	Introduction

When the President declares a major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the disaster declaration designates the types of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance to be provided. There are three primary types of assistance: Public Assistance (PA), which addresses repairs to a community and state or tribal government infrastructure; Mitigation Assistance (MA), which provides funding for projects a state or tribe proposes to reduce the threat of future damage; and Individual Assistance (IA), which provides help to individuals and households affected by a major disaster. This report provides information on FEMA's IA programs and the factors FEMA uses to determine if IA should be part of a disaster declaration. Individual Assistance Programs

FEMA considers numerous factors (detailed later in this report) when it recommends IA to the President following a major disaster. The program supports short-term counseling of disaster survivors. FEMA may provide manufactured housing units as a form of temporary housing through its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. Other Needs Assistance provides financial assistance for other disaster-related expenses and needs. The factors include
concentration of damages —FEMA evaluates the concentrations of damages to individuals, and high concentrations of damages generally indicate a greater need for federal assistance than widespread or scattered damages throughout an area, region, or state; trauma —FEMA considers the degree of trauma to a state and communities, and some of the conditions that might cause such trauma include large numbers of injuries and death, large-scale disruption of normal community functions and services, and emergency needs such as extended or widespread loss of power or water; special populations —FEMA considers whether special populations, such as low-income, the elderly, or the unemployed are affected, and whether they may have a greater need for assistance; voluntary agency assistance —FEMA considers the extent to which voluntary agencies and state or local programs can meet the needs of the disaster victims; insurance —FEMA considers the amount of insurance coverage in the disaster area because, by law, federal disaster assistance cannot duplicate insurance coverage; and average amount of individual assistance by state —FEMA's regulations state that "[t]here is no set threshold for recommending Individual Assistance, but the following averages [see Table 1 ] may prove useful to States and voluntary agencies as they develop plans and programs to meet the needs of disaster victims." FEMA has yet to finalize the proposed rule.
When the President declares a major disaster pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) advises the President about types of federal assistance administered by FEMA available to disaster victims, states, localities, and tribes. The primary types of assistance provided under a major disaster declaration include funding through the Public Assistance program, Mitigation Assistance programs, and the Individual Assistance program.
The Public Assistance program provides federal financial assistance to repair and rebuild damaged facilities and infrastructure. Mitigation Assistance programs provide funding for jurisdictions, states, and tribes to ensure damaged facilities and infrastructure are rebuilt and reinforced to better withstand future disaster damage. Finally, the Individual Assistance program provides funding for basic needs for individuals and households following a disaster.
Eligible activities under the Individual Assistance program include funding for such things as mass care, crisis counseling, and temporary housing. FEMA advises the President on the type of individual assistance to be granted following each disaster, and works with state and local authorities in determining what assistance programs would best suit the needs within the disaster area. FEMA makes this determination based on a list of criteria designed to align federal disaster assistance with unmet needs in disaster-impacted areas.
This report provides a short summary of the types of individual assistance programs administered by FEMA following a disaster. This report also provides a summary of the criteria FEMA uses in determining which individual assistance programs may be made available to impacted areas following a major disaster declaration, and discusses a proposed rule to change these criteria.