FEMA Releases New Edition of Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide, Changes Damage Threshold for Recovery Assistance

As part of FEMA’s periodic two-year review process, the agency released a new version of the Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide (IAPPG) on May 26. The IAPPG consolidates policy statements for every FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) program, including the Individuals and Households Program (IHP), the Mass Care and Emergency Assistance Programs, Disaster Case Management Program (DCM), and others. Modifications to the IAPPG represent direct changes to FEMA policy immediately implemented upon its release.

The 2021 version of the IAPPG includes numerous modifications to FEMA IA programs. Most of the changes stem from modifications to disaster recovery policy in the 2018 “Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA),” including: allowing properties in areas not approved for assistance by FEMA to receive help if they meet certain eligibility requirements; increasing the financial assistance maximum award for housing and other needs assistance; and establishing FEMA’s ability to waive certain levels of debt owed when the agency provided assistance to individuals later found ineligible.

In addition to the integration of DRRA, the new IAPPG includes other changes. Most importantly, FEMA modified how it measures a disaster survivor’s real property verified loss threshold—the level of damage to a home necessary to establish eligibility for FEMA housing assistance. Previously, the threshold for program eligibility was $17,000, which often meant that individuals in smaller units or manufactured housing such as mobile homes were often unable to access the program even if their home was rendered unlivable by a disaster. This damage threshold is now set to $12 in damage per square foot, which means for individuals in a 750 square foot unit, the threshold is now $9,000. As a result, more disaster survivors – including those with low-incomes - will be found eligible for this important program.

FEMA modified other portions of the IAPPG, specifically reiterating that service animals must be permitted in emergency shelters and not separated from their owners – something that commonly prevents individuals with disabilities from accessing emergency shelter during a disaster. FEMA also specified that residents of “non-traditional” housing (FEMA’s description for individuals experiencing homelessness who live in tents, shacks, or similar structures) are eligible for reimbursement of hotel costs. FEMA currently offers little assistance to individuals who were experiencing homelessness prior to a disaster, and while this change is a step in the positive direction, individuals experiencing homelessness residing in tents are unlikely to have the resources to pay these upfront costs.

Read the new version of the Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide at: https://bit.ly/3gdaytS