Emergency Food And Shelter Program Overview For 2005
Release Date: December 20, 2004
Release Number: R3-04-FactSheet2
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today the awarding of $153 million for homeless aid in 2005 that marks the twenty-second year Congress has appropriated federal funds for the Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program. The funding will help support social service agencies for the poor and homeless in more than 2,500 cities and counties across the country in the coming year. With the 2005 awards, more than $2.65 billion will have been provided for this nationwide program to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster related emergencies.
The EFS Program is administered by a national board of volunteer agencies chaired by FEMA and composed of representatives from American Red Cross; Catholic Charities, USA; United Jewish Communities; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Salvation Army; and United Way of America.
Under the program’s operating plan, the national board is responsible for selecting jurisdictions for annual EFS awards and disbursing the funds to non-profit community and government agencies that are chosen by local boards in the qualifying jurisdictions. In addition to allocating funds, the local boards advertise the availability of awards, establish priorities among community needs and monitor program compliance.
In each of the past few years, more than 11,500 local agencies nationwide have been funded through the EFS Program. The funds are used for mass shelter and feeding, food distribution through food banks and pantries, one-month utility payments to prevent service disconnections, and one-month rent or mortgage assistance to prevent evictions or help people leaving shelters to establish stable living conditions. They also can be used to rehabilitate existing shelters or feeding facilities to make them safe and sanitary and bring them into compliance with local building codes.
The national board qualifies jurisdictions for EFS funds each year based on a formula involving current population, unemployment and poverty levels. Those selected for funding in 2005 were:
- Jurisdictions with 13,000 or more unemployed and a 4.7 percent rate of unemployment.
- Jurisdictions with 300 to 12,999 unemployed and a 6.7 percent rate of unemployment.
- Jurisdictions with 300 or more unemployed and an 11 percent rate of poverty.
In addition to direct funding awards, eight percent of the total EFS appropriation for 2005 has been set aside by the national board for state grants to non-qualifying jurisdictions. The grants are administered in each state by a State Set-Aside Committee, which gives priority consideration to jurisdictions that:
- Have previously qualified for the program, but no longer meet the established formula and demonstrate high levels of need;
- Have unusually high levels of unemployment and poverty, but do not meet the minimum unemployed criteria;
- Have pockets of homelessness or poverty and do not qualify for direct funding; or
- Have experienced recent adverse economic changes, such as plant and business closings.
EFS funds were first authorized by Congress in 1983 and are currently appropriated annually through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
A state-by-state list of the eligible jurisdictions and award amounts for 2005 is available at www.efsp.unitedway.org and www.fema.gov/efs2005.shtm
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 24-Jan-2006 13:31:50