Services Available to Santa Clara County Residents
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Services Available to Santa Clara County residents: Employees and Employers 1. California Employment Development Department (Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) FAQs) a. **The Governor's Executive Order has allowed employees to start collecting Unemployment Benefits benefits the first week they are unemployed.** b. Folks can miss work if family members have the virus, using Paid Family Leave. Unemployment assurance should apply to you if: i. Your hours are reduced due to the quarantine. ii. You were separated from your employer during the quarantine. iii. You are subject to a quarantine required by a medical professional or state or local health officer. 2. Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans (Coronavirus (COVID-19): SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus) a. Once Governor Newsom requests SBA assistance, folks will be able to apply for these loans. b. These loans can help sole-proprietorships and ‘gig workers’ who qualify as such. c. We are now officially designated as a primary County for the SBA Disaster Loan Assistance program. Here’s some info. 3. California Small Business Loan Guarantee Program & Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Program a. The Small Business Finance Center (SBFC) partners with Financial Development Corporations to provide loan guarantees and direct loans for small businesses that experience capital access barriers. For information click here. 4. California Capital Access Program (CalCAP) for Small Business a. This program encourages banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small businesses that have difficulty obtaining financing. If you own a small business and need a loan for start-up, expansion or working capital, you may receive more favorable loan terms from a lender if your loan is enrolled in the CalCAP Loan Loss Reserve Program. For more information click here. 5. Facebook Grants for Small Business a. Facebook is offering $100M in cash grants and advertisement credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses. You can learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/grants 6. California Payroll Tax Extension (EDD Taxpayer Assistance Center) a. The CA Employment Development Division (EDD) is granting a 60-day extension to file state payroll reports and/or deposit state payroll taxes without penalty or interest for employers experiencing hardship from COVID-19. i. Toll-free from the U.S. or Canada: 1-888-745-3886 ii. Hearing impaired (TTY): 1-800-547-9565 iii. Outside the U.S. or Canada: 1-916-464-3502 7. Unemployment, Disability, and Workers' Compensation Insurance If you are unable to work due to having or being exposed to the Coronavirus, you can file a Disability Insurance claim here: EDD Disability Insurance claim. If your hours have been reduced or your employer has shut down operations due to Coronavirus, you can file an Unemployment Insurance claim here: EDD Unemployment Insurance claim. If you are working fewer hours or not working because your child's school is closed and you need to care for them, you can file an Unemployment Insurance claim here: EDD Unemployment Insurance claim. 8. Paid Family Leave and Sick Leave If you're unable to work because you're caring for a sick or quarantined family member with Coronavirus, you can file a Paid Family Leave claim here: EDD Paid Family Leave claim. If you or a family member are sick, there may be paid sick leave or other paid leave that is available. Additionally, employees at worksites with 25 or more employees may also be provided up to 40 hours of leave per year for specific school-related emergencies, such as the closure of a child's school or day care by civil authorities (see Labor Code section 230.8). Whether that leave is paid or unpaid depends on the employer's paid leave, vacation or other paid time off policies. Discuss your options with your employer, and read more about Paid Sick Leave eligibility here: DIR Paid Sick Leave eligibility. The Labor and Workforce Development Agency has more information about potential benefits, including informative chart displaying and explaining these benefits: LWD Coronavirus Resources. Taxpayers 9. Federal income tax can now be deferred until July 15, 2020 with no penalties or increases a. Individual and other non-corporate tax filers to defer up to $1 million of federal income tax b. corporate taxpayers have a similar deferment of up to $10 million of federal income tax payments c. This guidance does not change the April 15th filing deadline d. Relief for Taxpayers Affected by Ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Municipal Expenditures 10. FEMA Public Assistance Program FEMA Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide (PAPPG) a. Eligible emergency protective measures taken at the direction or guidance of public health officials in response to this emergency, and not supported by the authorities of another federal agency, will be reimbursed strictly under the FEMA Public Assistance program. FEMA assistance will be provided at a 75 percent Federal cost share. Reimbursable activities typically include emergency protective measures such as the activation of State Emergency Operations Centers, National Guard costs, law enforcement and other measures necessary to protect public health and safety. Homeowners and Renters 11. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has implemented an immediate foreclosure and eviction moratorium for single family homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages for the next 60 days. 2 a. The Federal Housing Finance Agency also ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the companies behind about half of the nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market, to suspend foreclosures and evictions for any single-family mortgages they back for “at least 60 days,” the agency said. b. The federal government has ordered lenders to make accommodations for people who cannot pay their mortgage because of the coronavirus. You could be able to lower or suspend your mortgage payments for up to a year. Information about how to qualify and signup if you have a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage can be found here. Information for Freddie Mac-backed mortgages is here. 12. Governor Newsom’s anti-eviction policy to be rolled out this afternoon a. The Governor has waived the time limitations against evictions b. Any provision of state law that prevents local governments’ use of their policy power to halt evictions is suspended c. Executive Order N-28-20 13. Home loans (HUD-Approved Housing Counselors) a. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counselors can discuss options with you if you’re having trouble paying your mortgage loan or reverse mortgage loan. This may also include forbearance or a modified payment program. 14. San Jose has halted Evictions if you cannot pay your rent because of the coronavirus. More information can be found here. Educational Activities The Tech Interactive has created new online activities for educators and parents who are homeschooling students (links below and here). We hope some of these resources are useful for your family and/or network. Support for Nonprofits At the March 24, 2020 Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Dave Cortese will ask the County to approve allocating $1 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation Regional Nonprofit Emergency fund and $2 million to help organizations nonprofits, and vital resources to prevent homelessness, provide food, and address other needs of individuals and families affected by the COVID-19 crisis. This funding will also help theater and arts groups and other nonprofits that had to cancel events. For San Mateo and Santa Clara nonprofits seeking a grant from this fund, please complete an application and email it to [email protected]. The application can be found here. South Bay Pantry Drive in Partnership with Supervisor Dave Cortese’s Office Supervisor Dave Cortese’s office is partnering with local community organizations including the Sikh Food Pantry, JOY of SEWA, Ik Onkar Bridges, Silicon Valley Gurdwara, Khalis Foundation, Bay Area Sikhs, and Bay Area Volunteers to offer an Emergency Community Pantry. If you’d like to donate to help fund this pantry, please visit this link: https://www.selectiva.org/causes/south- bay-pantry. If you are in need of basic food and groceries due to the recent Coronavirus Emergency, please fill out this form. Any community organizations can call Harbir Kaur Bhatia at 408 459 9945 with any questions. 3 We will do our best to fulfill your request. First, we will reach out to you and then we'll plan the delivery in accordance with Public Health guidelines. 2-1-1 Santa Clara County residents can now call 2-1-1 for information on novel coronavirus and COVID-19. 2-1- 1 phone and text services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in 150 languages. Visit https://www.211bayarea.org to search for services online. Parks Most of our 28 county parks remain open and are free to enter. The Santa Clara County Parks Department announced it will be waiving entrance fees in County parks for the duration of the shelter-at-home order. They have hundreds of miles of hiking trails to enjoy, as well as more than 160 miles of bike trails. Families need to remember to keep social distance when they are enjoying them, at least six feet between each person. Meal Services (see detailed list under “Senior Nutrition Program”) 15. Local schools are providing free meals to students. Below is a list of schools where you can access free meals. A comprehensive list for every public school in Santa Clara County can be found on Page 16. a. As this list is not comprehensive nor represents San Mateo or Santa Cruz Counties, we recommend you call 2-1-1 or contact the schools directly for the latest information. b. Here is an online link to this list of School Districts in the County offering Meals.