GOOGLESCHOLAR: Module 6 Assignment

Recovery activities begin immediately after a Presidential declaration as the agencies of the Federal Government collaborate with the State in the impacted area in coordinating the implementation of recovery programs and the delivery of recovery services.  The Federal government plays the largest role in providing the technical and financial support for recovery, with FEMA obligating an annual average of $2.88 billion on public assistance projects for major disaster declarations (with an average of $58 million per major disaster declaration) and $153 million in individual assistance for emergency declarations (averaging nearly $11 million per emergency declaration).  However, local government predominantly drives the decisions during recovery.

In January 2008, the National Response Framework (NRF) was published to guide how responding parties coordinate in responding to a major disaster.  Beginning in August 2009, FEMA initiated the process for developing a National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) to help coordinate recovery functions among Federal, State and local governments, the private sector, Tribal organizations and voluntary agencies.  FEMA is engaged in an effort to solicit input from all stakeholders in the development of the NDRF.

When established in coordination with State and local jurisdictions, a Disaster Recovery Center is a satellite component of the Joint Field Office (JFO), providing a central facility where disaster victims can obtain recovery assistance information.  The JFO is the coordination point for recovery assistance delivery.  The JFO Operations Section includes the Human Services Branch, the Infrastructure Support Branch, and the Community Recovery and Mitigation Branch.

• Human Services Branch: coordinates assistance programs to help individuals, families, and businesses meet basic needs and return to self-sufficiency.

Infrastructure Support Branch: coordinates public assistance programs.

Community Recovery and Mitigation Branch: assesses long-term incident impacts, defines available resources, and facilitates the development of a course of action to restore and revitalize the community as well as reduce the impacts from future disasters.

Emergency Support Function #14 (ESF #14 – Long-Term Community Recovery and Mitigation) provides a framework for Federal support to State, regional, local, and tribal governments, NGOs, and the private sector to enable recovery.  Federal disaster assistance available under a major disaster falls into three general categories: Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation Assistance.  Individual Assistance is aid to individuals, families, and business owners.  Public Assistance is aid to public and certain private nonprofit entities for emergency services and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged public facilities.  Hazard Mitigation Assistance is funding available for measures designed to reduce future losses to public and private property.

Individual Assistance programs are oriented to individuals, families, and small businesses, and the programs include temporary housing assistance, individual and family grants, disaster unemployment assistance, legal services, and crisis counseling.

• The Disaster Housing Program assures that people whose homes are damaged by disaster have a safe place to live until repairs can be completed, and provides funds for expenses often not covered by insurance.  This includes Lodging expenses reimbursement, Emergency minimal repair assistance, Temporary rental assistance, and Mortgage and rental assistance.

The Individual and Households Program provides funds for the necessary expenses and serious needs of victims that cannot be met through insurance or other forms of disaster assistance. IHP provides assistance through 5 programs, including Temporary Housing, Repair, Replacement, Permanent Housing Construction, and Other Needs.  FEMA pays 100% of the Housing portion grants, and 75% of the Other Needs (states pays the remaining 25%).  The maximum assistant for each family or individual in FY05 is $25,000.  Most aid is provided in the form of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance provides unemployment benefits and re-employment services to individuals who have become unemployed because of major disasters.

Legal Services are provided free to low-income victims through the Young Lawyer’s Division of the American Bar Association for insurance claims; counseling on landlord/tenant problems; assistance in consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures; and replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed.

Special Tax Considerations, in the form of federal income tax deductions, are given to Taxpayers who have sustained a casualty loss from a declared disaster.  Businesses may file claims with ATF taxes paid on appropriate lost alcohol, tobacco, or firearms inventories.

Crisis Counseling is offered to affected people to help relieve any grieving, stress or mental health problems caused or aggravated by the disaster or its aftermath.

The Cora Brown Fund can be used for the relief of human suffering caused by natural disasters to assist victims whose needs will not be met by other programs.

The Public Assistance Grant Program provides federal assistance to state and local governments and to certain private nonprofit (PNP) organizations, to allow them to recover from the impact of disasters and to implement mitigation measures.  Work that is eligible for supplemental Federal disaster grant assistance is classified as either emergency work (includes debris removal from public roads and rights-of-way as well as from private property when determined to be in the public interest) and permanent work (work that is required to restore an eligible damaged facility to its pre-disaster design).

Other Federal Agencies have programs that contribute to social and economic recovery, primarily triggered by a Presidential Disaster Declaration, and include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor, the National Voluntary Relief Organizations, and The American Red Cross.

Recovery Planning Tools

Many communities are looking at ways to reduce their future vulnerability, making the long-term investment in mitigation.  A partial list of available policy areas and tools includes the following: