A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds from the coronavirus relief fund under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to ensure that children and families are connected to all federally funded assistance programs for which they are eligible during the covid‑19 pandemic.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  The State Controller shall transfer the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year from the Coronavirus Relief Reserve established under Section 2.1 of S.L. 2020‑4 to the Coronavirus Relief Fund under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, P.L. 116‑136, established in Section 2.2 of that act.
SECTION 1.(b)  There is appropriated from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services (Department) the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year to ensure that children and families are connected to all federally funded public assistance programs for which they are eligible by providing funding for the following:
(1)	Data matching to identify, contact, and enroll children and families who are currently enrolled in one program, including unemployment insurance benefits, who are eligible or newly eligible for multiple programs.
(2)	Investment in technology and temporary staffing to support the work required under subdivision (1) of this section and the work of enrolling families who are in urgent need of assistance due to the COVID‑19 pandemic who have never interacted with the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services.
(3)	Capacity for a public‑focused awareness campaign to encourage enrollment in federally funded benefits programs for families who are newly eligible due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, as well as guidance on how to enroll in those programs.
SECTION 1.(c)  The funds provided under this section shall be used for the purposes described in this section and the requirements and limitations set forth in the CARES Act.
SECTION 2.  The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide a report to the House Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Fiscal Research Division by March 1, 2021, detailing the use of funds allocated under this act.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2020, and applies retroactively to March 1, 2020, and expires December 30, 2020.