process 
through various best practices such as self-attestations and fact-specific proxies.  
 
The State of Arizona through its Department of Economic Security also received ERA 1.0 monies and our 
organizations see an opportunity to reallocate existing ERA 1.0 funds from the State to Maricopa County to help assist 
the greatest number of households. The County’s data and information support the need for an additional $39 million 
in ERA 1.0 monies, and the State of Arizona has agreed to voluntarily reallocate that amount to Maricopa County. As 
such, I request the Department of Treasury State to allow and facilitate the voluntarily reallocation of $39 million of 
the State of Arizona’s ERA 1.0 monies to Maricopa County. 
 
As part of this process, the County attests that it is in compliance with all ERA requirements under applicable law, 
guidance and, funding agreements. Further, the County agrees to comply with all administrative requirements 
applicable to the transfer of funds. 
 
Sincere Regards, 
 
 
Jacqueline Edwards, Director, Maricopa County Human Services Department