Community Assistance Recovery Support Function

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mission

Coordinate assistance and support from across the federal government and nongovernmental partners to help state, local, Tribal Nation, and territorial governments (SLTTs) effectively plan for and manage their recovery.

Before a Disaster

Building Capacity

• Promote collaborative approaches to disaster recovery and bolster SLTT capacity to develop pre-disaster recovery plans.
  
  Example: Leading FEMA’s participation and support of the Pre-Disaster Housing Initiative (PDHI) to help states identify and address pre-existing housing issues to expedite housing recovery.

• Provide tools and trainings to support pre-disaster recovery planning and management support.

Partnership Development

• Identify, connect, and coordinate federal, SLTT, and nongovernmental partners and resources.
  
  Example: Hosting the Colorado United recovery symposium in federal/state partnership to share lessons learned, build local partnerships, identify resources and bring together community leaders.

• Conduct outreach on Community Assistance Recovery Support Function offerings and capabilities.

Planning and Preparedness

• Support the development of SLTT pre- and post-disaster recovery plans and capacity.
  
  Example: Issuing pre-disaster recovery planning guides for Tribal Nation, state, and local partners.

Technical Assistance, Tools, and Training

• Develop tools and materials for SLTTs to utilize in planning, managing and leading their recovery.
  
  Example: The Community Recovery Management Toolkit.

After a Disaster

Building Capacity

• Assist SLTTs with identifying management needs and resources.

• Support SLTTs in accessing resources, trainings, partners and other experts to build their management capacity and capability to manage recovery process and resources.

• Advise and support the development and implementation of strategies to restore community planning and management capacity.

Partnership Development

• Provide connections to peer mentors, advisors, and networks for community recovery advice and guidance from experienced leaders.
  
  Example: Utilizing peer connections to current and prior community leaders to bring lessons and experience from their disaster recovery.

• Promote whole community recovery.
  
  Example: Providing resources, such as FEMA’s local recovery guides, to inform SLTT leaders and officials.

• Conduct public engagement and outreach, such as resource fairs, community meetings, conferences, and public forums.
  
  Example: Supporting agricultural and farm recovery centers, hosting community listening sessions, and supporting housing and other issue area resource fairs

Planning and Preparedness

• Facilitate community visioning sessions for long-term resilient recovery.
  
  Example: Assisting communities with developing action-oriented recovery plans, with specific implementation steps and project goals.

• Support outreach and engagement of the whole community in the recovery planning process.
  
  Example: Facilitating community engagement in coordination with community leaders, and preparing community engagement summary reports.

Technical Assistance, Tools, and Training

• Provide planning technical assistance, direct support, and / or guidance, and assist SLTTs with identifying potential funding and resources for plan implementation.
  
  Example: Assisting communities with developing long-term recovery plans.

• Provide technical assistance such as technical advisory support, impact analyses, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyses.

• Host peer-to-peer training for SLTT partners regarding disaster recovery processes, planning, and capacity considerations.
  
  Example: Developing and hosting Just in Time Recovery Management Training series.

Participating Agencies and Organizations