ARPA Recovery Program

Cleveland County received $55 million through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to promote recovery from the negative impacts of the pandemic. Thoughtful investment required identifying impacts, needs and solutions. 

To accomplish this, Cleveland County Commissioners used an extensive community engagement process including stakeholder meetings and surveys that allowed people to tell their stories. The resulting ARPA investments are meant to serve the needs of all Cleveland County residents. 

While we have designated three distinct categories to describe the general nature of those investments, all three address real issues and help real people. 

Cleveland County is among the most diverse of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, bringing together a broad mix of urban and rural geography and stakeholders. That diversity makes Cleveland County a wonderful and interesting place to live, but also makes it difficult to use a “one size fits all” approach to recovery funding. 

Demonstrating a commitment to a broad reaching focus with this once in a generation opportunity, county commissioners made the public engagement process key to uncovering how to best serve residents with a range of ARPA investments. We believe our proven culture of collaboration makes Cleveland County special, and we are proud to use ARPA dollars to fortify those connections.