About Health, Education, and Human Services Recovery
When a hurricane, wildfire, flood, or other emergency hits, it can disrupt medical care, close schools, strain human services, and create new health and safety risks. Recovery within health, education, and human services systems is about helping people and communities rebuild the services they rely on so individuals and families can stabilize, heal, and move forward.
The Health, Education, and Human Services (HEHS) Recovery Support Function (RSF) is described with the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) and focuses on five connected systems that serve people across a community:
HEHS recovery is centered on supporting the systems that support people.
This work is a team effort and is locally led, state-managed, and federally supported. Local governments and community organizations are closest to survivors and often deliver services on the ground. States, tribes, and territories set recovery priorities and lead long-term strategies. Federal partners support those leaders by helping connect resources, expertise, and coordination when it is needed.
These systems touch daily life in direct ways. A person may need a prescription refilled, regular dialysis, prenatal care, or a safe place to receive treatment. A family may need help finding housing, food, childcare, or benefits. A student may need a way to keep learning even if their school building is damaged. When these supports are interrupted, stress increases and recovery take longer.
These systems also depend on each other. If health care is limited, more people may need community support. If schools are closed, families may struggle to work, and children may lose access to meals and support services. If public health risks rise, more people may get sick and local resources can be overwhelmed. Strengthening HEHS systems helps reduce these ripple effects.
Before and After a Disaster
To build a more resilient nation, the ASPR Office of Community Mitigation & Recovery works to improve recovery operations across the entire country.
ASPR’s Office of Community Mitigation & Recovery experts collaborate with federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners to help communities prepare for and recover from disaster through recovery planning and capacity building initiatives. ASPR also provides technical assistance, upon request, to help build capacity to address common but complex recovery challenges. This includes providing critical information and resources on preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts via ASPR TRACIE and the HHS emPOWER Program.
ASPR’s Office of Community Mitigation & Recovery leads the Health, Education, and Human Services Recovery Support Function, or HEHS RSF. In this role, it works with other federal agencies to support the recovery goals of states, tribes, and territories affected by disasters. These agencies bring special knowledge, legal authority, and resources, with shared objectives to reduce suffering and loss of life, improve preparedness for future disasters, and increase individual and community resilience.
When FEMA activates this recovery effort, ASPR’s recovery team helps states, tribes, territories, and local governments with difficult recovery challenges. Federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners work together to figure out what was damaged, what help is needed, and what support will make the biggest difference. They then use practical tools like training, expert advice, partnerships, data, and help finding resources to fix gaps in health, education, and human services systems.
For more information about ASPR’s HEHS Recovery Coordination, email SOC.Recovery@hhs.gov