The Community Assistance Program, State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) Cooperative Agreement, is a funding mechanism that supports States’ floodplain management efforts and flood reduction measures through local communities’ participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Administered by the Floodplain Management and Insurance (FMI) Branches of each one of the ten FEMA Regional Offices, CAP-SSSE currently disperses an annual total amount of $10.4 million nationally. Some of the CAP-SSSE fundable activities conducted by the State partners are Community Assistance Visits (CAVs), Community Assistance Contacts (CACs), floodplain management ordinance reviews, training, and the provision of technical assistance.
Prior to the application process in fiscal year 2011, FEMA Region IV’s FMI Branch identified a need to establish a more equitable, transparent funding process for State partners in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee to apply for CAP-SSSE funding. This need was identified due to previous negotiated funding levels that were not always commensurate to the floodplain management activities conducted. Beginning with fiscal year 2011 funding, nine core activities were identified and assigned negotiated work hours based on what would take to complete each activity (i.e.; 180 work hours for completion of a CAV). Those core activities are: enrollment of NFIP non-participating communities, CAVs, CACs-visits, CACs-phone, ordinance adoption associated with remapping, floodplain management courses, training and education, general technical assistance, and professional development. An hourly rate was assigned to each State based on the average hourly salary for state personnel conducting the CAP-SSSE activities. As a result, the following formula was developed:
(Work Hours per Activity)x(Quantity of Activity)x(Hourly Rate)= Funding Level per Activity
This formula was then applied to each one of the nine core activities to develop the total annual funding level for each State.
As a result of this newly-instituted Best Practice, State partners now have a more clearly-defined, transparent guidance prior to submittal of their annual CAP-SSSE Scope of Works, which provides an idea of their annual funding level based on their proposed activities. The development of this new funding allocation methodology has saved the federal government more than $550,000.These funds have been returned to FEMA Headquarters for reallocation. The reallocated funds have been used for purposes such as redistribution to States in other FEMA Regions, funding for upgrade and maintenance to the NFIP’s Community Information System (CIS), and return of funds into the national CAP-SSSE funding pool.