In September 2022, the Data Liberation Project sent the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) a request for data from — and documentation of — the systems used to track the “direct housing” assistance the agency provides people affected by major disasters.
On April 3, 2024, FEMA provided an “interim response” containing seven documents. Five of the documents, spanning 139 pages, were not redacted:
- Date Validation Quick Reference Guide 1..pdf (14 pages): “The purpose of this document is to provide HOMES users With the ability to identify each date validation delivered With HOMES Release 2.07. The document is organized by process. Within each process section, the user will see a list of each date in that process and the date it validates against.”
- Site Map-Inspection 1.93.pdf (29 pages): From a user guide titled Using DARAC (Direct Assistance, Replacement Assistance Consideration), a chapter on the “Site Map/Inspection” process.
- Site_Admin 1.93.pdf (33 pages): From a user guide titled Using DARAC (Direct Assistance, Replacement Assistance Consideration), a chapter on the “Site Admin” process, which “is used to create, monitor, and update all non—private site types and individual pad/ lots Within a given site.”
- Staging 1.93.pdf (14 pages): From a user guide titled Using DARAC (Direct Assistance, Replacement Assistance Consideration), a chapter on the “Staging” process, which “is used primarily by FEMA Staff assigned to monitor and distribute units from staging areas and other points of distribution. It’s primary function is to facilitate the dispatch of specific units to specific locations.”
- Work Order 2.0.pdf (49 pages): From a user guide titled Using HOMES (Housing Operations Management Enterprise System), a chapter on the “Work Orders” process.
The remaining two documents, spanning 100 pages, were entirely redacted:
- PPI Admin 1.93 .pdf (42 pages)
- Pre-Placement Interview Reference 2..pdf (58 pages)
The Data Liberation Project expects that FEMA will continue to provide additional responsive documents.