Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP)

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The CCP helps individuals and communities recover from natural and human-caused disasters through community outreach and access to mental health services.

About the CCP

The CCP is a short-term disaster relief grant for states, U.S. territories, and federally recognized tribes. CCP grants are awarded after a presidential disaster declaration. CCP funding supports community-based outreach, counseling, and other mental health services to survivors of natural and human-caused disasters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds and implements the CCP as a supplemental assistance program to support mental health assistance and training activities in presidentially declared major disaster areas.

Through an interagency agreement, the Emergency Mental Health and Traumatic Stress Services Branch of the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) works with FEMA to provide technical assistance, consultation, and training for state and local mental health personnel. CMHS also is responsible for CCP grant administration and program oversight.

Types of CCP Grants

The CCP provides supplemental funding to state, territory, or tribal mental health authorities through two grant programs:

To learn more about program milestones and managing a CCP, access the CCP Resource Toolkit.

CCP Goals and Principles

The CCP helps people recover and rebuild their lives after a disaster. The CCP supports short-term interventions that involve the following counseling goals:

  • Helping disaster survivors understand their current situation and reactions
  • Reducing stress and providing emotional support
  • Assisting survivors in reviewing their disaster recovery options
  • Promoting the use or development of coping strategies
  • Connecting survivors with other people and agencies who can help them in their recovery process

The CCP follows key principles that make it different from other survivor support programs. The CCP is:

  • Strengths-based: CCP services promote resilience, empowerment, and recovery.
  • Anonymous: Crisis counselors do not classify, label, or diagnose people. No records or case files are kept.
  • Outreach-oriented: Crisis counselors deliver services in the communities rather than wait for survivors to seek their assistance.
  • Conducted in nontraditional settings: Crisis counselors make contact in homes and communities, not in clinical or office settings.
  • Designed to strengthen existing community support systems: The CCP supplements, but does not end or replace, existing community systems.

CCP Services

The CCP offers services to disaster survivors in their homes, shelters, temporary living sites, or houses of worship. Funded CCP services include:

  • Individual and group crisis counseling
  • Basic supportive or educational contact
  • Community networking and support
  • Assessments, referrals, and resources
  • Development and distribution of educational materials
  • Media and public service announcements

Services are expected to transition from the CCP to existing community resources as the program phases out.

Learn more about the program’s mission and services in the CCP Brochure – 2009 (PDF | 226 KB).

Disaster Response Template Toolkit

The Disaster Response Template Toolkit is a helpful resource for CCPs and other disaster behavioral health programs. The toolkit includes print materials, website and social media content, and multimedia materials that can be used during outreach and recovery efforts. Also available are sample materials and online tools used in previous disasters across the country. The templates can be adapted, as needed, for use in any community’s program. To access the toolkit, visit Disaster Response Template.

Last Updated: 04/14/2022