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FEMA announced a $530 million allocation for the National
Board for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP).
This program supports jurisdictions across the country that assist
our nation’s hungry and homeless populations.
The program’s National Board will distribute the funds
to local organizations dedicated to feeding, sheltering and providing
critical resources to people with economic emergencies. These funds
are for people with non-disaster related emergencies and can be used
for a broad range of services, including:
- Mass
sheltering and feeding.
- Food
banks and pantries.
- Utility
bill payments to prevent cut-offs.
- Rent
and mortgage payments to prevent evictions and foreclosures.
- Transition
assistance from shelters to stable living conditions.
Congress appropriated $130 million through the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021, and $400 million through Section
4007 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to the
EFSP. The $400 million in supplemental funding was provided by
Congress to specifically address the continuing economic impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Board is chaired by FEMA with
representatives from American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, The
Jewish Federations of North America, National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the USA, The Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide.
United Way Worldwide, selected by the National Board
as its Secretariat and Fiscal Agent, is also responsible for the
daily administration of the EFSP in alignment with federal
requirements and National Board governance.
EFSP funding is allocated to qualifying local
jurisdictions based on a formula using the most recent national
population, unemployment and poverty data. Grants are then awarded by
local boards to nonprofit and government organizations that provide
direct services to those in need in their communities. All
applications are evaluated competitively. With this FY 2021 annual
and supplemental funding, the total aid disbursed in the EFSP’s
39-year history total more than $5.6 billion.
Learn more about how EFSP funds help Americans rebuild
their lives by visiting the FEMA
blog.
FEMA is accepting applications for all three of the
fiscal year 2021 grants that constitute the Assistance to
Firefighters Grants program, with the first deadline approaching on
Jan. 21.
The application period for $414 million in funding for
the
Assistance to Firefighters Grants closes at 5 p.m. ET on
Jan. 21. These grants focus on enhancing the safety of the public and
firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards.
The application period for $560 million in funding for
Staffing
for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants
closes at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 4. SAFER grants focus on enhancing the
ability of recipients to attain and maintain fire department staffing
and to assure that their communities have adequate protection from
fire and fire-related hazards.
The application period is now open for $46 million in
funding for the Fire
Protection and Safety (FP&S) grants and will close 5
p.m. ET on Feb. 18. FP&S grants focus on enhancing the safety of
the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related
hazards.
The funding notice and technical assistance documents
for this program will be available at grants.gov and FEMA.gov.
For questions, contact FEMA's Fire Grants Helpdesk via email at firegrants@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA is releasing additional data on the agency’s new
equitable flood insurance rate pricing methods.
Site visitors can view data that compares rate changes
from the new rating methodology, Risk
Rating 2.0: Equity in Action, to the legacy rating system
in place since the 1970s. FEMA created Risk Rating 2.0 so flood
insurance rates are actuarily sound, equitable, easier to understand
and better reflect an individual property’s flood risk.
To view the comparison data, visit www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating/profiles.
The new methodology now considers the cost to rebuild,
a foundational aspect that ensures rates are equitable for all policyholders.
Under the old system, policyholders with lower to moderate value
homes with less flood risk subsidized the premiums of policyholders
with higher valued homes and higher risk. Adding the cost to rebuild
levels the playing field as premiums now equitably reflect a single
property’s unique flood risk.
Another key change implemented with the new
methodology is the fact that once a premium reaches its full risk
rate, increases stop. Under the old system, increases would continue
indefinitely year after year for all policyholders.
Potential and existing policy holders can learn their
specific rates with a call to their insurance company or agent.
FEMA is seeking whole community stakeholder feedback
to aid in the development of National Continuous Improvement
Guidance. The engagement period will begin on Jan.18 and last until
Feb. 10.
A Continuous Improvement Program is a critical component
of an organization’s operations as they incorporate lessons learned
from exercises and real-world incidents so they can build
capabilities and become more resilient.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions
to gather input from whole community stakeholders that wish to
participate and indicate what they would find most useful in
establishing new or developing existing continuous improvement
processes.
Webinar sessions will be offered from Jan 25 - Feb.8.
- Listening
Session #1: 11 a.m. – noon ET on Jan. 25.
- Listening
Session #2: 2 – 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 27.
- Listening
Session #3: 10 – 11 a.m. ET on Jan. 31.
- Listening
Session #4: 5 – 6 p.m. ET on Feb. 02.
- Listening
Sessions #5: noon – 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 08.
For information on webinar sessions and to register
visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/cip-citap/events.
For additional questions or feedback contact FEMA-CITAP@fema.dhs.gov.
In recognition of National Human Trafficking
Prevention Month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS)
Blue Campaign and the DHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships are hosting a virtual panel to discuss the racial
disparities related to human trafficking crimes, highlighting the
impact on youth and vulnerable communities.
The content of this event is best suited for
individuals working in faith-based and community-serving
organizations, especially those serving youth and/or minority
audiences. Also, those working in minority- serving higher education
institutions, as well as federal, state, local, tribal, and
territorial entities serving youth and/or minority audiences.
Panelists will discuss the following topics:
- Vulnerabilities
of youth and marginalized communities.
- Intersection
of social media and human trafficking risks.
- Racial
inequities associated with trafficking-related crimes.
- Available
resources to help with youth prevention and education
opportunities.
Registration for this event is required. After
registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing
information about joining the webinar. Please send any questions,
comments, and/or feedback to: BlueCampaign@hq.dhs.gov.
Learn more about Blue Campaign at https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/about-blue-campaign.
FEMA Extends
Request for Information
FEMA published a notice
in the Federal Register extending the public comment on the National
Flood Insurance Program’s minimum floodplain management standards to
Jan. 27.
Written comments can be
submitted to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, Docket ID: FEMA-2021-0024.
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Application
Period for BRIC, FMA Grant Programs Closes Jan. 28
The Flood
Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and the Building
Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants
provide funds to states, local communities, tribes and territories
for eligible mitigation activities to strengthen our nation’s ability
to build a culture of preparedness. These programs fund projects that
invest in a more resilient nation, reduce disaster suffering and
avoid future disaster costs.
Applications are due no
later than 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 28. Applications received by FEMA after
this deadline will not be considered for funding. Subapplicants
should touch base with their respective State
Hazard Mitigation Officer to ask about project priorities
and additional application requirements or deadlines for submitting
information.
The funding notices are
available on Grants.gov.
Eligible applicants must apply for funding using FEMA
Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO), the agency’s grants management
system.
For more information
visit FEMA.gov.
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FEMA Seeks
Public Comment for Updated Public Assistance Policy
FEMA recently released the “Public Assistance Appeals
and Arbitration Policy” that clarifies changes to procedures, roles
and responsibilities concerning Public Assistance appeals and
arbitrations resulting from revisions to 44
C.F.R. 206.206. The policy was originally published in the
Federal Register on Aug.16, 2021.
FEMA
requests comments on the draft policy by 5 p.m. ET on Jan.
19. The policy applies to all FEMA stakeholders, including all
regions, Public Assistance grant recipients and applicants.
FEMA requests that all comments be submitted using the
accompanying comment matrix to FEMA-Recovery-PA-Policy@fema.dhs.gov.
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FEMA BRIC
Direct Technical Assistance Application Period Now Open
FEMA seeks to provide non-financial Direct Technical
Assistance to a maximum of 20 communities to support mitigation
outcomes of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
(BRIC) program. This announcement was first made in the Fiscal Year
2021 BRIC funding
opportunity.
Applicants must email one letter of interest not
exceeding two pages by 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 28 to FEMA-BRICDirectTechnicalAssistance@fema.dhs.gov.
Additional details are available on FEMA.gov.
Information with examples can be reviewed in the Program
Support Material on FEMA.gov.
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