Altadena Coalition Says Eaton Fire Case Management Program Will Close Sept. 30 Over Unpaid FEMA Money

An Altadena-based coalition of Eaton Fire recovery groups said Tuesday the federally funded program that gives fire survivors case managers will shut down Sept. 30 because FEMA has not paid $10 million it approved.

Unless the agency acts, about 109 program positions will be eliminated and more than 1,500 survivors will lose their case manager, the Eaton Fire Collaborative said. Providers, survivors and elected officials plan to press the case at a news conference in Altadena on Thursday.

California asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $26 million to run the Disaster Case Management Program, the collaborative said in its release. The agency approved $13 million and has paid $3 million so far. The $10 million balance, which the California Department of Social Services says it can no longer front, is what is forcing the shutdown, according to the coalition, which said the closure would come short of FEMA’s standard 24-month operating period for disaster case management.

The Disaster Case Management Program is a FEMA-funded program that provides case management and long-term recovery support to survivors of the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, according to Los Angeles County. The collaborative said it was established under Presidential Major Disaster Declaration DR-4856, is administered by the state social services department and is delivered by Catholic Charities of California, CORE, the Little Tokyo Service Center and Jewish Family Services LA, working with the county’s long-term recovery groups. The state lists DR-4856 among its active disaster case management programs and directs survivors to (833) 775-3267.

The coalition said there are 1,397 open cases and roughly 700 survivors on a wait list, including 1,027 active cases from the Eaton Fire and 339 from the Palisades Fire. Referrals through the program have unlocked more than $100 million in direct assistance since January 2025, the release said, and if the program lapses those cases would move to community organizations the coalition described as already overextended.

Advocates are asking FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to release the remaining $10 million and to approve a pending state request for roughly $6 million more, the collaborative said. A group of providers, recovery groups and community partners also sent a letter to members of Congress on Tuesday urging them to press the agency, according to the release.

Rep. Judy Chu said in the release that taking away case managers while survivors are still struggling to recover is “indefensible,” and that she would keep pushing until Eaton Fire survivors have the federal resources they need to rebuild.

“Survivors should not have to fight their way through recovery alone,” Ann Lee, chief executive and co-founder of CORE, said in the release.

The coalition cited survivor data showing that two in three fire survivors remain displaced nearly 20 months after the fires, including 85 percent of those who lost their homes entirely. “The fire ended. The need didn’t,” advocates said in the release.

The collaborative also tied the case to Washington state, which it said is seeking a federal major disaster declaration for its 2026 wildfires and has been given until Sept. 29 to apply — one day before the California program is set to end.

Federal support for Eaton Fire survivors has been extended before. In June, FEMA approved California’s request to extend Individuals and Households Program housing assistance for eligible homeowners through July 9, 2027, and for eligible renters through Oct. 9, 2026.