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Request for Public Assistance

Appeal Brief Appeal Letter

Appeal Brief

DisasterFEMA-1603-DR
ApplicantJunior Achievement of Greater New Orleans
Appeal TypeSecond
PA ID#xxx-xxxxx
PW ID#xxxx
Date Signed2008-08-27T04:00:00

Citation:

FEMA-1603-DR-LA, Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans-
 

Summary:

The Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans (JAGNO) submitted its RPA to the State on January, 5, 2007, over 10 months after the established deadline of March 22, 2007. The applicant is requesting consideration as an eligible educational PNP, as well as reconsideration for its extenuating circumstances it experienced after Katrina. While JAGNO provided additional information and examples of programs and activities it provides, it did not establish that it is an eligible PNP with eligible functions.
 

Issues:

1. Has JAGNO provided information to support its Request for Public Assistance after the regulatory application deadline?

2. Did JAGNO demonstrate that it met PNP eligibility criteria?
 

Findings:

1. No.

2. No.
 

Rationale:

44 CFR §206.221; Response and Recovery Policy 9521.3,
Private Nonprofit (PNP) Facility Eligibility, dated May 23, 2003

Appeal Letter

August 27, 2008

Colonel Thomas Kirkpatrick (Retired)
State Coordinating Officer
Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
415 North 15th Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802

Re: Second Appeal–Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans,
Request for Public Assistance, FEMA–1603-DR-LA
Dear Colonel Kirkpatrick:

This letter is in response to your letter dated April 4, 2008, which transmitted the referenced second appeal of the Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans (JAGNO). JAGNO is appealing the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) decision not to accept its Request for Public Assistance (RPA), which was submitted after the regulatory application deadline.

JAGNO is a private nonprofit (PNP) organization that provides a variety of services that introduce students in New Orleans to economic concepts that enhance their understanding of the world around them, apply basic skills, think critically and solve complex problems. JAGNO submitted its RPA to the State on January 5, 2007. FEMA did not accept the RPA because JAGNO submitted it over 10 months after the March 1, 2006, deadline for submitting RPAs. In its first appeal dated March 22, 2007, JAGNO claimed that it experienced extenuating circumstances because FEMA representatives misinformed it numerous times about the FEMA Public Assistance application process. The Regional Administrator concluded in a letter dated November 26, 2007, that JAGNO did not demonstrate extenuating circumstances that were sufficient to warrant the late submission of the RPA. In addition, the Regional Administrator determined that JAGNO did not provide the type of services that would make it eligible for Public Assistance.

In its second appeal, JAGNO gave additional examples to reiterate its extenuating circumstances as well as claimed eligibility as an educational PNP. JAGNO provided examples of its activities and programs, explained agreements with New Orleans Public Schools, and clarified the organization’s mission. On July 21, 2008, the Director of the Public Assistance Division met in Washington, D.C., with representatives of JAGNO and the State Coordinating Officer to discuss the appeal.

I have reviewed all information submitted with the second appeal, as well as the information discussed on July 21, 2008, and have determined that JAGNO did not provide compelling information to justify submitting its RPA more than 10 months after the regulatory deadline. In addition, JAGNO is not an eligible educational institution because it does not meet the requirements of 44 CFR §206.221(a). Therefore, I support the Regional Administrator’s decision in the first appeal. Accordingly, I am denying the second appeal.

Please inform the JAGNO of my determination. This determination is the final decision on this matter pursuant to 44 CFR §206.206.

Sincerely,
/s/

Carlos J. Castillo
Assistant Administrator
Disaster Assistance Directorate

cc: William Peterson
Regional Administrator
FEMA Region VI