When administering Public Assistance program grants, FEMA separates the work into two “types”: Emergency Work and Permanent Work. Within those two “types” of work, there are seven discrete “categories” of work. Learn more about FEMA’s Categories of Work and how projects are classified in the PA program.

The mechanics behind FEMA, its workforce, functions, budget, and ability to transfer payments, are all complicated by nuance during a shutdown.

The Public Assistance (PA) program is FEMA’s largest and most crucial grant program, devoted to helping communities stabilize, maintain operations, and return to “normal” as quickly as physically possible after a disaster.