Inequity after death: Exploring the equitable utilization of FEMA's COVID‐19 funeral assistance funds

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• Author: Rebecca M. Entress,Jenna Tyler,Abdul‐Akeem Sadiq
• Date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13572

SYMPOSIUM ARTICLE

Inequity after death: Exploring the equitable utilization of

FEMA’s COVID-19 funeral assistance funds

Rebecca M. Entress

1

| Jenna Tyler

2

| Abdul-Akeem Sadiq

1

1

School of Public Administration, University of

Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA

2

Fors Marsh, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Correspondence

Rebecca M. Entress, University of Central Florida,

528 W Livingston Street, Orlando, FL, USA.

Email: rmentress@knights.ucf.edu

Abstract

As of March 2021, the United States had nearly 1 million COVID-19 deaths. To aid

families, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the

Funeral Assistance Program. Using publicly available data, we examine the equita-

ble utilization of FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program funding. Results

show a significant relationship between FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Pro-

gram funding and some, but not all, social vulnerability components. Specifically,

counties with higher percentages of the population with disabilities and higher

percentages of minorities receive lower amounts of funding per 100,000 residents.

These findings suggest that FEMA’s equity efforts are not fully materializing

regarding the utilization of the FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program fund-

ing among socially vulnerable groups. FEMA should broaden its social equity out-

reach and priorities for those not traditionally considered in social equity

discussions, such as people with disabilities while continuing efforts toward tradi-

tional social equity.

Evidence for Practice

•In general, counties with a higher number of COVID-19 deaths received a greater

amount of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) COVID-19 Funeral

Assistance Program funding.

•Some counties, particularly counties with a high number of deaths in the South-

ern United States, could benefit from increased utilization of FEMA COVID-19

Funeral Assistance Program funding.

•Counties with high percentages of minorities as well as people with disabilities

are more likely to receive lower amounts of FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance

Program funding, suggesting that additional efforts are needed by FEMA to

enhance social equity.

Globally, more than 5.6 million people have died from

COVID-19 as of January 24, 2022, making this pandemic

one of the largest and most widespread mass fatality inci-

dents in history (Farivar, 2020; John Hopkins Centers for

Civic Impact, 2021; Security Solutions for Enabling and

Assuring Businesses, 2020). A mass fatality incident is a

“situation where there are more bodies than can be han-

dled using existing local resources”(McEntire, 2007,

p. 159). Evidence from various parts of the world indicates

that existing resources are insufficient to meet the enor-

mous number of COVID-19 bodies that need to be man-

aged (Zavattaro et al., 2021). For example, in the Northern

region of Lombardy, Italy, local crematoria were over-

whelmed with COVID-19 deaths (Castelfranco, 2020). In

Madrid, Spain, crematoria and funeral homes were over-

whelmed, prompting local authorities to use ice rinks as

temporary morgues for COVID-19 deaths (Amaro, 2020).

In the United States (U.S.), the number of COVID-19

deaths overwhelmed morgues and cemeteries, so much

so that in many cases, refrigerated trucks were used to

store bodies (Davies, 2020; Entress, Tyler, & Sadiq, 2020).

Mass fatality incidents have physical and mental

health consequences. In terms of physical health, there is

a potential risk of illness when handling dead bodies,

especially if the deceased died of an infectious disease,

and in terms of mental health delays in identifying the

dead and in funeral and burial services can cause psycho-

logical and emotional distress for survivors (Kumar &

Received: 1 April 2022 Revised: 29 September 2022 Accepted: 13 October 2022

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13572

Public Admin Rev. 2023;83:1221–1233. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar © 2022 American Society for Public Administration. 1221