Chapter 7 › XIII.O.2.i Congregate Sheltering

What shelter costs will FEMA reimburse?

FEMA term

Congregate sheltering

Short answer

FEMA reimburses state, local, tribal and territorial governments for congregate shelter facility, staff, supply and service costs while the shelter is actively housing survivors, including warming and cooling centers. FEMA pays only the government, even when it contracts the work out.

What FEMA requires

Facility: lease, utilities, minor modifications for habitability, ADA access, childcare or pet sheltering, restoration afterward, generators and secure medical storage.
Staff: medical, personal assistance, veterinary, public information, social workers, food service, custodial and National Guard.
Supplies: meals, cooking supplies, pet supplies, medical equipment and supplies, infant supplies, cots and bedding, hygiene kits, and set ratios for TVs (1 per 50), computers (1 per 25) and washers and dryers (1 each per 50).
Services: management, security, cleaning, transport for shelter support, personal assistance services, emergency medical and crisis care, limited outpatient care, and sheltering self-evacuees.
Payments to the Red Cross or other groups under a written agreement are eligible; their own mission costs are not. Volunteer agency labor counts only as a donated resource.
Not eligible: transporting residents to and from the shelter (other than medical), disaster case management, and most behavioral health services.

Documentation

Shelter population logs by night, staffing records, supply purchases, the facility agreement and any agreement with an operating organization.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Keep a nightly population count. Costs are eligible only while the shelter is actively in use, and the count proves it.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.