2013 Southern Alberta Flood Disaster Recovery Program Twyla Hale Director, Disaster Recovery Program Operations

Contents Overview 2013 Disaster Recovery Program Disaster Recovery Program Intent June 2013 Flood Challenges 2013 Disaster Recovery Program Individual File Overview Issues and Solutions Phases of Disaster Mental Health Lessons Learned

2013 Southern Alberta Flood Disaster Recovery Program Overview

DRP Intent Provide funding to GOA departments, municipalities, First Nations, small businesses, and individuals to pay for extraordinary costs of responding to a disaster; provide basic essentials of life to individuals; restore damaged infrastructure and homes to pre-disaster functional condition; and support viability of small businesses, agricultural operations, condominium associations, homeowners, institutions, landlords, and tenants. The DRP is NOT insurance or a “full value” replacement program. The DRP is a GRANT program that covers uninsurable losses to a basic level of function. DRPs accept applications from agricultural operations, condominium associations, homeowners, institutions, landlords, small businesses, and tenants.

June 2013 Flood In the days leading up to June 19, 2013, Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that triggered the worst flooding in Alberta's history. Areas along the Bow, Elbow, Highwood, Red Deer, Sheep, Little Bow, and South Saskatchewan rivers and their tributaries were particularly affected. As water levels rose, a total of 32 states of local emergency were declared, 28 emergency operations centres were activated, and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders. The 2013 Southern Alberta Flood Disaster Recovery Program is the largest DRP in the history of the province. The program received 10,592 applications.

Challenges Scale and scope of the event. Prior DRPs mostly covered municipal infrastructure. Most individuals’ losses were insurable; the resultant DRP coverage was minimal. Balancing the expectation to manage what is cost-shareable with the Federal Government and get Albertans back in their homes. Rental assistance may be provided for up to six months, yet some Albertans still remain out of their homes. As a grant program, the DRP was not designed to attend to the psychosocial needs of some applicants. Will our standard process—ApplicationAppealMinisterial Review—work in this new world?

2013 Southern Alberta Flood Disaster Recovery Program 2013 DRP

10 Over 14,500 80 30 3,000 100,000 985 HEALTH FACILITIES DAMAGED BUSINESS AFFECTED 3,000 ROADS CLOSED 985 KM HOMES DAMAGED Over 14,500 PEOPLE EVACUATED 100,000 COMMUNITIES IMPACTED 30 HEALTH FACILITIES DAMAGED 10 SCHOOLS DAMAGED 80

Provincial Recovery Framework Long Term Recovery Intermediate Recovery Stabilization Response Enable Coordinate Support Local Community (lead) Flood Recovery Task Force AEMA/POC Recovery Coordination Group Business as Usual Pre-emergency Support Emergency Support Transition and Intermediate Recovery Support Long-Term Recovery / Enhanced Ministry Support Routine Ongoing Support

Recovery Principles Leadership and local autonomy Collaboration and coordination Partnerships and inclusiveness Communication Timeliness and flexibility Fairness across flood-affected communities Resilience Building Alberta together Psychological and emotional wellness Individual and family empowerment Safety Capture lessons learned Plan for transition to normal services Accountability

Recovery Elements PEOPLE ENVIRONMENT RECONSTRUCTION ECONOMY Safety Health Social well-being Mitigation ENVIRONMENT Biodiversity, ecosystems & natural resources Amenities Waste & pollution management RECONSTRUCTION Residential & commercial buildings Utilities Infrastructure, communications, and transport planning ECONOMY Individual Small Enterprise Medium Enterprise Large Enterprise Tourism Local Community and Stakeholders

Individual File Overview The vast majority of DRP files are Homeowner files. The DRP received 10,592 applications. 8,313 applications have been closed. 4,638 of the closed applications have been fully paid. 2,279 applications remain open. Why do these files remain open? Applicants disengage from the program (exhaustion, stress, or confusion with program). Applicants disagree with DRP eligibility or funding decisions regarding their files. The DRP is waiting to receive additional supporting documents (receipts, etc.) from applicants.

Issues and Solutions Expectation Management: applicants are not satisfied with the level of funding and expect to receive the full replacement value. Communications: Increase outreach in key communities. Appeal times: Triple the number of appeals officers. Transparency: Adopt a caseworker approach for the most complex files. Continue to share decision guidelines, mini-manual, etc.

Phases of Disaster Mental Health

Lessons Learned Partner with community resources early. Provide training to community resources on the Disaster Recovery Program to manage applicant expectations. Employ a widely diverse staff, not just financial experts. Emphasize community resources, valuable assets to the applicant that navigate the DRP and Appeal process, advocate for the applicant (with approval), help applicants find alternate assistance methods (NGOs, volunteer groups), and assist applicants with recovery beyond financial assistance.

DRP Administration 2014 Strategic Planning & Design Stacey Gellatly Director, Strategic Planning & Design

Exhaustion. Pace. Funding. Crisis & Opportunity Exhaustion. Pace. Funding.

Disaster Recovery Program: Redesign Phases Nurture the Past : Providing continuity to applicants React to the Present: Interim GoA-internal DRP Administration Team Design the Future: Identify vision, create innovative delivery model, and develop a new system plan.

Key Principles : 2014 Administration Case Management : One point of contact for applicants. Coordination happens behind the scenes Supporting the Whole Person: Helping Albertans get connected to other programs when needs are outside of DRP scope Citizen-centered Delivery: New delivery methods are developed from the point of view of the Albertan, their experiences, and how they access supports Fiscal Responsibility: Financial accountability and continued adherence to legislation, regulations, and guidelines Innovation: Developing new ways to deliver better services to Albertans through continuous improvement and innovation

Who you’ll meet along the way Many Recovery Staff are involved in the processing of a DRP application, and you’ll get to know a few of them. The Registration Centre staff will help applicants complete the applications and answer any questions. The Evaluator will assess the damage and submit a report to AEMA. The Case Manager is the key contact on application status under the new model. The Appeals Coordinator will help if you do not agree with the decision (Recovery Appeals.)

Improving Service into the Future Policies: Learning from our experiences and reviewing our policies to ensure that they are responsive to Albertans and uphold the mandate and priorities of the Government of Alberta. Procedures: Creating ongoing efficiencies and improvements through steam-lined, enhanced, or modified procedures. Platforms: Making the most of technology to improve client experience, be more accountable, and make good decisions quickly.

Thank you Additional questions can be directed to: Twyla Hale, Director, Disaster Recovery or Stacey Gellatly, Director, Strategic Planning & Design AEMA