LINK | Publication: Greater Greater Washington, Carolyn Gallagher (Contributor) | Date: June 24, 2021
Excerpt
Although federal monies were appropriated in January and March of 2021, states and jurisdictions within them had to stand up programs to distribute the aid. This takes time. The ERAP program was slated to go live in Maryland jurisdictions by May 17 at the latest. Some counties like Prince George’s were up and running earlier, but because of the flood of applications, it can take two months before a submitted application is even reviewed.
This is not to say Prince George’s County is doing something wrong. By all accounts they’re doing a great job. Trent Leon Lierman, who helps tenants and landlords in Prince George’s County apply for rental relief as part of his work at the non-profit CASA, told me the County’s program “got off the ground a full month and a half before Montgomery County.” He said the extra time was important because “we are all racing against a ticking time bomb.”