FY 2008
Attachment A.1 - Eligibility
Determination of Distressed Counties – As Approved by the DRA
Key Points for the DRA 2008 Federal Grant Program
The Delta Regional Authority adopted the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) definition of a “distressed county” to meet the establishment of distressed criteria for purposes of funding.
An area is considered distressed if it meets one of the following:
- An unemployment rate that is, for the most-recent 24-month period for which data are available, at least one percent greater than the national average unemployment rate.
- Per capita income that is, for the most recent period for which data are available, 80 percent or less of the national average per capita income.
- A special need, as determined by EDA, arising from actual or threatened severe unemployment or economic adjustment problems resulting from severe short-term or long-term changes in economic conditions, such as:
- Substantial out-migration or population loss,
- Underemployment, that is, employment of workers at less than full time or at less skilled tasks than their training or abilities permit,
- Military base closures or realignments, defense contractor reductions-in-force, or Department of Energy defense-related funding reductions,
- Natural or other major disasters or emergencies,
- Extraordinary depletion of natural resources,
- Closure or restructuring of industrial firms, essential to area economies and/or
- Destructive impacts of foreign trade.
Of the 236 Delta Regional Authority counties, at the time this definition for distressed counties was adopted, 214 counties met the required criteria. The last calculation for distressed county designation was May, 2005, with 222 of the 252 Delta Regional Authority counties classified distressed.