The team remained focused on developing trauma-informed approach tools for Federal staff serving disaster survivors in their communities after natural disasters. The team co-created a workshop program, an implementation guidebook, a course guidebook, and three videos for Federal staff. The team piloted the resources with over 350 disaster recovery staff from more than four Federal agencies. Careful attention was given to the training materials and the learning environment to ensure a meaningful experience, and feedback from staff overwhelmingly favored in-person training over virtual delivery. Post-training surveys revealed that over 90% of participants reported a significant shift in their understanding of the communities they serve after attending the workshop. The workshop’s three modules covered: (1) Recognizing different forms of trauma and understanding how staff may experience trauma themselves; (2) Learning practical skills for improving interactions with survivors, such as listening without judgment, building trust, and creating a sense of safety; and (3) Learning tools for self-care, stress management, and seeking support.

In addition, the team continued research on the survivor experience at Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) with the goal to identify opportunities and approaches to enhance on-the-ground support and integrate trauma-informed approaches. In addition, the team partnered with the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) in the General Services Administration to conduct a descriptive study to examine disaster survivor visits to DRCs.

See the 2024 project evaluation plan to learn about the project measures and methods.

Early in project development, the team learned that disaster recovery staff across agencies are committed to improving their skills in working with survivors. The team co-created three training modules focused on the basics of trauma-informed care; working with survivors; and taking care of oneself when recovering from a disaster. The team piloted in-person training modules in FEMA Region 2, created prototypes of three videos, and produced an accompanying guidebook.

In a site visit to a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Vermont, the team learned first-hand from survivors about their challenges in obtaining Federal assistance. Survivors communicated that engaging with DRC staff helps overcome obstacles in the process. The team discovered that DRC staff are not trained in trauma-informed care or working with survivors, however. Federal staff also struggle to cope with the primary and secondary traumatic stress that may result from doing this work. The team believes that improvements in agencies’ work with disaster survivors will require agencies and front-line staff to integrate trauma-informed care principles and skills into their practices.

Many disaster survivors experience administrative burdens when they apply for Federal assistance. Applying for benefits and requesting services from multiple agencies and aid organizations can be repetitive, tiresome, and re-traumatizing, diverting time and attention from critical recovery tasks. Building on the initial phase of the Holistic Burden Assessment initiative, the team co-developed a toolkit to help agencies assess and measure administrative burdens. This toolkit was piloted with six Federal agencies, leading to several refinements to enhance its usability and functionality, producing a beta version of the toolkit.

See the 2024 project evaluation plan to learn about the project measures and methods.

“Administrative burden” refers to the costs of interacting with the government, such as time, money, and psychological stress. Typically, agency burden estimates are limited to the time it takes to complete a form, which doesn’t capture all of the effort and resources an individual might expend to navigate a government service.

The team developed a Holistic Burden Assessment process and prototype tool that uses a customer-centric perspective to learn, categorize, and measure burden across the entire customer journey, including aspects of psychological, learning, compliance, and redemption costs. The team reviewed existing models used worldwide and adapted these practices for use by Federal agencies. The team has initially tested the process and a calculator prototype to assess experiences of disaster survivors and small businesses; however, the calculations are incomplete until the team has more data and time to work with agency experts in the field.

The Streamlining Disaster Assistance project contributed to reducing burden for disaster survivors applying for Federal aid. In partnership with FEMA, the team addressed critical issues with the mobile interface, improved the experience of survivor submissions, removed obsolete pages from DisasterAssistance.gov, and improved navigation and usability. Working with FEMA’s Recovery Technology Programs Division, the team updated the Registration Intake Form, simplifying the experience for users to complete it. Additionally, the team initiated the implementation of a new data-sharing capability that enables survivors to seamlessly share their information between FEMA and SBA platforms, simplifying applications for disaster assistance and loans.

Beyond survivor-focused outcomes, the team removed barriers to efficient software development. This included ensuring the development team had access to mobile devices for testing software updates and the necessary developer tools. In partnership with FEMA’s Digital Customer Service team, the project incorporated usability testing and field research to adopt a user-centric, data-driven approach to product development. These internal process improvements are expected to accelerate future streamlining efforts.

See the 2024 project evaluation plan to learn about the project measures and methods.

In early 2023, the team started the design phase with extended scoping to better understand the identified customer pain points in the intake and referral process (when the customer moves between FEMA and SBA). For example, the team learned from Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) staff that technology and communication barriers make it difficult for survivors to navigate the disaster registration intake process with FEMA and the referral process to other Federal agencies that provide individual assistance. The team worked with FEMA and SBA to gather and analyze customer navigation data. They focused on the referral process from FEMA to SBA and learned that 7 percent of all FEMA registrants ultimately apply for assistance with SBA. Evidence from in-person research suggests that survivors who could benefit from assistance from SBA do not understand that the agency provides assistance to homeowners.

The project team consulted with FEMA on potential improvements to disasterassistance.gov and SBA on enhancements to the MySBA Loan Portal to identify areas for improved coordination. Both agencies are progressing on internal changes that will improve the survivor experience and will further shape this project. The team also discussed the possibilities for data sharing and other developments with agency leaders during recurring Steering Committee meetings.