The ARRA provides a host of benefits for New Jerseyans -ranging from tax changes to safer bridges and roads to greater access to social safety net programs.  Please explore this site to learn more about the specific programs and services that are now available as a result of the ARRA.

This website is intended to provide NJ-specific information about the implementation of the ARRA in New Jersey. The federal recovery website (www.recovery.gov) provides useful and interesting inter-state comparisons and additional information.

As additional information becomes available, this site will be updated.

Please review the information provided on this website to determine whether your project can be funded by a state-administered program. You may also wish to review the link for Grant Opportunities, which provides information on various grant opportunities that will be made available by the federal government. Also, as noted above, the federal recovery website may also be consulted.

For each funding opportunity in the ARRA, either the federal government or the state government will make eligibility determinations for funding. In many cases, the eligibility criteria are already established under past federal and state statutes and regulations. In some cases, the federal government is writing new regulations and guidance to determine the eligibility and selection process.

Where information is currently available, this website provides information regarding the eligibility criteria and selection process for various funding opportunities.

In many cases, the timelines and deadlines for funding opportunities in the ARRA are dictated by the ARRA statute or by federal regulations and guidance that will be in the be issued in the near future.

Where available, this website provides information about timelines and deadlines for specific funding opportunities.

Governor Corzine has created an accountability task force that is be charged with oversight of the State implementation efforts to ensure that funds are directed efficiently and effectively to appropriate programs.

Furthermore, the ARRA statute requires various accountability measures, including certifications by the Governor and local elected officials to ensure that the funds are spent for their intended purposes, as well as several additional tracking and reporting requirements.

There are some funding streams in the ARRA that help provide the State with some budget relief, such as the increase in the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) matching rate, as well as the new State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to support K-12 and higher education. Some of the other funding streams will help to offset increased demand for social services, or safety-net programs.

However, given the magnitude of the State budget deficit, the deficit greatly exceeds the relief the State is receiving. Therefore the FY 2010 budget process will require many painful and difficult choices.

In some cases, programs and proposals included in earlier versions of the House and Senate ARRA bills were dramatically changed as the bill was finalized.  There may be provisions about which you read that were not included in the final bill or significantly altered.    Secondly, in some cases, details are not yet available for some of the funding opportunities included in the ARRA.  Please continue to check this website periodically as well as the federal website, www.recovery.gov for more information.