DHS ANNOUNCES FOUR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS AWARDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISASTER CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Posted on Feb 17, 2024 in Featured, Main, NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2024

DHS ANNOUNCES FOUR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS AWARDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISASTER CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Honolulu, HI – The Department of Human Services Disaster Case Management Program (DHS DCMP) is a time-limited Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded program that connects survivors of disasters with specially trained case managers to help assess and address their needs and develop a unique disaster recovery plan for each survivor household and works to connect each survivor with referrals for resources to meet each of those identified unmet needs, identify decision-making priorities, provide guidance, and other tools so the survivor can work towards recovery.

DHS is pleased to announce it has partnered with the leading national expert in disaster case management services, St. Vincent DePaul (SVDP), to assist in providing this comprehensive disaster recovery service. Together, DHS and SVDP hosted multiple community meetings and presented the DHS DCMP to dozens of organizations to solicit their application to participate in this program. After a comprehensive review, DHS is DHS is proud to announce the four Community Based Organizations (CBOs) that have been awarded the opportunity to participate in the FEMA Funded DHS Disaster Case Management Program:

  • Catholic Charities Hawai’i
  • Family Promise Hawai’i
  • Family Life Center
  • Aloha House

DHS will host a kickoff meeting with SVDP and the selected CBOs on February 21, 2024, and together all parties involved look forward to launching this comprehensive recovery service.

The DHS DCMP is an expansion of the current interim DCMP. In total, the DHS DCMP will offer services to all survivors who are impacted by the Maui wildfires, regardless of their FEMA eligibility or application status. In total, the $17.2M FEMA grant will fund a comprehensive program that will include total of 36 Disaster Case Managers (DCMs) across these four (4) CBOs to provide disaster recovery services to a maximum of 1,260 households.

A DCM will serve as a survivor’s “quarterback” for the next 2-5 years, assisting the survivor to develop a unique and comprehensive recovery plan, and then assisting the survivor with connecting with the referrals and resources that are right for the survivor to meet those needs.

Below is a summary of the key dates of this DCMP application process:

  • September 20, 2023 – Grant application submitted by DHS.
  • November 13, 2023 – Interim DCMP launched.
  • November 17, 2023 – Grant approval by FEMA received.
  • February 21, 2024 – DHS DCMP launch.
  • Period of performance – August 10, 2023 – August 10, 2025.

“We are incredibly proud to be a national leader in launching the interim DCMP to provide these crucial services, and equally as proud to be among the fastest in the nation to have applied for and received a DCMP grant award from FEMA. We are thankful for FEMA and the community’s support of this groundbreaking program and look forward to continuing to expand it so that all impacted survivors are able to receive the help they need,” said DHS Director Cathy Betts.

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Program Contact:
[email protected]

DHS Maui Recovery Program and Media Contact:
Sheri Kajiwara
Department of Human Services
Email: [email protected]