The “Road Home” program is a reconstruction program instated by Louisiana governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco after Hurricane Katrina to help families rebuild their homes and get compensation for the property they have lost. The program gives displaced residents three options: rebuild in the same location in which they lived before the hurricane hit, rebuild in another place within the state, or sell their property and move out all together. As of right now, the program is funded by $7.5 billion of federal money (WAFB 2006). Residents can receive grants of up to $150,000 to finance the reconstruction of their homes. The program is run by the State Office of Community Development in Louisiana (Road Home 2006).

The application process is a rather lengthy one, as it must be to prevent fraud and to ensure a fair distribution of funds. After a resident submits an application, he or she must schedule an appointment with a counselor, who will review the application and decide upon exactly the amount of money to be given to the homeowner. The counselor also has the job of making sure that the homeowner understands his or her options and makes the one most suited to their situation. Once this has been done, the funds can be distributed to the homeowner (Road Home 2006). As of now, about 123,000 homes are counted as damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Of the homeowners that have applied for “Road Home” grants, 23,546 have met with counselors to discuss their applications. Only 27 have actually been given money from the program’s budget (WAFB 2006).

Although the program is a good one in theory, it seems as if it is not working in practice. We applaud the initiative taken by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the governor in formulating a cohesive plan for the reconstruction of residences. However, it seems as if the bureaucracy in which the plan is operating is causing the issue with the distribution of funds. Very recently, Governor Blanco announced that she would meet with the company responsible for distributing the federal portion of the funds, ICF International to see what can be done to improve the process of distribution (WAFB 2006).

Since much of the distribution of funds is being handled by a private company, the influence that the government has on this distribution is much more limited than it would be if the government itself was distributing the funds. The government cannot really influence how ICF exactly conducts its distribution of funds and manages its bureaucracy. However, if the contract that ICF International has been awarded is not being met on the company’s part, then the government has full rights to take away the contract and give it to another company. Another option is to have the federal government handle the distribution of funds itself. Having a specific office within the Office of Community Development to oversee this distribution is a possibility. The office’s only function would be to make sure that the money that has been approved by the counselors is sent out to the families that are due to receive it. The office would also have to keep track of a substantial amount of money, and would need a large bureaucracy to do so, but since this is its only function, the bureaucracy could be focused and efficient.