We Can't do it Alone = We Need a Plan

I came across this post on Bill Driscoll Jr.'s tumblr blog recently and it communicates the need for unified approach to how non-profits engage in disaster work. Bill is the Executive Director of Nechama, The Jewish Response to Disaster...I encourage you to give it a read:

Longform: We Can’t do it Alone = We Need a Plan

http://billdriscolljr.tumblr.com/ 

The reality of disaster recovery is that no one person, government agency, or voluntary organization can do it alone. This staggering and sobering realization for survivors and responders alike, comes consistently post disaster.

Recently the concern and potential complications created by the threat of augmenting Federal disaster funds had been consistently in news. Federal budget negotiations seemed to be fixated around disaster recovery dollars. While Federal support can be critical to disaster recovery for both individuals and municipalities, many disasters in the United States go “undeclared”, meaning that they are smaller in size and do not meet the criteria for a Presidential declaration and the accompanying Federal support. We do know the answer to the questions “what if FEMA support isn’t available?” and “what would the recovery look like?”

When a disaster goes “undeclared” and does not generate a Presidential declaration, the burden of recovery falls on individuals themselves, any insurance settlement, available state programs and available charitable or voluntary organization support.  That said, even in a Federally declared disaster area, non governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations, faith based or not, still provide many of the missing pieces of a disaster survivor’s recovery.  FEMA’s own “sequence of delivery” literally begins and ends with voluntary agencies. [See herehttp://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/regions/regioni/sequence2008.pdf]

Amidst the recent budget posturing in Congress, FEMA released the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), which details “the plan” for future Federal support to state recovery operations. A clearer and updated national plan for the delivery of government related disaster recovery operations is a welcome and important addition to the disaster response and recovery community. That said, no sooner than we can pat those on the back that participated in and crafted the NDRF do we need to focus on what still lacks within this dedicated and passionate community (Full disclosure: I participated in a stakeholders session). The disaster recovery community is comprised of not only government responders but an inspired lot of nonprofit and faith based NGOs.

There is no equivalent to the NDRF for the NGOs active in disaster work and yet this is the part of the community that most consistently engages to help survivors post disaster. The needs that are generated by disaster (even those that do not receive official Federal designation) compel most NGO operations to action, many of which are volunteer and donor driven.

For me, someone that is engaged in disaster response and recovery on a daily basis in the charitable and nonprofit sector, the lack of a consistent field-wide plan or framework is apparent at every disaster event I deploy to. There continues to be lack of consistently agreed upon or valuable structure for NGO coordination both from a distance and on the ground. I believe focusing on an NGO-centric complimentary plan to the National Disaster Recovery Framework needs to be a top priority for the entire disaster response and recovery community. The discussion, research and development of  a “parallel” plan began a few years ago but the process to create what is known as the  “National Nonprofit Relief Framework” has been stuck in neutral. Its originally targeted release date of December 2010 has come and gone. The BP oil spill in 2010 and 2011’s six months of what seemed like nonstop tornadoes, floods, and tropical storms have played a major role in the stall. We as a community have been quite busy…

Many NGOs that are national in scope and have disaster related programs are members of coalitions like National Voluntary Organizations Active (National VOAD) in the hopes that greater communication will lead to collaborative partnerships. National VOAD and the numerous related state level forums are fantastic and beneficial but they are by design, right or wrong, not operational in nature. The members’ relationships and values within the National VOAD community, however, can and will help spawn a renewed effort for a nonprofit relief / recovery framework. Tremendous amounts of aid and hope are delivered by a diverse group of VOAD and NGO partners at each disaster. The potential to do more by strategically pooling resources under the framework of a tactically coordinated plan will only serve to grow the efficiency and effectiveness of our already impressive community. The potential growth is exciting. 

I hope the NDRF completion brings new light and enthusiasm to complete, “whole community” planning through renewed focus on the means by which nonprofits and NGOs collaborate in disasters alongside resources brought to bear by Federal down to local level government.

As expressed by the outpouring of charitable giving by donors following tragedy and disaster, we collectively seem to understand the norm that donated dollars are different than Federal ones and can be utilized and dispersed for varied and perhaps no less effective reasons. Simply no one agency whether or public or private can do it alone. As such we should be constantly driving toward enhancing and improving the way we coordinate and collaborate pre and post disaster.

We in nonprofits are at the mercy of proving that donations are being spent effectively and efficiently.  In order to improve our current collective measures we should move with vigor toward a comprehensive and consistent recovery coordination framework so we are better prepared the next time disaster strikes our country.

Just how valuable are those volunteer hours?

Just as important as technology is in helping to bring people together to capture the outpouring of support in coordination and communication following disasters, are the people who drop what they're doing to help--the Volunteers.

Volunteers are a lifeline following an event, they do everything from feeding to working at points of distribution, to mobilizing cleanup operations, as well as advocate for those who may not have a voice. Their actions save affected homeowners time and money through sweat equity in cleanup activities and voice unmet needs that traditional emergency management may not be able to identify. But beyond the direct benefit homeowners receive by welcoming groups of volunteers into their homes / onto their properties, is the potential financial benefit that the impacted municipality can reap if the Volunteer hours and tracked and properly reported.

The reimbursement of Volunteer hours for work done on private property is something that few people know about, and fewer people understand. But given the potential for offsetting some of the financial burden incurred by communities cleaning up, one would think that this would be common knowledge--as far as I know...it is not.

The process of reimbursement for Volunteer hours after a disaster has long been a question that many national non profits and community based organizations have asked, but due to the ambiguity surrounding whether the work Volunteers do qualifies for reimbursement has been difficult to get a straight answer to. The stories of the millions of dollars Volunteers saved the city of Joplin through meticulous hours tracking and reporting are the stuff of legend, but yet when I have asked for guidance on the process, who to talk to, and ultimately who had the authority to make that determination, I've gotten a variety of answers.

The question(s)
Who can responding organizations go to prior to engaging in cleanup activities to get a clear answer on whether or not the hours worked on private property by Volunteers are eligible for municipal reimbursement under the Stafford Act? In addition, if hours are applicable, what metrics need to be tracked for reporting and who does that reporting go to?

Cost Share
Often referred to as "the soft match," a community can apply the documented value of Voluntary labor for certain activities against the amount they owe the Federal government to offset costs. As an example, if the Federal government is covering 75% of the costs and the municipality 25%, then Voluntary hours could be applied to reduce the financial burden owed by the city. If you want more info on this check out FEMA's Public Assistance Applicant Handbook page 6.

This is a great way to communicate and reinforce the natural desire people have to help a community in need, and to promote the value of affiliating Volunteers with organizations who can provide this added benefit to an impacted municipality. However, the fact remains that few know or understand how to navigate this process, and the perceived nuance that pervade the mechanics of securing a designation and all the requirements that go with it only add to the mystery.

While I could write a lot on the subject, the bottom line is that after reading through FEMA's:

• Debris Removal from Private Property Policy Statement
• Key Sections of the PA Applicant Handbook
• Relevant Sections of the Stafford Act

And speaking with FEMA and reps from impact municipalities, I still don't feel I know what the triggers are to start this process, who on the ground makes that determination (because in my experience it's not the FCO as some of the documentation indicates), if the act of bringing debris to the curb of private property (the majority of the activity Volunteers engage in) is covered, who ultimately to report the information to, and whether or not there is a template that exists that you can give to community's to help them jump start the process.

While this is an esoteric topic, the benefits of gaining clarity around the issue could be far reaching. As previously stated, with the proliferation of spontaneous response groups sprouting up after events, untold numbers of Volunteer hours are going un-reported. If there was a concise way to show the value in following guidelines on tracking Volunteer hours, I believe it would work to bring more groups to the table around a common cause--helping individuals and families while also advancing the goal of community-wide recovery.

If anyone has or can gain insight based on the linked documents, please leave comments...as I am by no means the expert, just someone who knows the importance of gaining clarity around this issue.