hurricane katrina homeowner's grant program presented to national grants partnership june 6,...
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Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHomeowner's Grant ProgramHomeowner's Grant Program
Presented toPresented toNational Grants PartnershipNational Grants Partnership
June 6, 2006June 6, 2006
bybyMississippi Development AuthorityMississippi Development Authority
Reznick GroupReznick GroupSTR, L.L.C.STR, L.L.C.
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHomeowner's Grant ProgramHomeowner's Grant Program
Hurricane Katrina – Made land fall in Mississippi on August 29, 2005– Worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States– Over $125 Billion in damage– 65,380 homes damaged or destroyed in South Mississippi
alone Critical need to get grant money to homeowners so
they can repair or rebuild
Mississippi Development AuthorityMississippi Development Authority
The Mississippi Development Authority is the State of Mississippi ユ s lead economic and community development agency. More than 250 employees are engaged in providing services to businesses, communities and workers in the state.
The agency is organized into three groups, Economic Development, Asset Development, and Administrative and Financial Services.
The Hurricane Katrina Homeowner's Grant Program is designed to provide financial assistance to those homeowners outside the flood plain whose homeowner's insurance did not cover structural flood damage. Single-family homes, owner-occupied duplexes and manufactured housing including mobile homes are eligible for grants under this program.
Reznick GroupReznick Group Prime Contractor on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina Homeowner
Grant Program Largest CPA firm headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area,
and the 18th largest public accounting firm in the United States Three decades of experience working with housing and nonprofit
organizations Solid reputation of providing government agencies with cost
effective, practical solutions that address the root causes of problems
Federal Financial AssistanceFederal Financial Assistance
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant
– Disaster relief– Long-term recovery and restoration of infrastructure
$11.5 Billion made available to MS, LA, AL, FL, and TX
Majority of funds going to MS and LA– Approximately $5 Billion to MS
Homeowner Grant Assistance ProgramHomeowner Grant Assistance Program
Requirements:– Homeowner’s primary residence on 8/29/05– Homeowner owned and occupied home on 8/29/05– Located in 1 of 4 designated counties– Must have had homeowners insurance– Home located outside the FEMA designated 100-year flood zone– Maximum grant $150,000
Expected between 35,000 and 50,000 applications, reduced to 15,000 after FEMA reviewed its estimates.
Grants SoftwareGrants Software
Needed:– A proven solution that could be implemented within weeks (not years)– A solution capable of interfacing with many other systems– A solution that could be easily modified – A solution that could also serve other MDA grant programs in the
future– Available over the internet
STR’s eGrantsPlus was chosen– COTS solution– Currently implemented at Corporation for National and Community
Service (CNCS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI)
Software ArchitectureSoftware Architecture
Web enabled application accessible from all popular browsers on either PC or MAC.
Database and application servers hosted by Rackspace in San Antonio, Texas
Firewalls, separation of processors from database, and use of complex passwords protect the application and data.
InternetUser
Firewall
Application Server Layer
Oracle Application Server
Tomcat Servlet Engine
Database Server Layer
OracleDatabase
Server
WebServers
Firewall
Homeowner Assistance ProgramHomeowner Assistance Program
Mississippi and HUD determined program requirements Application had to capture extensive information
– Homeowner and occupants information– Land/Public records information– Estimated damages – Lien holders (Mortgage) information– FEMA funds request and status– SBA funds request and status– Homeowners insurance information
Within 3 weeks, Reznick established and staffed:– 4 major service centers and 3 additional satellite centers to accept
applications– Call in center to answer questions and schedule appointments
Application ProcessApplication Process Applicants could create application from any computer with access to the
internet (www.mshomehelpap.gov) or go to service center– Account creation -- user name and password– Wizard-like screens that move applicant through the process of entering data
Applicant must come to a service center to complete application– Prove identify– Have documents scanned and attached to application– Agree to terms and conditions of grant program
“We limited appointments this week to make sure that we could iron-out any rough spots in the application process, but everything has gone very smoothly.”
Terri Hudson, MDA CFO
Unprecedented VerificationUnprecedented Verification
Fraud/Identity verification– Every homeowner had to show up at one of the designated service
centers with proof of identity, proof of ownership, and proof of insurance
Duplication of benefits– Homeowners insurance proceeds– FEMA grants received– SBA loans received
Interfaces are being developed to verify ALL application data. These include interfaces with FEMA, SBA, insurance companies, mortgage holders, and public records
Project Milestones/StatusProject Milestones/Status
Software was installed and applications started being accepted 3 weeks after requirements were finalized
Applications were received over a 6 week period starting on April 17, 2006 and ending May 31, 2006.– 1500 applications were received the first week through a controlled
rollout– 13,000 applications were received the first month– 15,800 applications were received in total
The verification process has begun First 6,000 checks scheduled by end of June
Questions???Questions???
Contact Information
Frank Banda (Reznick Group)[email protected]
(301) 652-9100
Scott Meyer (STR, L.L.C.)
(703) 460-9001