FEMA Financial Support
New Policies & Guidance
Planning During a Pandemic
FEMA Administrator Letters
Supporting Reopening
Pro Association Resources
Tribal Governments
Defense Production Act
National Guard Activation
On March 13, 2020, the President declared a nationwide emergency for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for all states, tribes, territories, and the District of Columbia under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
Financial Support
State, local, tribal, and territorial government entities and certain private non-profit organizations can apply for Public Assistance (PA) reimbursements for emergency protective measures taken during the pandemic.
- Review the simplified steps to apply for Public Assistance (PA) grants and apply online.
- Get guidance on how other sources of COVID-19 relief funding can be used to meet the non-federal cost share requirement for FEMA public assistance.
- Find information about programs from other federal departments and agencies that support COVID-19 pandemic recovery in our COVID-19 Resource Summary report.
- Get help navigating some of the challenges and resources available to address the COVID-19 pandemic with our resource roadmaps.
In the Process of Applying for a FEMA Grant?
Review COVID-19 supplemental funding opportunities for Fiscal Year 2020:
Get the latest information on funding opportunities and answers to frequently asked questions.
Already Have a FEMA Grant?
Learn about additional flexibilities (exceptions) to provide administrative relief to financial assistance recipients affected by the loss of operational capacity and increased costs due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Get help implementing good financial management for COVID-19 and other incident response and recovery with our new Disaster Financial Management Guide and accompanying Fact Sheet.
New Policies and Guidance
Review a list of COVID-19 Public Assistance guidance documents, including those highlighted in this section.
Learn how the federal government is coordinating support for COVID-19 vaccination, sources of federal funding and answers to other frequently asked questions about vaccination planning.
Read the interim policy that provides a framework, details, and requirements for determining eligibility of work and costs under the Public Assistance program.
Read the guidance on eligible emergency protective measures that may be reimbursed under the Public Assistance program.
Review the types of emergency medical care eligible for public assistance reimbursements.
Learn how to apply for a grant award to administer supplemental payments for lost wages.
Understand the rules for using FEMA funds to contract emergency response services and exceptions that apply under exigent or emergency circumstances.
Learn about non-congregate sheltering and assistance for evacuation & sheltering under an emergency declaration during COVID-19.
Read the policy on purchasing and distributing food as an emergency protective measure during COVID-19 and review new guidance from FEMA and HHS on meeting nutritional needs for at-risk individuals.
Planning During a Pandemic
Use these guides, tools and templates to develop plans to respond to all hazards during COVID-19.
Visit our Best Practices page for more information on how communities across the country have responded to the pandemic.
Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season
Prepare response and recovery actions for all hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Download the Guide
Reconstituting Operations
Get help deciding when and how to resume operations while protecting the well-being and safety of your employees and communities.
Fact Sheet
Exercise Starter Kit
Health Department Resources
Find resources from the CDC and other organizations that help identify new cases, break chains of transmission, and protect first responders and health care workers from infection.
CDC Resource Page
Healthcare Planning Resources
The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is sharing healthcare planning resources for COVID-19 response and recovery.
TRACIE Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Information Gateway
Mass Care/Emergency Assistance Pandemic Planning
Guidance for developing mass care and emergency assistance plans associated with a pandemic.
Download the Guide
Personal Assistance Services Addendum
Provides guidance and promising practices to assist state, local, tribal and territorial partners, and shelter planners and operators, in anticipating and attending to the needs of people with disabilities.
Preparedness in a Pandemic
Conduct your own virtual planning workshop, exercise or tabletop to discuss your preparedness, response and recovery capabilities during a pandemic.
Exercise Starter Kit
FEMA Administrator Letters
Read FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor’s letters to emergency managers about critical steps to take in this whole-of-America crisis response.
Supporting Reopening
FEMA, HHS and federal partners are supporting the White House Guidelines to Opening Up America Again with resources and programs:
Testing
- FEMA and HHS simplified the process for states and territories to help public health labs access free diagnostics supplies and reagents for COVID-19 testing through CDC’s International Reagent Resource.
- To support the Testing Blueprint, FEMA delivered testing materials to states, territories and tribes to help increase testing capacity and support reopening plans.
- HHS provides information on community based testing sites across the country, with locations organized by state.
Patient Care
- The FDA launched the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP) to speed approval of drugs and therapies and has issued numerous emergency use authorizations for manufacturers and laboratories.
- FEMA and HHS have released an Alternate Care Site toolkit and fact sheet with guidance and technical assistance on establishing sites to care for COVID-19 patients.
- FEMA delivered medical supplies to nearly 15,000 Medicaid and Medicare-certified nursing homes.
Professional Association Resources
Find COVID-19 specific resource pages with organizations that support state and local governments:
- Council of State Governments
- Government Finance Officers Association
- International City County Management Association
- International Public Management Association for Human Resources
- National Association of Counties
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- National Emergency Management Association
- National Governors Association
- National League of Cities
- Native American Finance Officers Association
- Pacific Disaster Center
- US Conference of Mayors
Tribal Governments
Federally recognized tribal governments have several options for COVID-19 related FEMA assistance.
- Public assistance may be requested under the nationwide emergency declaration or through a major disaster declaration.
- Crisis counseling is available to states that meet certain criteria. Tribal members that live inside those states will have access.
Each of the ten FEMA regions has Regional Tribal Liaisons to coordinate and connect tribes with FEMA leadership and program subject matter experts for information, technical assistance and resources.
Learn More
Defense Production Act
The Defense Production Act (DPA) gives the President the authority to work with the private sector to prioritize federal government contracts and to allocate materials to aid the national defense, including emergency response and preparedness activities.
President Trump issued an Executive Order on March 18 and a memorandum on April 3 outlining use of the Defense Production Act in response to COVID-19. Since then, the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) has rated contracts under the DPA to multiple companies for ventilators and FEMA has also issued a DPA enabled production order to 3M for 10 million N95 respirators.
Learn More
National Guard Activation Under Title 32
On March 22, President Trump directed the Secretary of Defense to permit full federal reimbursement through FEMA for states’ use of their National Guard forces until August 21, 2020.
On August 3, 2020, President Trump issued three memoranda extending his authorization of Federal Title 32 status for National Guard deployments in 49 states and territories in support of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic response. The extensions are valid from August 22, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
The President’s action provides Governors continued command of their National Guard forces, while being federally funded under Title 32. Each state’s National Guard is still under the authority of the Governor and is working in concert with the Department of Defense.
