From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Actions Needed to Help Disaster Survivors Access FEMA Assistance Program Description: Heavy hurricanes seasons in 2017 and 2018, along with devastating wildfires in California, affected more than 47 million people in the United States--about 15 percent of the national population. In response to disaster events like these, the Federal Emergency Management Agency can provide financial assistance for home repairs, child care and transportation, as well as services to help survivors during recovery periods. However, survivors face challenges in accessing this assistance, and--with larger-scale disasters--FEMA faces challenges in giving assistance. Today we talk with GAO's Chris Currie, an expert on disaster assistance and a director in our Homeland Security and Justice Team. Related GAO Work: GAO-20-503, Disaster Assistance: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen FEMA's Individuals and Households Program Released: September 2020 [Intro Music] [Chris Currie:] This program is just too important for it to be incredibly difficult for survivors to navigate. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office-- I'm Holly Hobbs. Heavy hurricanes seasons in 2017 and 2018, along with devastating wildfires in California, affected more than 47 million people in the United States--about 15 percent of the national population. In response to disaster events like these, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA) can provide financial assistance for home repairs, child care and transportation, as well as services to help survivors during recovery periods. However, survivors face challenges in accessing this assistance, and--with larger-scale disasters--FEMA faces challenges in giving assistance. Today we talk with GAO's Chris Currie, an expert on disaster assistance and a director in our Homeland Security and Justice Team. Thank you for joining us Chris. [Chris Currie:] Thanks. [Holly Hobbs:] So Chris, what challenges do survivors face when trying to get assistance after a disaster? [Chris Currie:] After a disaster, somebody is not in the best state of mind, obviously. Their life has been displaced. They're oftentimes they're not in their homes. Their Wi-Fi is down. They may not have electricity right after a disaster. So, they're already facing the stress of not being able to live a normal life. And then, on top of that, it's very overwhelming to figure out what assistance you may be eligible for. And FEMA is one source of assistance that survivors can go to, in addition to other government agencies and nonprofits. But in general, you know, there's a lot of confusion afterwards and it's very difficult to navigate all the different programs. [Holly Hobbs:] And so, one of the findings from your new report says that between 2016 and 2018, about 5.6 million people applied for disaster assistance, and most were referred by FEMA to its Individuals and Households Program for that assistance. Less than half of those people were eligible to receive assistance. So, what happened? [Chris Currie:] When you see those numbers, it might seem like it's just very clear cut. You apply, and either you're eligible or you're not. But actually a number of the findings in our report relate to what happens after somebody receives their initial determination. And actually this is one of the major challenges survivors face in this process. FEMA has a very automated process. Most people sign up for assistance either through the web or over the phone. And FEMA makes an initial determination based on all the information that a survivor may put into the system. So, if they put in a certain amount of income or whether or not they have insurance or something like that. However, there were a number of things in this process that are very confusing to survivors; and I'll give you a couple of examples. So, initially, if someone is determined as eligible, they are referred to the Small Business Administration to sign up for a disaster loan. And this creates a lot of confusion with survivors because they are like 'well why am I being referred to the SBA? I'm not a small business.' But what FEMA is doing is they're basically referring them to that loan process to see if their eligible to get a loan first before they get disaster assistance from FEMA. What happens though, is a number of survivors, they just stop right there. So, they don't continue the process when they might otherwise be eligible for assistance. Another thing that we found is that when FEMA provides an initial determination of whether a survivor is going to receive assistance, the survivor receives a letter that says they are denied. The problem is this doesn't necessarily mean a final denial. For example, if somebody has homeowners insurance, or maybe they just didn't provide all the necessary information to FEMA, they just need to provide more information. Again, they think it's a final denial. They don't continue the process. [Music break] [Holly Hobbs:] So, it sounds like FEMA's disaster assistance program--the Individuals and Households Program--is an important resource, maybe even a lifesaving resource, after a disaster; but that many survivors find the process for getting this critical aid daunting. Chris, did we make any recommendations to help FEMA improve this access? [Chris Currie:] Actually we made 14 recommendations in this report, which is quite a few. But, I want to make it clear that FEMA is not sitting around trying to make it difficult for survivors to access these programs. First of all, they've provided more assistance in this program over the last few years than they have in the 10-20 years prior, just because there's been so many disasters. But one of FEMA's strategic goals is to try to reduce the complexity of the organization for survivors. And this is just a great example of where they can do that. A lot of these processes that have been put in place over the years were done ensure integrity in the payments. To ensure the right people get the money. That they are really eligible. A number of parts of this process that could be improved and streamlined and clarified to remove roadblocks in the place of survivors to receive this assistance. And so a lot of the recommendations have to do with just, you know, streamlining or making parts of this process easier to understand for survivors. For example, when FEMA provides a letter to the survivor saying whether they were approved or denied, you know, providing more information about the denial. You know, was it that they didn't the insurance information. That they didn't contact the inspector to get a final inspection report. That kind of information is not provided right now and we think it should be. [Holly Hobbs:] Chris, last question. What is the bottom line of your report? [Chris Currie:] This program is just too important for it to be incredibly difficult for survivors to navigate. A record number of people have applied for FEMA assistance over the last few years. That trend is going to continue. Millions and millions of people are going to be applying for this assistance and it's critical that the process for them doing so is as easy as possible so that they get the assistance they need. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Chris Currie talking about GAO's recent report on a FEMA's disaster assistance program. Thank you for your time Chris. [Chris Currie:] Thank you. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank YOU for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.