The Department of Human Services (DHS) – Division of Family Assistance (DFA) has begun the process of issuing the 1st round of Pandemic Emergency Allotment Funds (PEAF) Phase 2. Heads of households who applied and were approved received notices this week.
These notices contained information detailing the amount of their awards and a specific timetable of issuance based on alphabetic last name grouping. Those applicants who were not approved or were wait-listed also received a detailed notice. This most recent allotment was authorized by the American Rescue Plan through the Administration of Children and Families (ACF). A total of $431,825.04 was approved and available for disbursement to Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funds (PEAF 2) beneficiaries this round.
PEAF Phase 2 will continue to be issued to eligible Virgin Island family households with a combined income maximum of $50,000 per annum until Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. Application approval and benefit levels were determined via the Territorial PEAF2 review committee. Benefit disbursements are issued via paper checks to applicants after verification of identifications and signatures.
The Division of Family Assistance has maintained a chronological application review process to ensure equitable award disbursement. The Department of Human Services will award all PEAF funds, but it should be noted that not all eligible applications may be able to be funded with the limited PEAF funds this round.
Commissioner Causey-Gomez said, “This funding will assist middle-income families with unmet needs resulting from pandemic/endemic financial hardships. This group is a population who generally does not benefit from traditional federal government programs due to higher income brackets. As this funding is made available in tandem with ACF, all applicants must have at least one minor child residing in their household at the time of application submission.”
- Please note in order to receive PEAF checks, approved applicants must have a valid picture ID, and the applicant’s name must appear on the check.
- Division of Family Assistance will continue to call and mail notices to approved applicants, informing them of their status and providing a timetable for when they can pick up checks.
- Division of Family Assistance will mail notices to applicants that were not approved and applicants that were wait-listed this round.
For additional information, call: Territorial PEAF2 Hotline at 772-7120. For more information, visit the Department of Human Services website at www.dhs.gov.vi or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/usvidhs) at the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.
