The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFS) is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), making the program somewhat unique in that its purpose is outside of the agency's traditional focus on preparedness and disaster recovery for individual disaster events. For most of its history, the program's funding has generally increased during times of high unemployment and decreased as the unemployment rate declined. However, in recent years, the program's funding has been reduced. In FY2008, the program received an appropriation of $200 million. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ( P.L. 111-5 , ARRA) temporarily increased the EFS program's funding to $300 million for FY2009. Since then, the program has received an appropriation of $200 million for FY2010, $120 million for FY2012, and $120 million for FY2012. Congressional interest in the EFS program has increased in recent years, primarily because the program's authorization expired in 1994 and it has been operating under authority provided by appropriations. Also, delays in distributing funds over the last two fiscal years have caused uncertainty among recipient organizations. This report opens with a legislative history of the EFS program. It then examines the program's current structure and operations, including the composition and responsibilities of the EFS National Board (hereinafter National Board), which is chaired by FEMA, the formula the National Board uses to allocate available funds to eligible local jurisdictions, and the composition and responsibilities of EFS local boards. The bill was similar in structure to the charities' proposal, and included the establishment of a National Board chaired by FEMA (FEMA was then an independent agency and is now within the Department of Homeland Security) and comprised of representatives from six non-governmental organizations associated with the provision of homeless services: the American Red Cross; Catholic Charities USA; the National Council of the Churches of Christ; The Salvation Army; the Council of Jewish Federations; and United Way of America. States would then determine how to distribute the funds among its local jurisdictions. EFS program funds were, and continue to be, used to supplement mass sheltering and feeding facilities, to provide one month's rent or mortgage to prevent evictions and foreclosures, and to provide one month's utility payments to prevent the cut-offs of utility services. Given the absence of reliable counts of the homeless and the lack of consensus concerning how to measure the need for assistance among the homeless and hungry, the EFS National Board created a formula, using unemployment and poverty statistics, to determine the amount of funding to be awarded directly to communities across the nation. The EFS program received statutory authorization in 1987 ( P.L. 100-77 , the Stewart B. McKinney-Bruce Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Title III ─ McKinney-Vento Act). Since then, the program has received an appropriation of $200 million for FY2010, $120 million for FY2012, and $120 million for FY2012 (see Table A -1 for annual amounts). The law also requires Local Boards to include a homeless or formally homeless representative on the Local Board. The EFS program has provided funding to social service providers for many years, but its funding has not focused on any one social services agency, or group of agencies. Also, if that state has not received the statutorily required minimum award of $250,000 through the direct award process, that state's SSA Committee may receive an amount to bring that state up to the minimum figure. The National Board announced its FY2012 awards on August 15, 2012, more than seven months after the final appropriations act for FY2102 ( P.L. Because the program's funding declined in FY2011, and the unemployment formula changed, some large jurisdictions did not receive a direct award for the first time in many years. These significant delays in distributing funds are in contravention of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act which requires:
Not later than 30 days following the date on which appropriations become available to carry out this part, the Director shall award a grant for the full amount that the Congress appropriates for the program under this part to the National Board for the purpose of providing emergency food and shelter to needy individuals through private nonprofit organizations and local governments in accordance with section 11343 of this title. EFS Administrative Budget

As mentioned previously, the EFS program is currently operating under authority provided by annual appropriations acts and those acts have limited the program's administrative budget to no more than 3.5% of available funding, compared to no more than 5% under the McKinney-Vento Act.
The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board (EFS) Program provides supplemental funding to homeless services providers across the nation. EFS was first authorized by P.L. 100-77, the Stewart B. McKinney-Bruce Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Title III, McKinney-Vento Act), which became law in 1987. Eligible services include the provision of overnight shelter and served meals, assistance to food banks and pantries, one month's rental or mortgage assistance to prevent evictions, and one month's utility payments to prevent service cut-offs.
Since its inception, the program's recipient organizations have provided over 2 billion meals, 241 million nights of shelter, 4.3 million rent and mortgage payments, and 5.9 million utility payments. The program is administered by the EFS National Board, which is chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and is comprised of representatives from the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, the National Council of Churches, the Salvation Army, the Jewish Federations of North America, and United Way Worldwide. Two of the program's distinguishing features are its focus on local decision-making, and its relatively modest administrative costs.
The program was last authorized in 1994, and has been operating under authority provided by annual appropriations acts. In the past, its funding has generally increased during times of high unemployment and decreased as the unemployment rate declined. For example, in FY2009, the program received an appropriation of $200 million. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5, ARRA) then temporarily increased the EFS program's funding to $300 million for FY2009. In more recent years, the program's funding has declined. The program received an appropriation of $200 million for FY2010, $120 million for FY2011, and $120 million for FY2012. Under the full-year Continuing Resolution (CR, P.L. 113-6) for FY2013, the EFS program is scheduled to receive just under $120 million; however, with sequester amounts not yet confirmed the final amount could be less than that.
Although legislation providing EFS an appropriation of $120 million for FY2012 was signed into law on December 23, 2011, the distribution of the program's funds did not begin until August 15, 2012, the latest award distribution date in the program's history. FY2011 was also a notable year for the program because the EFS National Board changed its distribution formulas, resulting in some large jurisdictions not receiving direct funding for the first time.
The National Board's distribution formula uses unemployment and poverty statistics to determine amounts awarded directly to communities across the nation. After notifying jurisdictions of the amount that they will be receiving, EFS Local Boards, comprised of local affiliates of the organizations represented on the National Board, at least one homeless or previously homeless person, and representatives of local government, are convened. Local Boards advertise the availability of funds, accept applications for funding, and determine which local agencies to fund and how the funds are to be used. The National Board also provides funding to State Set-aside Committees (SSA) which provide funding to jurisdictions with significant needs that may not have qualified under the National Board's formula, or to further supplement funding to jurisdictions that received a direct award. Each state, through direct awards and SSA, receives a minimum of $250,000.
EFS, originally envisioned as a one-time emergency program, has distributed more than $3.9 billion to over 2,500 local jurisdictions and more than 12,000 local service organizations (both non-profit and governmental).
The EFS program's rules and processes emphasize fast response, local decision-making, and local accountability. Some federal programs have emulated its local board approach for decision-making on the use of resources for programs for the homeless. Over the last decade, congressional oversight has occurred through annual appropriations hearings on FEMA in general.
This report examines the administrative history of the program, the evolution of its award process, and the issues that Congress may consider as the EFS program approaches its fourth decade. In particular, the report highlights recent program delays in funding and, in general, how the EFS program and its emphasis on emergency services fit into the context of the federal government's approach to addressing homelessness.