In February 2009, the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps developed a series of recommendations designed to create a holistic strategy associated with long-term human recovery following disasters. The plan, the Recovery Corps’ Roadmap to a More Holistic Recovery, offers recommendations for incorporating efficiency, accountability, alignment, and transparency into effective policy in order to enhance long-term human recovery.

Recovery Corps President and CEO Dr. Monteic A. Sizer presented the Roadmap to the National Commission on Children and Disasters’ Subcommittee on Disaster Case Management in Washington D.C. on Thursday, February 26, 2009.

“We were very excited about being able to share our thoughts and recommendations with this distinguished Commission,” said Sizer. “The needs of families and children during the recovery process is an area in which the Recovery Corps has devoted a great deal of attention and resources and we developed a number of specific recommendations concerning what can be done at both a national level and a state level in order to enhance the recovery process for those whose lives have been impacted by disaster.”

The National Commission on Children and Disasters is an independent Presidential Commission that is conducting a comprehensive study to examine and assess the needs of children as they relate to preparation for, response to, and recovery from all hazards. Its research builds upon the evaluations of outside agencies such as the Recovery Corps and will strive to avoid unnecessary duplication by reviewing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of those agencies.

The presentation and discussion will ultimately lead to a report by the Commission to President Barack Obama and Congress reflecting the Commission’s independent and specific findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

The Recovery Corps’ Roadmap is based on data collected and lessons learned first-hand during the execution of its outcome-based proprietary programs which provide direct assistance to Louisiana families who have been impacted by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike. Additionally, the Recovery Corps has culled important information from research it has produced and commissioned related to Louisiana’s long-term recovery efforts and the impacts of disaster on people, working with respected organizations such as The Children’s Health Fund, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, The Urban Institute, Berkeley Policy Associates, and others.

Through this work the Recovery Corps has developed the findings contained within the Roadmap. The report begins with a set of general recommendations that should be incorporated at the state and federal levels in order to create the proper infrastructure through which recovery efforts can flow. Following those general recommendations are sets of specific recommendations broken down into three categories – general recovery, case management, and housing.

“Certainly specific recovery strategies relative to specific disasters must be implemented on a case-by-case basis given the dynamics of each disaster and based on the real-time ‘on the ground’ needs of those impacted by that disaster,” Sizer added. “However, by implementing the recommendations set forth in the Roadmap, those impacted by disaster will experience a much more efficient and effective recovery process because the systems by which the recovery process flows will be better designed to progress toward positive outcomes and, ultimately, self-sufficiency.”