The California program helping Eaton and Palisades fire survivors access recovery resources and navigate the FEMA reimbursement process will be terminated at the end of the month because of a lack of federal funding.
The state says that the federal administration has failed to provide the money necessary to continue the Disaster Case Management Program for the 2025 L.A. wildfires beyond Sept. 30. The program was initially intended to run through Jan. 8, 2028.
The program pairs impacted households with a case manager who helps them create a long-term recovery plan. This can include applying for FEMA aid and SBA loans, filing insurance claims and accessing resources such as temporary housing and rebuilding support.
Without case management support, wildfire survivors must navigate a complex recovery system on their own, which can lead to a slower recovery timeline, missed funding opportunities and increased vulnerability to scams.
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) sent a letter Tuesday to the nonprofit network overseeing the program, informing it that the program will end in 30 days.
“Unfortunately, the federal administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have not issued CDSS the funding necessary to support program operations beyond September 30, 2026, and have not been responsive to payment requests or inquiries on payment status,” the letter states.
A FEMA spokesperson did not comment on allegations that the agency has been unresponsive to payment requests, but shared a statement describing the financial assistance provided to L.A. wildfire survivors.
“As of June 12, 2026, FEMA awarded more than $177.1 million in assistance to 35,155 eligible individuals and households,” the spokesperson said. “This includes Continued Temporary Housing Assistance for 1,221 applicants, with 347 applicants currently receiving continued assistance and an additional 200 applicants pending assistance.”
The spokesperson also noted that California has “over $2B in unspent disaster funds across all open disasters.”
Ann Lee, co-founder and chief exeuctive of Community Organized Relief Effort, said her nonprofit alone has provided case management for 904 families under the program and still has 449 active cases.
“You have all these people who’ve been struggling for the last few years, trying to just make it, and now we have to tell them ‘sorry, just 30 days from now, we got to stop helping you,’ ” she said. “It’s a horrible feeling.”
She noted that older adults, people with disabilities and people with limited English proficiency will be especially impacted by the loss of services, which may contribute to survivors’ long-term displacement from their communities.
“Thousands of people’s lives will remain in limbo after months of fighting to get back on their feet,” she said. “This is a devastating blowback to people who have been forced to navigate the fragmented and flawed federal emergency response.”
The FEMA-funded case management program was activated on Jan. 8, 2025, when the California Department of Social Services entered an agreement with Catholic Charities of California to oversee casework for thousands of L.A. wildfire victims. Catholic Charities of California works with a network of nonprofits, including CORE, to pair households with case managers.
The program was slated to run through Jan. 8, 2028, but CDSS said it is unable to continue the program past September because FEMA has provided “insufficient funds” to the state.
“In the remaining month of DCM operations, the CDSS will coordinate with Catholic Charities of California on a demobilization plan, including notifications and referral pathways for active cases, to help mitigate negative impacts on survivors,” the department said in its letter.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California leaders have repeatedly criticized the Trump administration over delays in FEMA reimbursement for wildfire relief. As of August, California had submitted more than $1.5 billion for FEMA reimbursement from the Eaton and Palisades fires, but only $37 million in funding had been approved, according to the governor’s office.
“It is egregious that survivors of the 2025 LA fires have now waited the longest in U.S. history to receive federal recovery funds all because Trump is using this desperately needed relief as a political bargaining chip,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) said in a statement on X last week.
Lee expressed her frustration that it appears political tensions contributed to the termination of the case management program.
“It just incenses me because when the elephants are fighting, it’s the grass that always suffers,” she said. “You have all these people who are going to be straight out of luck.”
The post Lack of FEMA funds cuts off key recovery program for Eaton, Palisades fire survivors appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
