Following a Presidentially declared disaster, FEMA provides financial support and services to disaster survivors and works with state, tribal, local and community partners to help people recover. On March 22, 2024, FEMA released significant reforms to the Individual Assistance program. The process has been simplified, cutting red tape, and removing barriers to provide better access to services for survivors. FEMA has also increased eligibility for certain types of assistance under the program.
To learn more, review this simplified, one-page FEMA fact sheet explaining the reforms:
• English: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_ia-reform-one-pager.pdf
• Spanish: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_ia-reform-one-pager_sp.pdf
In Nebraska, we don’t often experience disasters that meet the threshold for Individual Assistance but when we do, people may come to you with questions about assistance. It is a good idea to become familiar with both Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs. To learn more about Public Assistance Programs (more common in Nebraska), visit https://www.fema.gov/assistance/public (Website in English and Spanish).
Submitted by Soni Cochran, scochran2@unl.edu