Public Assistance support for cities, counties, school districts, special districts, private nonprofits, and the recovery primes that serve them. Project worksheets across Categories A through G, Section 312 insurance reconciliation, Section 406 mitigation, appeals, and closeout, directed by an Executive General Adjuster who has worked both sides of the grant and the claim.
Finance directors, emergency managers, facilities staff and capture managers usually call with one of these.
The Request for Public Assistance, the damage inventory, and the first cost records set up everything that follows. Getting the facility list and insurance schedule right in week one prevents most later disputes.
Early recovery supportSection 312 lets FEMA deduct anticipated proceeds, not only what was paid. The fix is a facility-by-facility reconciliation that separates what the policy covers from what it does not.
How Section 312 worksUsually a documentation gap: damage description and dimensions, cost basis, or the version of the Public Assistance policy guide that applies to the declaration date.
Project developmentMost clawbacks trace to procurement records or insurance reconciliation that was never documented while the recovery was live. Appeals have deadlines, so the record has to be rebuilt quickly.
Appeals and closeoutA Native American owned small business with catastrophe claims depth, available as a subcontractor or teaming partner on state and federal Public Assistance task orders.
Subcontracting and teamingTribal governments can request their own declaration and carry different thresholds and cost share rules. That work has its own page.
Tribal disaster recoveryAfter a major disaster or emergency declaration, FEMA Public Assistance reimburses eligible applicants for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair or replacement of public facilities. The federal share is at least 75 percent of eligible cost. The state, or a tribal government acting as recipient, passes the grant through to local subrecipients.
Eligibility has four parts: the applicant, the facility, the work, and the cost. Each has to be documented to the version of the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in effect on the declaration date. Work is organized into seven categories: debris removal (A), emergency protective measures (B), roads and bridges (C), water control facilities (D), buildings and equipment (E), utilities (F), and parks, recreational and other facilities (G).
The part most applicants underestimate is insurance. Many of the same buildings are also covered by a property policy, and federal law does not allow both to pay for the same damage. Most grant consultants have never adjusted a loss, and most adjusters have never written a project worksheet. This firm does both.
Available directly to applicants and recipients, or as a subcontractor to the prime on a state or federal task order.
Early-recovery setup: the Request for Public Assistance, the facility list, the damage inventory, the insurance schedule, and the cost-tracking structure. The first 60 days decide how clean the rest of the recovery will be.
Damage description and dimensions, scope of work, and cost estimates for emergency and permanent work, written to the policy guide that governs the declaration. Site inspection support, force account and contract cost documentation, and Grants Portal management.
The firm's signature discipline. Carrier settlements reconciled against each project scope, facility by facility, including anticipated proceeds, deductibles, and the obtain-and-maintain insurance requirement that attaches to repaired facilities.
Cost-effective mitigation added to permanent work while the facility is being repaired. Identified during project development, not after, so the measures are funded as part of the repair rather than lost.
Review of contracts and procurement files against 2 CFR 200.318 through 200.327 before they reach a FEMA reviewer or an auditor. Procurement findings are one of the most common reasons for reduced funding.
First and second appeals, arbitration where eligible, closeout packages, and support through Office of Inspector General and single audits. Includes rebuilding the record on recoveries that were run in-house.
Specialist capacity for firms holding Public Assistance technical assistance or state recovery contracts: insurance reconciliation, cost review, large-facility scoping, and licensed field staff. Small, disadvantaged and Indian Economic Enterprise standing supports utilization goals.
Pre-positioned agreements competed under your own procurement rules and activated only when a disaster occurs, so the firm is under contract before the first damage report.
| NAICS | Description | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 541611 | Administrative and General Management Consulting Services | Primary here |
| 541618 | Other Management Consulting Services | Secondary |
| 624230 | Emergency and Other Relief Services | Secondary |
| 524291 | Claims Adjusting | Firm primary |
Public Assistance does not require a mitigation plan, but the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program money that a declaration opens does. See local hazard mitigation plans.
The policy version that applies is the one in effect on the declaration date, not the newest one.
Any Public Assistance applicant: state agencies, counties, cities, towns, school districts, special districts, utilities, tribal governments, and eligible private nonprofits. Prime contractors holding state or FEMA technical assistance contracts also bring in specialist subcontractors for insurance, cost and closeout work.
Often, yes. Grant administration may be reimbursable as management costs under Section 324 of the Stafford Act, and some consultant work on a specific project can be billed to that project. The work has to be procured under the federal procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.318 through 200.327, and cost-plus-percentage-of-cost contracts are not allowed. Check eligibility for your declaration with your state recipient before you rely on it.
Section 312 of the Stafford Act prohibits duplication of benefits. FEMA reduces eligible cost by actual and anticipated insurance proceeds for the same damage, and it can require the applicant to obtain and maintain insurance on the repaired facility as a condition of future assistance. A facility-by-facility reconciliation between the claim and the project scope is what keeps obligated funding from being cut at closeout. Read how Section 312 works.
An applicant generally has 30 days from the date its area is designated to submit a Request for Public Assistance, and 60 days from the Recovery Scoping Meeting to identify and report damage. Extensions are possible but not automatic, so documentation has to start in the first weeks.
Not always. Critical-service nonprofits can apply directly for permanent work. Other eligible nonprofits generally must apply to the SBA for a disaster loan before FEMA will consider permanent work. Emergency work under Categories A and B does not carry that requirement.
The applicant can file a first appeal, generally within 60 days of receiving the determination, and then a second appeal. Some disputes qualify for arbitration under Section 423 of the Stafford Act instead. The outcome depends almost entirely on the documentation in the project record.
Applicants, state recipients, and prime contractors can reach the firm directly about an open declaration, a stalled project, an appeal, or teaming on a bid.
Okla Risk Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. The firm does not act as a public adjuster and does not represent policyholders. The firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by FEMA, DHS, SBA, BIA, IHS, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, or any other government or tribal government. Indian Economic Enterprise status is self-certified under the Buy Indian Act and the SBA 8(a) application is pending. Read the full disclosures.