New round of federal funds for job training, health care
That’s all, folks.
After an already lucrative month, Vermont took home an additional – and final – $28.5 million in congressionally directed spending for the fiscal year on Saturday, March 23.
The state’s second batch of “earmarks” – part of a $1.2 trillion appropriations package passed by the U.S. Senate on the same day – is set to be distributed across 21 projects that address prominent Vermont challenges, including healthcare, education, infrastructure, addiction and childcare. Some projects are town-specific, while others are regional or statewide.
“These projects will make a huge difference across our state by creating green jobs and funding sustainable infrastructure projects, investing in training and education programs to bolster our healthcare workforce and supporting mental health initiative to create healthier communities,” said Sen. Peter Welch, I-Vt.
Welch, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., helped secure $74 million for nearly 60 Vermont projects in the first round of Congressionally directed spending on March 8. In total, the Green Mountain State is on tap to receive over $100 million in earmarks.
Round Two: Which Chittenden County projects are being funded?
Burlington
● University of Vermont ($1,999,000): to provide educational and research funding for existing community schools and establish three new community schools.
● Cathedral Square Corporation ($1.7 million): to connect Vermont Support and Services at Home (SASH) program participants with mental health clinicians.
Williston
● Vermont State Colleges System ($5.9 million): to renovate and expand the Oral Health Sciences program at Vermont State University.
● Vermont Healthcare Information Technology Education Center ($996,000): to help provide training, on-site learning opportunities and career pathways for 60 apprentices at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Winooski
● Community Health Centers of Burlington ($3 million): to renovate the center’s Winooski office, including doubling its medical and mental health space and integrating and expanding the dental practice next door.
● Vermont Student Assistance Corporation ($296,000): to create a program to prepare and funnel talented Vermonters into sought-after navigation support jobs.
Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewar-tyounger@gannett.com.