MAXIMUS has provided disaster grants management services for more than 25 years. Our specialists work closely with governmental associations. We provide analysis on disaster related issues as committee members or organization members.
After a Presidential disaster declaration, we assist clients in disasters from storms, floods, and hurricanes to earthquakes and fires. We assist clients with eligibility issues, activity and cost reporting, documentation, grant close out, audit preparation, and audit defense.
MAXIMUS works with local and state government, and non-profit sub-grantees and grantees.
MAXIMUS offers services based on our client's needs. We provide services ranging from technical assistance with specifically-defined tasks or will assume responsibility for the entire disaster assistance grants management effort.
- Grant applications
- Capabilities Assessment
- Eligibility Analyses
- Hazard Mitigation Analyses
- Project cost reporting and documentation
- Project completion monitoring and scheduling
- Rate calculations
- Eligibility and audit appeals
- Supplemental costs claiming
- Documentation compliance
- Pre-audits
- Annual and Single Audit assistance
- Audit defense and resolution
Clients usually opt for a time and expenses service engagement since it is nearly impossible to define a fixed scope of work. Reconstruction schedules are not within the control of the client. State and Federal response cycles are unpredictable and beyond client or MAXIMUS jurisdiction.
Stafford Act amendments, rules changes, policy guidance, interpretations and invention reduce Federal funding commitments despite section 325 of PL 106-390. MAXIMUS strives to limit the shifting of disaster related costs from the Federal treasury to the client.
MAXIMUS offers several service engagement agreements. Two of the most common are:
- Capabilities and Needs Assessment
- Defines scope of work and work to be assigned to MAXIMUS
- Defines maximum number of hours and expenses for a fixed fee
- Professional services for activities assigned to MAXIMUS are provided based on an hourly fee schedule, plus expenses. Without a fixed scope of work, MAXIMUS works on assigned activities up to the amount authorized.
- Hourly Fee Schedule
- Defines scope of work and work to be assigned to MAXIMUS
Professional services for activities assigned to MAXIMUS are provided based on an hourly fee schedule, plus expenses. Without a fixed scope of work MAXIMUS works on assigned activities up to the amount authorized.
Under any engagement agreement, MAXIMUS reviews assignments and work forecasts with the client periodically. MAXIMUS can offer a consultant approach where we provide services only as requested by the client, or a full-service approach where MAXIMUS provides scheduled services based on a mutually defined work plan.
Clients can engage MAXIMUS to perform the entire list of services on an hourly fee plus expenses basis. MAXIMUS works our client executive to define a cost-effective work plan directed at optimizing financial recovery and retention of grant proceeds.
MAXIMUS approach is to team a disaster grants specialist with a cost accounting specialist as appropriate to the client's needs. Client staffing requirements can range from a part-time, single staff member to a dozen or more staff members' serving client requests full-time. MAXIMUS commits to adjusting staffing levels as appropriate and as defined mutually with the client in the work plan.
MAXIMUS Disaster Grants Management is considered by FEMA to be eligible to be charged against the "Administrative Allowance" provided. The administrative allowance is a sliding scale percentage based on the work defined as net eligible by FEMA. The administrative allowance is typically insufficiently offsets a client's full costs of the damage assessment, grants administration, grants accounting, and grants auditing. FEMA now defines the administrative allowance as an auditable item requiring sufficient accounting records in order to retain the awarded grant proceeds.
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