How many students has FEMA identified for recoupment from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
That’s a really hard question to answer because identifying yourself as a student is not a requirement for the disaster assistance application process. Therefore, it’s impossible to distinguish which applicants in our database are students unless they offer us that specific information by calling the helpline or sending a letter in writing for our records. The only number of students we have readily available now is the number of students who’ve called or written us and identified themselves as students. As of April 25, 2007, we have sent approximately 900 letters to applicants identifying themselves as students. The amount identified for recoupment for this specific group represents just over $3 million. How is FEMA reaching out to these students to make them aware of the new guidelines? We are in the process of doing something we’ve never done in past disasters. We are building a database of all US Department of Education recognized universities and colleges with dormitories in the d
