ABSTRACT
The intent of this chapter is to provide a better understanding of states’ roles in disaster recovery and to advocate for improvements to existing national policy based on this information. Emphasis is placed on the manner in which states address three dimensions of recovery: the degree to which they facilitate the matching of available resources and local needs, the timing of assistance, and the horizontal and vertical integration of the larger disaster recovery assistance network. An analysis of state recovery plans and a case study drawn from North Carolina are used to describe the unrealized potential of planning to address significant problems in state-level recovery practice and to derive recommendations that can improve national disaster recovery policies and guidance.
