ALTADENA, Calif. — Eighteen days after LA fire survivors, disaster case management providers, and long-term recovery groups first called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay the Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) funding it already approved, the money still has not arrived. The program will shut down on Wednesday, September 30, unless FEMA acts.

 

FEMA approved $13 million for California's DCMP, but has paid only $3 million. The remaining $10 million has not been released, and FEMA has denied the California Department of Social Services' request for roughly $6 million in supplemental funding to keep the program running.

As of September 25, Rep. Judy Chu's office reported that FEMA has not responded to their inquiries and has given no payment date. In a September 12 television interview, Rep. Chu said FEMA's regional leadership had indicated it intends to release the $10 million but that other cases were ahead of it in the pipeline. Survivors and providers say that a promise to wait in a queue does not keep a case manager on the job.

 

This week, Rep. Chu again demanded that FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton take immediate action to stop the shutdown and release the funding. "Our communities' survival is not up for debate," Rep. Chu said.

 

"It's been eighteen days since we asked FEMA to keep its word, and we still don't have a payment date," said Bree Jensen, Public Information Officer for the Eaton Fire Collaborative. "This money is approved. It isn't someday money or queue money. Case managers are the people survivors call when they don't know where else to turn. In four days, those calls go unanswered. FEMA needs to pay the promise now."

 

The warning for the next disaster still stands. FEMA's September 29 deadline for Washington state's wildfire major disaster declaration application falls one day before California's DCMP ends. If FEMA won't fully honor a disaster case management commitment it already approved for Los Angeles County, advocates warn, no community should assume that promise will be kept.

 

Since January 2025, disaster case management referrals have unlocked more than $100 million in direct assistance for LA fire survivors. Two in three survivors remain displaced, including 85% of those who lost their homes entirely.

 

The ask remains the same: FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin must immediately release the remaining $10 million already allocated to California and reverse the denial of supplemental funding so survivors don't lose their case managers before their recovery is done.

 

Survivors, case managers, and provider representatives are available for interviews.

 

 

The Disaster Case Management Program was established under Presidential Major Disaster Declaration DR-4856 to serve survivors of the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires. It is administered by the California Department of Social Services and delivered by Catholic Charities of California, CORE, Little Tokyo Service Center, and Jewish Family Services LA, in coordination with Los Angeles County's Long-Term Recovery Groups.

 

Bree Jensen, Public Information Officer, Eaton Fire Collaborative

communications@efclc.org