Grants * (ANY/ALL Types of Financial Grants)

Public Assistance Program

The Public Assistance Program provides supplemental Federal
disaster grant assistance for the repair, replacement, or
restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities
and the facilities of certain Private Non-Profit (PNP)
organizations. The Federal share of assistance is not less
than 75% of the eligible cost for emergency measures and
permanent restoration. The State determines how the non-Federal
share (up to 25%) is split with the applicants.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include the States, local governments,
Indian tribes and certain PNP organizations.
Eligible PNP facilities must be open to the public and perform
essential services of a governmental nature. Eligible PNP
facilities generally include the following:
Medical facilities, such as hospitals, outpatient and
rehabilitation facilities.
Custodial care facilities that provide institutional care for
persons who require close supervision and some physical
constraints in their daily activities.
Educational facilities, such as primary and secondary schools,
colleges and universities.
Emergency facilities, such as fire departments, rescue squads,
and ambulance services.
Utilities, such as water, sewer, and electrical power systems.
Museums, zoos, community centers, libraries, homeless shelters,
senior citizen centers, shelter workshops and facilities which
provide health and safety services of a governmental nature.

Eligible Work

To be eligible, the work must be required as the result of the
disaster, be located within the designated disaster area, and be
the legal responsibility of an eligible applicant. Work that is
eligible for supplemental Federal disaster grant assistance is
classified as either emergency work or permanent work.

Emergency Work

Debris removal from public roads and rights-of-way as well as
from private property when determined to be in the public
interest.

Emergency protective measures performed to eliminate or reduce
immediate threats to the public, including search and rescue,
warning of hazards, and demolition of unsafe structures.

Permanent Work

Work to restore an eligible damaged facility to its pre-disaster
design. Work range from minor repairs to replacement.

Categories of permanent work include:

Roads, bridges and associated features, such as shoulders,
ditches, culverts, lighting and signs.
Water Control Facilities including drainage channels, pumping
facilities, and the emergency repair of levees. Permanent repair
of Flood Control Works is the responsibility of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and the Natural Resources Conservation
Service.

Buildings including their contents and systems.
Utility Distribution Systems, such as water treatment and
delivery systems; power generation facilities and distribution
lines; and sewage collection and treatment facilities.
Public Parks , Recreational Facilities and Other Facilities,
including playgrounds, swimming pools and cemeteries.

Application Process

Applicants should attend a State-sponsored Applicants’ Briefing
to receive information about the Public Assistance Program and
State requirements.

Applicants should complete and submit to the State a Request
for Public Assistance (Request) form. Applicants may submit
the Request forms at the Applicants’ Briefing, or submit them
to the State within 30 days following the designation of the
area in which the damage is located.
Upon receipt of the Request form from the State, FEMA will
assign a Public Assistance Coordinator to work with each
applicant throughout the disaster recovery period.
The State also will assign an Applicant Liaison to help the
applicant.

The Public Assistance Coordinator will meet with each applicant
to discuss eligibility requirements and project formulation
(Kickoff meeting).

Applicants may prepare Project Worksheets for small projects if
they have the resources to do so. Otherwise, FEMA and the State
personnel will prepare the applicant’s small and large projects.
Applicants should contact the Public Assistance Coordinator prior
to initiating repairs to facilities with Special Consideration issues
(for example, environmental concerns or historic preservation).
Applicants should document all damages and costs with pictures,
written descriptions and financial records.

Project Requirements

Time Limitations:

Deadlines - The project completion deadlines are set from the date
that the major disaster or emergency is declared. Emergency Work:
6 months. Permanent Work: 18 months.
Variations -
The State or FEMA may impose shorter deadlines for the completion
of work if considered appropriate.
Based on extenuating circumstances or unusual project requirements,
the State may extend the deadlines for an additional 6 months for
debris clearance and emergency work and an additional 30 months,
on a project by project basis, for permanent work.

Insurance Requirements:

FEMA will reduce otherwise eligible costs by the actual or
anticipated insurance recoveries the applicant receives. The State
will notify FEMA of any entitlement to insurance settlement or
recoveries for a facility and its contents.
For insurable buildings located in a special flood hazard area and
damaged by flood, the reduction is the maximum amount of insurance
proceeds the applicant would have been received had the building
and its contents been fully covered by a standard flood insurance
policy under the National Insurance Program.
The applicant is required to buy insurance in the amount of the
eligible damages for flood and general hazards.

Grants:

For small projects (under $48,900 for FY00), the grant is based on
an estimate of the cost of the work.
For large projects ($48,900 or more), the final grant is based on
actual eligible costs. In large projects, the State will disburse
progress payments, as required.

Common Questions

Is there anything an applicant should be doing prior to meeting a
FEMA program representative?
Prepare list of the damage sites and mark them on a county road map
or city map.
Gather copies of insurance policies on damaged structures.
Be prepared to share information about historic structures that
might be damaged, and structures that may have environmental
concerns.
FEMA Environmental / Historic Preservation Programs
Keep disaster-related equipment, materials and labor costs separate
from non-disaster work.
How soon will an applicant receive funds from FEMA?
After FEMA approves a Project Worksheet, it puts the funds in the
State’s account. The State disburses funds to the applicants in
accordance with its procedures. Please contact the Applicant Liaison
for more information.
How will applicants hear about the program?
Anyone with Internet access may obtain information about the Public
Assistance Program from the FEMA web page at http://www.fema.gov/.
Once on the FEMA web page, click on Disaster Assistance, and then
click on Public Assistance.
The State will conduct Applicants’ Briefings to share information
with eligible applicants. The State usually publishes notices about
the briefings in local newspaper, radio and television

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Source: http://www.kansas.gov/kdem/response_recovery/ona.shtml

Individual and Households Program/Other Needs Assistance
The Individual & Households/Other Needs Assistance Program (ONA) provides financial assistance to individuals or households who sustain damage or develop serious needs because of a natural or man-made disaster. The funding share is 75% federal funds and 25% state funds. The ONA program provides grants for necessary expenses and serious needs that cannot be provided for by insurance, another federal program, or other source of assistance.

Current maximum allowable amount for any one disaster to individuals or families is $25,000

Program funds for disaster-related necessary expenses and serious needs, including the following categories:

personal property;
transportation;
medical and dental;
funeral;
essential tools;
flood insurance;
moving and storage.

In accordance with the Stafford Act, the program is initiated by inclusion in the Governor’s request for a presidential declaration.

The ONA Program is not intended to indemnify a victim against disaster losses or to purchase or replace items or provide services that could be characterized as non-essential, luxury, recreational, or decorative. The program provides individuals or households with assistance to recover from a disaster and establish a habitable and sanitary living environment.

Kansas Emergency Management administers the ONA Program in cooperation with the federal government.