Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Provision of Charitable Assistance  
(13-DEC-05, GAO-06-297T).					 
                                                                 
The devastation and dislocation of individuals experienced	 
throughout the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and
Texas in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has raised	 
concern about both the charitable sector's and the government's  
abilities to effectively respond to such disasters. To strengthen
future disaster response and recovery operations, the government 
needs to understand what went right and what went wrong, and to  
apply these lessons. The National Response Plan outlines the	 
roles of federal agencies and charities in response to national  
disasters. Recognizing the historically large role of charities  
in responding to disasters, the plan included charities as	 
signatories and gave them considerable responsibilities. In	 
addition to carrying out the responsibilities outlined in the	 
National Response Plan, charities served as partners to the	 
federal government in providing both immediate and long-term	 
assistance following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. GAO was asked  
to provide an overview of lessons learned from charities'	 
response to previous disasters as well as preliminary		 
observations about the role of charities following the Gulf Coast
hurricanes. As part of our ongoing work, GAO will continue to	 
analyze federal and charitable efforts following the hurricanes. 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-06-297T					        
    ACCNO:   A43238						        
  TITLE:     Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Provision of Charitable     
Assistance							 
     DATE:   12/13/2005 
  SUBJECT:   Charitable organizations				 
	     Disaster planning					 
	     Disaster recovery					 
	     Disaster recovery plans				 
	     Disaster relief aid				 
	     Emergency preparedness				 
	     Hurricanes 					 
	     Interagency relations				 
	     Lessons learned					 
	     National response plan				 
	     Performance management				 
	     Performance measures				 
	     Relief agencies					 
	     Volunteer services 				 
	     Public/private partnerships			 
	     Hurricane Katrina					 
	     Hurricane Rita					 
	     National Response Plan				 

******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
** GAO Product.                                                 **
**                                                              **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
**                                                              **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
** document's contents.                                         **
**                                                              **
******************************************************************
GAO-06-297T

Testimony

Before the Subcommittee on Oversight, Committee on Ways and Means, House
of Representatives

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

For Release on Delivery Expected at 3:00 p.m. EST

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA

Provision of Charitable Assistance

Statement of Cynthia Fagnoni, Managing Director, Education, Workforce and
Income Security Issues

GAO-06-297T

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the role of charitable services
in response to recent Gulf Coast hurricanes. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
caused massive destruction and large-scale disruption of lives in Alabama,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. In response to this destruction, we
have witnessed heroic efforts by public, private, and nonprofit
organizations and volunteers. My testimony today will present some of our
observations regarding the performance of charities in response to these
hurricanes. These natural disasters have placed strengthening the nation's
emergency response efforts at the top of the national agenda. Comptroller
General Walker has stated that GAO will provide support to Congress
through analysis and evaluation of coordination efforts among federal
agencies, and between federal agencies and the state, local, private, and
nonprofit sectors. GAO has conducted several previous reviews of federal
actions following national disasters, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992
and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that will be helpful in
evaluating the nation's response to recent hurricanes. We plan to conduct
all Katrina-related work under the Comptroller General's authority since
it is an issue of interest to the entire Congress and numerous committees
in both houses.

Charities have addressed many short- and long-term needs of the victims of
recent hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region. Their efforts represent the
largest disaster response effort in United States history by charitable
organizations. As charities collect donations to address these needs,
questions have been raised about how the money will be used and how
charitable relief efforts will be coordinated. This testimony will discuss
progress to date in incorporating lessons learned from our review of
charitable coordination following September 11, and preliminary
observations about the coordination of charities after the recent
hurricanes. This testimony is based upon published GAO reports; ongoing
work; relevant interviews with federal, state, and local government
officials in states affected by the hurricanes; interviews with charitable
officials and national experts; and data on total hurricane-related
donations to charities from Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

In summary, we learned from our work following the September 11 attacks
that charities could take steps to make it easier for survivors of
disasters to get the help they need, improve coordination among charities
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), better educate the
public about charities' roles in disaster recovery, and plan for
responding to future disasters. Following our report, seven charities
formed a network to share information electronically about aid recipients
and services provided, improve coordination, and ease access to aid. The
group worked in partnership with FEMA to develop a database to share
information between agencies. In a little more than 3 months, charities
have raised more than $2.5 billion to assist in hurricane relief and
recovery efforts. In addition, charities have taken other steps to improve
coordination following the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Charities shared
information through meetings at the American Red Cross headquarters, daily
conference calls, and electronic databases that allowed multiple
organizations to access information about services provided to hurricane
victims. Despite these efforts, some charities raised concerns about the
usefulness of the conference calls and electronic databases for sharing
information. For example, some charities said that daily conference calls
after Katrina included too many organizations and did not provide the
information they needed. There were also problems with providing
charitable services to victims in some hard-to-reach areas. GAO teams in
the field reported that the American Red Cross did not provide relief in
certain areas because of safety policies. In areas where the American Red
Cross did not operate, GAO teams observed that other charities, such as
the Salvation Army and smaller charities-often local churches-provided
relief services. Although smaller organizations provided needed charitable
services in the Gulf Coast region, some concerns have been raised about
their ability to provide adequate services to victims. We will be
reviewing this issue in more detail over the next several months. GAO is
currently engaged in ongoing work on the coordination of charitable
efforts in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and will further
examine how effectively charities coordinated their responses to recent
hurricanes.

                                   Background

Charities are organizations established to serve broad public purposes,
such as the needs of the poor or distressed and other social welfare
issues. The Internal Revenue Service reported that for 2002, 501(c)(3)
organizations, which include charities, had total assets of over $1.7
trillion. In 2004, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognized 820,000
charities, accounting for about 90 percent of 501(c)(3) organizations.1
Charities can include organizations with missions such as helping the
poor, advancing religion, educating the public, or providing disaster
relief services. Although the federal government indirectly subsidizes
charities through their tax-exempt status and by allowing individuals to
deduct charitable contributions from their income taxes, the federal
government has a fairly limited role in monitoring charities. States
provide the primary oversight of charities through their attorneys general
and charity offices.

1 This estimate based on data from the IRS, with modifications by the
National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) at the Urban Institute.
NCSS excluded foreign and governmental organizations from the data.

Charities' Response to National Disasters

Charities have historically played a large role in the nation's response
to disasters. For example, after the September 11 attacks, 35 of the
nation's larger charities-including the American Red Cross and the
Salvation Army-collected almost $2.7 billion to provide food, shelter,
mental health services, and other types of aid.

Charities' roles in responding to disasters can vary. Some charities,
including the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, are equipped to
arrive at a disaster scene and provide immediate mass care, including
food, shelter, and clothing, and in some circumstances, emergency
financial assistance to affected persons. Other charities focus on
providing longer-term assistance, such as job training, scholarships, or
mental health counseling. In addition, new charities may form after
disasters to address specific needs, such as the charities established
after the September 11 attacks to serve survivors of restaurant workers
and firefighters.

National Response Plan

The U.S. government's National Response Plan provides a single,
comprehensive framework for the federal response to domestic incidents,
such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The plan provides the
structure and mechanisms for the coordination of federal support to states
and localities. Major cabinet and other federal agencies are signatories
to the plan, along with the American Red Cross and the National Voluntary
Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD), a national charity
umbrella organization. The American Red Cross and National VOAD are the
only nongovernmental organizations that signed the Plan. In December 2004,
the Department of Homeland Security released the plan, which was developed
at the request of President Bush. The plan incorporates and replaces
several previous plans for disaster management, including the Federal
Response Plan, which was originally signed in 1992. One of the ways the
plan changed the Federal Response Plan was by not naming charities active
in disaster relief other than the American Red Cross, but instead
incorporating them under the umbrella organization, National VOAD.

The plan designates 15 Emergency Support Functions, each identifying a
specific disaster response need as well as organizations that have key
roles in helping meet those needs. The sixth Emergency Support Function,
the function most relevant to charities involved in disaster relief,
creates a working group of key federal agencies and charitable
organizations to address

           o  mass care, including sheltering, feeding, and emergency first
           aid;
           o  housing, both short- and long-term; and
           o  human services, such as counseling, processing of benefits, and
           identifying support for persons with special needs.

As a direct service provider, the American Red Cross feeds and shelters
victims of disasters. In addition to fulfilling this role, the American
Red Cross is responsible for coordinating federal efforts to address mass
care, housing, and human services under Emergency Support Function 6 with
FEMA. The American Red Cross is the only charity to serve as a primary
agency under any Emergency Support Function. The plan gives the American
Red Cross responsibility for coordinating federal mass care assistance in
support of state and local efforts. The American Red Cross also has
responsibilities under other Emergency Support Functions, such as
providing counseling services and working with the federal government to
distribute ice and water. FEMA's responsibilities include convening
regular meetings with key agencies and coordinating the transition of
service delivery from mass care operations to long-term recovery
activities, among other responsibilities.

National VOAD, a membership organization composed of approximately 40
charities that provide services following disasters, is designated as a
support agency under Emergency Support Function 6, but it does not provide
direct services to victims.2 Rather, National VOAD is responsible for
sharing information with its member organizations regarding the severity
of the disaster, needs identified, and actions taken to address these
needs.

2 For a list of National VOAD members, see appendix I.

  Following September 11, GAO Reported That More Effective Collaboration Could
                 Enhance Charities' Contributions in Disasters

Following September 11, GAO reported several lessons learned that could
help charities enhance their response to future disasters.3 These included
easing access to aid for eligible individuals, enhancing coordination
among charities and between charities and FEMA, increasing attention to
public education, and planning for future events. Further, GAO recommended
that FEMA convene a working group to encourage charities involved in
disaster response to integrate these lessons learned from the September 11
attacks. Following our report, seven of the largest disaster response
charities, in partnership with FEMA, formed the Coordinated Assistance
Network (CAN) to ease collaboration and facilitate data sharing. While the
network databases are still largely in a pilot phase, both government and
charity representatives have praised the potential of the network's
databases to improve collaboration.

Lessons Learned from September 11 Could Improve Charities' Response to Future
Disasters

           o  Easing access to aid for those eligible: We reported that
           charities could help survivors find out what assistance is
           available and ease their access to that aid through a central,
           easy-to-access clearinghouse of public and private assistance. We
           also suggested offering eligible survivors a case manager, as was
           done in New York City and in Washington, D.C., following September
           11 to help to identify gaps in service and provide assistance over
           the long term.
           o  Enhancing coordination among charities and with FEMA: We also
           found that private and public agencies could improve service
           delivery by coordinating, collaborating, sharing information with
           each other, and understanding each other's roles and
           responsibilities. Collaborative working relationships are critical
           to the success of other strategies to ease access to aid or
           identify service gaps, such as creating a streamlined application
           process or a database of families of those killed and injured.
           o  Increasing attention to public education: After September 11,
           we reported that charities could better educate the public about
           the disaster recovery services they provide and ensure
           accountability by more fully informing the public about how they
           are using donations. Charities could improve transparency by
           taking steps when collecting funds to more clearly specify the
           purposes of the funds raised, the different categories of people
           they plan to assist, the services they plan to provide, and how
           long the charity plans to provide assistance.
           o  Planning for future events: Further, we reported that planning
           for how charities will respond to future disasters could aid the
           recovery process for individuals and communities. Although each
           disaster situation is unique, it could be useful for charities to
           develop an assistance plan to inform the public and guide the
           charities' fundraising efforts. In addition, state and local
           emergency preparedness efforts could explicitly address the role
           of charities and charitable aid in future events.

3 GAO, September 11: More Effective Collaboration Could Enhance Charitable
Organizations' Contributions in Disasters, GAO-03-259 (Washington, D.C.:
Dec. 19, 2002).

Charities Formed National Network to Improve Coordination

GAO recommended that FEMA convene a working group to encourage charities
involved in disaster response to integrate lessons learned from the
September 11 attacks. After our report, FEMA encouraged charities to form
a working group to share information following disasters, which became the
Coordinated Assistance Network. The seven charities that formed CAN are
the Alliance of Information and Referral Services, the American Red Cross,
National VOAD, the Salvation Army, 9/11 United Services Group, Safe
Horizon, and the United Way of America. The group worked in partnership
with FEMA to develop a database to share information between agencies.

The CAN network addressed several of the lessons learned that GAO
identified. To ease access to aid for those eligible, the network is
designed to share client data, such as previous addresses, employment
information, and FEMA identification numbers, between charities. CAN is
intended to ensure that victims need only explain their circumstances
once, rather than repeatedly to different service providers. To enhance
coordination among charities and with FEMA, the CAN network is designed to
make charities more aware of the services provided by one another and
identify any gaps or redundancies in services. Last, to plan for future
events, the CAN network intends to build partnerships or working
relationships among disaster response charities before disasters strike.
While the CAN network databases are still largely in pilot phase, both
government and charity representatives have praised the database's
potential to improve collaboration and noted that it functioned well
following the disasters, considering that it was not fully developed.

 Preliminary Observations of Charitable Organizations' Operations Following the
                             Gulf Coast Hurricanes

Following the hurricanes, charities have raised more than $2.5 billion to
assist in hurricane relief and recovery efforts. Many of the charities
responding to the disaster have taken steps to coordinate with one another
and with FEMA and other government agencies. For example, charities have
shared information through daily conference calls and through electronic
databases that allowed multiple organizations to access information about
services provided to hurricane victims. Some charity representatives we
spoke with praised the potential of these systems for sharing information,
but also raised concerns that using these systems could be difficult at
times. Charities also experienced problems in providing services to
victims in some hard-to-reach areas. GAO teams that visited the Gulf Coast
region in October 2005 observed that in areas where the American Red Cross
did not operate, other charities, such as the Salvation Army and smaller
charities-often local churches-provided relief services. Although smaller
organizations helped fill the gaps in charitable services in the Gulf
Coast region, some concerns have been raised about their ability to
provide adequate services to victims.

Charities Have Raised More than $2.5 Billion Following the Gulf Coast Hurricanes

Charities have raised more than $2.5 billion in cash donations in response
to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, according to the Center on Philanthropy at
Indiana University.4 The center notes that this number is a low estimate,
since it does not include direct giving to individuals, giving to smaller
charities, or in-kind donations. As of November 18, the American Red Cross
had raised more than $1.5 billion, more than half of all dollars raised.
The Salvation Army raised the second-highest amount, $270 million, about
18 percent of the amount raised by the American Red Cross. The
Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and Catholic Charities were the next-largest
fund raisers, each raising about $100 million.

Charities Took Steps to Improve Coordination but Experienced Some Challenges

Charities operating in the Gulf Coast region following the hurricanes
coordinated services through the convening of major national disaster
relief organizations at the American Red Cross headquarters, daily
conference calls organized by National VOAD, and databases established by
CAN. The usefulness of the daily conference calls, as well as the CAN
databases, was questioned by some charity representatives.

In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross organized
a national operations center with representatives from FEMA and several
major national charities, including the Southern Baptist Convention and
the Salvation Army, at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Because of the
scale of the hurricane disaster and the large response needed, this was
the first time the American Red Cross coordinated this type of national
operations center following a disaster. This working group helped the
major charities coordinate services on the ground by allowing for
face-to-face interaction and ongoing communication, according to charity
representatives and FEMA officials.

4 This sum is as of November 18, 2005.

To help fulfill its information-sharing role under Emergency Support
Function 6, National VOAD organized daily conference calls with FEMA and
other federal government representatives and its member organizations
operating in the Gulf Coast region. National VOAD also invited nonmember
charitable organizations that were providing relief to hurricane victims
to participate in these calls, which sometimes included more than 40
organizations at once. During these calls, both the federal government and
charities were able to provide information and answer questions about
services provided, needs identified, and the organizations' abilities to
meet these needs. Representatives from charitable organizations told us
that these calls were an effective way to coordinate the delivery of
supplies among charities and help identify those regions that were most in
need of charitable services.

Charities were also able to share information through CAN databases.
Following the hurricane disasters, CAN created a Web-based shelter
registry that provided information about emergency shelters operating in
the Gulf Coast region, including their capacity and operating status. CAN
also activated the database of victim information, which at the time was
being tested in six pilot communities. More than 40 charities-all of whom
must sign CAN participation agreements, including the American Red Cross,
the Salvation Army, and the United Way of America-were able to access this
database and input information about the services they provided to
individual clients, according to CAN representatives. Charities could
share information about these clients, who were required to sign privacy
releases, through the Web-based database, thus reducing service
duplication and the need for victims to give the same information to
multiple organizations.

Although charity representatives we interviewed reinforced the importance
of the conference calls and the CAN databases, they also raised concerns
about the usefulness of these systems. For example, some representatives
were concerned the conference calls had too many participants. Because 40
or more charities might be participating in any one call, the calls often
ran long or dealt with issues that may not have been of interest to the
whole group, according to some charity officials. Additionally, charity
representatives told us that call participants sometimes provided
information that turned out to be inaccurate.

Charity officials we spoke with were supportive of CAN and its mission,
but they raised several concerns about the usefulness of its databases
following the hurricane disasters. One concern that we heard from a few
charities was that the CAN case management system is still in its
developmental stages and was therefore not ready to be activated on such a
large scale. Many volunteers had not received sufficient training on the
system, and some of the technological glitches had not been completely
resolved, according to charity representatives. In addition,
representatives told us that the shelter database, which was developed
soon after the hurricanes and had not been previously tested, may not have
been ready for widespread use. In addition, some officials said that after
Katrina there was neither electricity nor Internet access in certain
locations, and as a result, the CAN databases could not always be used.
Some officials stated that they needed to collect information in writing
at the time of the disaster and then input the data into the system once
they had Internet access-a task that was time-consuming and diverted
resources from other needed areas. CAN officials responded that the CAN
databases were created primarily for long-term recovery efforts, which
would take place after electricity and Internet access were restored,
rather than for short-term relief.

Charity representatives also told us that daily conference calls and
electronic databases helped with coordination efforts, but these systems
were not as important to coordination efforts as pre-existing
relationships. Several of the charities we spoke with stated that in order
for charities to function efficiently following a disaster, they must have
some sort of established working relationship with the other charities
involved in disaster relief efforts. One charity representative told us
that it is difficult to make introductions in the chaos of a disaster. He
stressed that charities that operate in disasters should have memorandums
of understanding signed before a disaster strikes-a practice used by many
charities-so that they can immediately coordinate efforts in a disaster
situation.

Charities Struggled to Balance Access to Services with Concerns Regarding Safety
of Service Providers and Victims

GAO teams that visited the Gulf Coast in October 2005 observed that the
American Red Cross did not provide relief in certain areas because of
safety policies; and thus, other charities, such as the Salvation Army and
smaller charities, often helped to meet the needs of those areas. The
American Red Cross told us that with the American Society for Civil
Engineers and FEMA, it had previously developed policies intended to
protect the safety of service providers and victims following a disaster.
These policies include not establishing shelters in areas that may become
flooded during a disaster or in structures that strong winds may
compromise. However, victims remained in areas where the American Red
Cross would not establish shelters. Further, where the American Red Cross
was able to establish shelters, the needs of victims sometimes exceeded
the capacity of the American Red Cross, as this represented the largest
response effort in American Red Cross history. GAO teams in Mississippi
observed that the Salvation Army and smaller charities, such as local
church organizations, filled many of the needs for volunteer services that
the American Red Cross did not meet. Additionally, GAO teams estimated
that in the Birmingham, Alabama, area, a significant portion of the
approximately 7,000 evacuees were being cared for and sometimes being
housed by local churches and their members.

Although smaller organizations provided needed charitable services in the
Gulf Coast region, some concerns have been raised about the organizations'
abilities to provide adequate services to victims. Some officials told us
that the smaller organizations helped meet important needs, but many of
the organizations had never operated in a disaster situation and may not
have completely understood the situation. For example, officials told us
that some of the small charities that placed children who were separated
from their parents in homes did not retain sufficient information about
which children were placed where. This made it difficult to locate missing
children. Other officials told us that some of the smaller organizations
that tried to establish "tent cities" to house evacuees were not prepared
to provide the water, sanitation, and electricity these types of shelters
require.

In closing, the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita once again
challenged federal, state, and local governments and charitable
organizations' abilities to provide large-scale aid to hundreds of
thousands of survivors. It also provided a critical opportunity to assess
how the nation's charities have incorporated lessons learned from
responding to the September 11 tragedy.

Our report on charitable organizations' contributions after September 11
identified several lessons learned and made important recommendations for
improving the delivery of charitable services after disasters. GAO's
ongoing work on the coordination of charitable efforts in response to
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will examine how these recommendations have
been implemented and how effectively charities coordinated in response to
recent hurricanes. Specifically, this upcoming report will address
questions regarding the amount of money charities have raised to assist
people affected by the hurricanes and how these funds have been used, how
well charities are meeting their responsibilities under the National
Response Plan, how well charities are coordinating their relief efforts,
how people affected by the hurricanes have accessed charitable services
and relief supplies and the challenges they encountered in dealing with
charities, and what charities are doing to guard against fraud and abuse.
This report will be released next year.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to respond
to any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee may have at
this time.

                                  GAO Contact

Cindy Fagnoni (202)512-7215, [email protected].

                             Staff Acknowledgments

Individuals making key contributions to this testimony included Andrew
Sherrill, Tamara Fucile, Mallory Barg Bulman, Scott Spicer, Rachael
Valliere, Walter Vance, Richard Burkard, Bill Jenkins, and Norm Rabkin.




Members of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Adventist
Community Services America's Second Harvest American Baptist Men American
Radio Relay League American Red Cross Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team
Catholic Charities USA Center for International Disaster Information
Christian Disaster Response International Christian Reformed World Relief
Committee Church of the Brethren Church World Service Convoy of Hope
Disaster Psychiatry Outreach Episcopal Relief and Development Friends
Disaster Service, Inc. The Humane Society of the United States
International Aid International Critical Incident Stress Foundation
International Relief Friendship Foundation Lutheran Disaster Response
Mennonite Disaster Service Mercy Medical Airlift National Emergency
Response Teams National Organization for Victim Assistance Nazarene
Disaster Response Northwest Medical Teams International The Points of
Light Foundation Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) REACT International, Inc.
The Salvation Army Society of St. Vincent de Paul Southern Baptist
Convention United Church of Christ United Jewish Communities United
Methodist Committee on Relief United Way of America Volunteers of America
World Vision

(130542)

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this
work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material
separately.

GAO's Mission

The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and
investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its
constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and
accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO
examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies;
and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help
Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO's
commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of
accountability, integrity, and reliability.

Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost
is through GAO's Web site (www.gao.gov). Each weekday, GAO posts newly
released reports, testimony, and correspondence on its Web site. To have
GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted products every afternoon, go to
www.gao.gov and select "Subscribe to Updates."

Order by Mail or Phone

The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2
each. A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent of
Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or more
copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. Orders should
be sent to:

U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G Street NW, Room LM Washington,
D.C. 20548

To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512-6000 TDD: (202) 512-2537 Fax: (202)
512-6061

To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs

Contact:

Web site: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm E-mail: [email protected]
Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470

Congressional Relations

Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, [email protected] (202) 512-4400 U.S.
Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7125 Washington,
D.C. 20548

Public Affairs

Paul Anderson, Managing Director, [email protected] (202) 512-4800 U.S.
Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 Washington,
D.C. 20548

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-297T.

To view the full product, including the scope

and methodology, click on the link above.

For more information, contact Cynthia Fagnoni at (202) 512-7215 or
[email protected].

Highlights of GAO-06-297T, a report to House Committee on Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Oversight

December 2005

HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA

Provision of Charitable Assistance

The devastation and dislocation of individuals experienced throughout the
Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas in the wake of
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has raised concern about both the charitable
sector's and the government's abilities to effectively respond to such
disasters. To strengthen future disaster response and recovery operations,
the government needs to understand what went right and what went wrong,
and to apply these lessons.

The National Response Plan outlines the roles of federal agencies and
charities in response to national disasters. Recognizing the historically
large role of charities in responding to disasters, the plan included
charities as signatories and gave them considerable responsibilities.

In addition to carrying out the responsibilities outlined in the National
Response Plan, charities served as partners to the federal government in
providing both immediate and long-term assistance following Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.

GAO was asked to provide an overview of lessons learned from charities'
response to previous disasters as well as preliminary observations about
the role of charities following the Gulf Coast hurricanes. As part of our
ongoing work, GAO will continue to analyze federal and charitable efforts
following the hurricanes.

Following September 11, 2001, GAO reported lessons learned that could help
charities enhance their response to future disasters. These included
easing access to aid for eligible individuals, enhancing coordination
among charities and between charities and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), increasing attention to public education, and planning for
future events. GAO also recommended that FEMA convene a working group of
charities to coordinate lessons learned following September 11. Following
the GAO report, seven disaster response charities partnering with FEMA
formed the Coordinated Assistance Network to improve collaboration and
facilitate data sharing.

Following the Gulf Coast hurricanes, charities raised more than $2.5
billion dollars, according to Indiana University's Center of Philanthropy,
with more than half of these funds going to the American Red Cross. GAO's
preliminary work shows that these charities have taken steps to improve
coordination of relief efforts by sharing information through daily
conference calls and electronic databases. Despite these efforts,
charities faced some challenges in coordinating service delivery. For
example, some charities reported that their volunteers needed additional
training to use the databases.

GAO teams that visited the Gulf Coast region in October 2005 observed that
in areas where the American Red Cross did not provide services, the
Salvation Army and smaller organizations-often local churches-were able to
meet many of the charitable needs of hard-to-reach communities. The
American Red Cross's efforts to protect service providers may have
prohibited it from operating in some of the harder-to-reach areas.
Additionally, some concerns were raised about smaller charities' abilities
to provide adequate disaster relief services.

Charitable distribution center in Harrison County, Mississippi
*** End of document. ***