FEMA awards additional $7.9 million in disaster management funding to expand recovery assistance for Maui wildfire survivors: Maui Now

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided an additional $7.9 million to the Hawaii Department of Human Services to expand the state's disaster response management program. This additional funding will allow the program to more than double its current reach and serve approximately 3,000 households.

The DCMP matches disaster survivors with specially trained disaster case managers (DCMs) who help them identify and meet their needs through a disaster recovery plan that includes resources, decision priorities, and guidance and tools. The DCMs act as the “quarterback” to support survivors in their recovery and will support survivors for up to five years.

The program has created two branches to best support survivors: a unique Screening, Eligibility, and Outreach Care Navigator branch that contacts survivors, determines program eligibility, and enrolls them; and the DCM branch, which includes the DCMs and related support. The two branches work together to provide immediate support to survivors in their recovery, either through an Outreach Care Navigator or a DCM. This unique framework provides survivors with a trauma-informed continuity of care on their path to recovery.

The DCMP has served more than 3,800 people on Maui. It currently provides critical services to nearly 1,400 survivor households. These additional funds will allow DHS to more than double the DCMP's reach by hiring 20 additional DCMs and 20 additional Outreach Care Navigators. This will increase the number of households the program can serve by approximately 1,700 – bringing the program's total capacity to approximately 3,000 households.

“DHS is proud of the work the DCMP team does every day and to have our efforts recognized by FEMA. These additional funds will help us continue to provide critical services and support to survivors – and ensure we can continue to innovate and keep working to find new ways to support our community at large,” said DHS Deputy Director Trista Speer. “We are grateful to everyone involved, especially Governor Green for his leadership and FEMA for their continued investment in Maui's recovery.”

Survivors interested in DCMP should call 211. A DCMP team member will conduct an intake interview and immediately enroll eligible survivors in the program.