The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Baton Rouge, La., and formed in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Recovery Corps’ mission is to facilitate human recovery for the state of Louisiana in the aftermath of disaster, both natural and man-made. The Recovery Corps has partnered with human service and non-profit organizations throughout the state and the country to deliver assistance as effectively and efficiently as possible, allocating more than $80 million to recovery efforts and assisting more than 30,000 households since January 2006.

The Recovery Corps has positioned itself as a unique agency with respect to its role in the state’s recovery efforts. Not only has it seen first-hand the needs of Louisiana’s citizens through the implementation and execution of its direct assistance, outcome-based proprietary programs, but it has also produced and commissioned important research related to Louisiana’s long-term recovery efforts and the impacts of disaster on people. Further, the Recovery Corps has become a leader in the effort to organize Louisiana's non-profit sector and, in doing so, is helping to develop integration and coordination across state agencies and Louisiana's non-profits.

The Recovery Corps has developed a reputation for its ability to design quality, outcome-based proprietary programs for disaster-impacted residents in an effective and efficient manner utilizing resources allocated by the state and federal governments and private organizations. The agency has delivered vital services and resources to nearly every parish in Louisiana, providing direct assistance in the form of home furnishings, rent/utility deposits and payments, home repairs, and case management services. Though many assistance and recovery programs do good work and provide needed resources, most do not effectively measure outcomes. The Recovery Corps’ programs are all designed to measure specific outcomes and collect specific data, further allowing our staff to develop quantitative research that provides an opportunity to understand the true needs of our citizens and further design new programs (or alter existing programs) that specifically target the greatest needs of those going through the recovery process.

The Recovery Corps has also produced and commissioned important research 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.

Our research has identified some of the major barriers in the recovery process as the inability for many to re-establish their households with proper furnishings, the inability to pay for back utility bills, the inability to pay rent and utility deposits, the inability to pay higher rental rates associated with far fewer housing options post-Katrina and Rita, and the inability to afford to repair their uninhabitable homes even after receiving some federal, state, and insurance assistance. Thus, many of our programs focus on providing direct assistance in those areas, as this is the most efficient way to aid the most people in the recovery process.

Finally, the Recovery Corps' policy and advocacy section focuses on working with state and federal officials to better coordinate long-term recovery in the wake of disasters. The Recovery Corps has been recognized by Louisiana Act 313 of the 2007 Louisiana Legislature as the state's coordinating body for human recovery resources and services post-disaster. The Recovery Corps plays a vital role in the state's Emergency Operation Plan as devised by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. As part of that plan, the Recovery Corps is helping the state develop its first long-term human recovery plan post-shelter in the wake of disasters and hopes to provide essential assessments, case management services, and household re-establishment benefits to impacted residents throughout the state, helping to facilitate the transition of impacted residents back to the state.