Promoting Healthy Childhood Environments. Children’s economic and family circumstances have a long-term impact on their future economic outcomes.94 Increases in economic hardship, material insecurity, and parental stress and behavioral health challenges all raise the risk of long-term xxxxx to today’s children due to the pandemic. Eligible services to address this challenge include: D New or expanded high-quality childcare to provide safe and supportive care for children; D Home visiting programs to provide structured visits from health, parent educators, and social service professionals to pregnant women or families with young children to offer education and assistance navigating resources for economic support, health needs, or child development; and D Enhanced services for child welfare- involved families and xxxxxx youth to provide support and training on child development, positive parenting, coping skills, or recovery for mental health and substance use challenges. State, local, and Tribal governments are encouraged to use payments from the Fiscal Recovery Funds to respond to the direct and immediate needs of the pandemic and its negative economic impacts and, in particular, the needs of households and businesses that were disproportionately and negatively impacted by the public health emergency. As highlighted above, low- income communities and workers and people of color have faced more severe health and economic outcomes during the pandemic, with pre-existing social vulnerabilities like low-wage or insecure employment, concentrated neighborhoods with less economic opportunity, and pre-existing health disparities likely contributing to the magnified impact of the pandemic. The Fiscal Recovery Funds provide resources to not only respond to the immediate xxxxx of the pandemic but also to mitigate its longer-term impact in compounding the systemic public health and economic challenges of disproportionately impacted populations. Treasury encourages recipients to consider funding uses that xxxxxx a strong, inclusive, and equitable recovery, especially uses with long-term benefits for health and economic outcomes. Uses Outside the Scope of this Category. Certain uses would not be within the scope of this eligible use category, although may be eligible under other eligible use categories. A general infrastructure project, for example, typically would not be included unless the project responded to a specific pandemic public health need (e.g., investments in facilities for the delivery of vaccines)...
