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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 03, 2009
Contact: Christina Stephens, christina.stephens@la.gov
State of Louisiana Launches Disaster Case Management Pilot Program
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Recovery Authority has launched a $9.4 million Disaster Case Management Pilot Program to help approximately 3,000 households that are still receiving federal disaster housing assistance make a seamless transition to regular housing by March 31, 2010.
By awarding grants to a lead coordinator and six nonprofit organizations, the LRA pilot program - which is funded by FEMA through the Stafford Act - will provide intensive case management services to an already targeted population of hurricane-impacted residents who had been housed in FEMA trailers or had been authorized to stay in a hotel/motel as of April 27.
The pilot program awarded $859,440 to the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership for overall program monitoring, evaluation, data management and reporting. The awards to the six nonprofit case management organizations are as follows:
- RAI Ministries - based in New Orleans - received $2,577,977 for 1,017 households residing in southeast Louisiana;
- Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church Disaster Response - based in Baton Rouge - received $2,418,097 for 963 households residing in north, southwest and southeast Louisiana;
- United Way of Greater New Orleans - based in New Orleans -- received $1,747,382 for 678 households residing in southeast Louisiana;
- The Advocacy Center - based in New Orleans - received $483,329 for 175 households residing in northeast and southeast Louisiana;
- International Relief and Development - based in Lake Charles - received $483,329 for 175 households residing in north and southwest Louisiana;
- Lower 9th Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association - based in New Orleans - received $483,329 for 175 households residing in southeast Louisiana.
The case management services will include an assessment to identify and address long-term recovery and permanent housing needs for each client; a goal-oriented plan for each household that outlines all steps necessary to achieve recovery; the coordination of need-matched resources; the monitoring of client progress toward stated goals; and advocacy, if needed.
Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said, "The Disaster Case Management Pilot Program ensures that families who have not yet been able to transition off of disaster housing assistance don't become homeless. Many of these households still need information about the Housing Choice Voucher program and help with other options. It is clear that the federal government recognizes the seriousness of this transition and supports the state in its efforts to partner all disaster housing assistance households with needed resources."
"FEMA is dedicated to assisting the remaining families residing in temporary housing transition to more permanent homes," said Mark Landry, deputy director of FEMA's Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office. "Through our partnership with the LRA, we are able to fund crucial case management services to families still in need."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Disaster Housing Assistance Program, which provided temporary disaster housing for thousands of families in Louisiana, ended on Aug. 31. The FEMA trailer program ended earlier this summer, but FEMA agreed to work with families on a case-by-case basis so that families would not become homeless.
In addition to providing case management services, the DCMP will help FEMA gather best practices for a case management model to be used in future disasters.
Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before.
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