Date of Conferral

1-12-2026

Date of Award

January 2026

Degree

Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A)

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Raj Singh

Abstract

This community-based non-profit organization aimed to aid those most in need by providing critical social services. The client organization has been selected numerous times as a recipient of federal disaster case management programs, often not until a year after the disaster, resulting in distrust of the federal government and organizations contracted to perform recovery services. Providing services to areas impacted has been difficult due to contract delays. The practice research question addressed in this study was: How can a client organization address the one-year service gap frequently associated with federal contracts through a disaster management planning system? The purpose of this qualitative study was to equip the client organization with a post-disaster needs assessment and disaster recovery plan by using a logic model, which was the primary deliverable, that can be used to evaluate and address unmet needs among vulnerable populations. Data collection consisted of 15 participants, which included 10 surveys and five in-person and virtual interviews with emergency management practitioners. Analytical techniques included creating themes that were identified during transcription, and analysis was conducted through triangulation. Findings included that the client organization could address its service gap through procurement contracts, immediate disaster case management, fee-for-service, sponsorships, and volunteer disaster case management. This study contributes to public administration practice by providing methods to shorten recovery times. This project has the potential to promote positive social change by providing additional information related to the unmet needs of vulnerable populations and at-risk communities through future disaster planning.

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