FEMA released $6.6 million on Wednesday, Sept. 30, for a wildfire case-management program serving Los Angeles fire survivors. The program was hours from shutting down after the agency withheld most of the money it had promised.

The release follows weeks of pressure from four California lawmakers and keeps the Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) alive for now. But $3.3 million in approved federal funding remains outstanding, and the state money backstopping the program could run out by Oct. 31.

The DCMP connects survivors of the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires with case managers who help navigate insurance claims, FEMA appeals and rebuilding paperwork. As of a Thursday, Sept. 24, congressional letter to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton, more than 3,000 survivors had been served. Another 1,288 cases were active, 1,023 of them at the highest complexity levels, and 7,000 more survivors were waiting for a case manager.

FEMA approved approximately $13.2 million for the program in May 2025, to be paid in four equal installments over 24 months, Spectrum News first reported. Only the first $3.3 million arrived. On Sept. 11, FEMA Region 9 denied California's appeal for roughly $6.6 million in additional funding, saying the state had not provided sufficient cost justification, according to the congressional letter. FEMA's denial cited the agency's decision to prioritize non-disaster grants facing deadlines that could have "placed funding at risk."

California filled the gap with $9.9 million in state funds. Catholic Charities of California administered the money under a state contract, but the California Department of Social Services estimated those funds could be exhausted as early as Oct. 31, according to Spectrum News.

Community Organized Relief Effort, known as CORE, is one of several contractors under the program. CORE alone has helped 904 households, still has hundreds of active cases and hundreds more on a waitlist.

CORE's Matt Gsell told Spectrum News on Tuesday, Sept. 29, that homeowners affected by the fires were anywhere from $5,000 to $250,000 underinsured. He said CORE had already closed cases in preparation for the funding to run dry before learning of a one-month extension.

"We can't go month to month. We can't rely on that happening again," Gsell said. "That just gives us time to properly try and find somewhere for these survivors to work with."

Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla and Reps. Brad Sherman and Judy Chu wrote to Hamilton on Sept. 10 and again on Thursday, Sept. 24, demanding answers on the withheld funds. The Sept. 24 letter set a Monday, Sept. 28, deadline for FEMA to respond to five specific questions, including what documentation the agency needed to approve the state's supplemental request. FEMA did not respond. Spectrum News reported that its own inquiries also went unanswered.

After the Wednesday release, Rep. Chu said on X that $3.3 million in DCMP funding was still outstanding and that FEMA had not acted on California's appeal for additional money needed to sustain the program through May 2027. Chu also noted that President Trump had not yet approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's disaster supplemental funding request.

FEMA told Spectrum News it had provided more than $180 million in Individual Assistance to over 35,000 households under the January 2025 disaster declaration. The agency did not explain why the DCMP disbursement was delayed.

Catholic Charities of California was working to find a partner to continue the program through donations as of Tuesday, Sept. 29, but no plan had been published.