Scott County, TN

Scott County, Tennessee operates as a U.S. local government entity receiving federal grant funding and sub-grant awards across education, emergency management, transportation safety, and natural resource conservation. The county acts almost exclusively as a sub-recipient (91% of its 158 federal awards) rather than as a prime grant recipient (9%), channeling pass-through funding from Tennessee state agencies and federal grant programs to local services and infrastructure.

Scott County's federal footprint centers on education and disaster relief. The top five federal funding channels account for 75% of recent awards: the Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards (50 awards), the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (30 awards), the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime program (17 awards), the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (13 awards), and the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (9 awards). The county serves 20 distinct federal agencies in aggregate.

As a prime grant recipient, Scott County has received three awards in recent years. The Federal Highway Administration awarded the county $191,840 under the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program (CFDA 20.939) on June 12, 2026, with completion by June 12, 2029, to develop and implement a comprehensive safety action plan addressing roadway fatalities and serious injuries. An earlier SS4A grant of $140,000 (June 4, 2024 to February 28, 2026) supported safety stakeholder engagement and data analysis. The National Resources Conservation Service funded two cooperative agreements for emergency watershed protection and streambank stabilization: one awarded July 3, 2024 (completion May 27, 2025) and a second awarded May 31, 2023 (completion April 7, 2024); a third NRCS cooperative agreement for streambank stabilization protecting roadways was awarded September 7, 2021.

In its sub-recipient role, Scott County receives pass-through funding primarily from the Department of Education through Tennessee state agencies for national school lunch and breakfast program reimbursements, special education (IDEA Part B), career and technical education (Perkins), rural education achievement, professional development initiatives, and American Rescue Plan elementary and secondary schools emergency relief funds. The county also receives sub-awards from the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration for victims of crime services (VOCA and STOP grants addressing violence against women), the Tennessee Department of Health for local health services and WIC nutrition programs, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation for airport terminal hangar construction. Recent sub-awards include community development block grants, broadband readiness grants, and energy efficiency and community resiliency initiatives.

Activity shows volatility: nine awards in 2022, fourteen in 2023, thirty in 2024, eighteen in 2025, and three year-to-date in 2026. The county has obligated $36.1 million in combined federal dollars across all awards and grant sub-awards since 2006. Scott County's primary operational scope is Huntsville, Tennessee (210 Court Street), where the county government implements federally funded services and infrastructure improvements.