The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released its Disaster Recovery Toolkit for Housing Counselors, an online guide to help organizations focused on housing counseling “prepare for and engage with local partners that receive funding following disasters.” The toolkit includes two guides, “Preparing for a Disaster” and “Operating Post Disaster,” that provide… Read more
is one of the most difficult aspects of federal disaster recovery funding for both local stakeholders and citizens to grasp. As a case manager, you will work directly with applicants to help them understand what a DOB is and ensure they don’t have one. The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) homeowner applicants… Read more
is one of the most difficult aspects of federal disaster recovery funding for both local stakeholders and citizens to grasp. It is a federal law that applies to all federal disaster assistance, including from , the , , and the , among others. applicants are more likely to have a DOB because they’ve already received funding… Read more
policies and procedures are critical to program success but can be challenging to develop. Although they can be daunting, as a program administrator it’s important to view them not just as another program requirement, but as a tool for helping your program run smoothly and for accomplishing your recovery goals. The following tips for… Read more
Many first-time grantees and subgrantees are not aware that they can request waivers from to circumvent or alter HUD regulations. Waivers give grantees more flexibility to meet their specific recovery needs, allowing communities to build back stronger and more quickly. These tips provide a basic overview of waivers for program administrators and others involved with… Read more
Whether your community is a grantee or subgrantee of a award, you will be required to complete an unmet needs assessment to help prioritize your recovery projects and determine how your funding will be allocated between housing, economic development, and infrastructure recovery projects. Based on IBTS’s experience conducting unmet needs assessments across the country, IBTS… Read more
Whether your county is a grantee or subgrantee of a award, you will be required to complete an unmet needs assessment to help prioritize your recovery projects and determine how your funding will be allocated to housing, economic development, and infrastructure recovery projects. County administrators play a key role in coordinating with emergency managers and… Read more
Emergency managers often take the lead or assist in collecting data on damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure, government buildings, and more after a natural disaster hits. requires this data to be submitted as part of the unmet needs assessment, which helps prioritize your jurisdiction’s projects and determines how your funding will be allocated between housing, economic… Read more
CDBG-DR monitoring is an important process to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local rules and regulations and to prevent any findings from HUD. IBTS developed this on-site monitoring review checklist for use in Cleveland County, Oklahoma’s, CDBG-DR program, which funded 10 infrastructure projects and other smaller projects. The checklist was strategically designed by IBTS… Read more
Natural disasters are unpredictable and can happen at any time. They often catch homeowners off-guard and unprepared to provide the legal documentation for their home required to begin the reconstruction process. If you are a local agency, NGO, or other agency tasked with preparing your community for natural disasters, it’s important to provide homeowners with… Read more
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