Emergency Rental Assistance Program 

Florida Department of Children and Families

Home › Emergency Rental Assistance Program 

About the project

Tidal Basin was selected by the State of Florida Department of Children and Families to administer the state’s U.S. Treasury-funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

Key takeaways

  • Prime Contractor: Tidal Basin
  • Project Dates:  April 2021 to Present
  • Funds Managed: $1.6 billion for Dept. of Treasury
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Resilience Delivered

Tidal Basin is administering the statewide $1.6 billion rental and utility assistance program for low-income households impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The program, known as OUR Florida, has fully utilized the State’s ERA1 allocation and has moved into processing the ERA2 allocation.

Comprehensive Management

Our team provides full grant management, case management, call center, marketing, outreach services, and intake and entry of applications through a tailored tenant and landlord portal. The tenant and landlord portal has been customized for the program, which enables management to implement changes quickly and to track production goals and productivity. Tidal Basin has also created a paper application and launched a mail option for those unable to access a computer or internet services. 

Payment Assistance

Tidal Basin ensures payments are made only to eligible applicants, avoiding duplication of benefits and within the expenditure deadline assigned by the U.S. Treasury. For example, Tidal Basin coordinates with counties and cities with direct allocations from the Treasury to prevent duplicative payments throughout the state.  

Call Center Solutions

Tidal Basin launched a call center and case management staff of more than 500 within three weeks of contract NTP. Currently, we manage a staff of nearly 750 call center employees and over 450 case workers and quality control specialists.   

Training and Support

The team has designed training to onboard staff for in-person and remote work, which has been critical in the ongoing public health emergency. In addition, we manage two program offices that host walk-in and scheduled appointments. Tidal Basin also coordinates with the Department to place program staff in 16 public benefits offices throughout the state. This reach enables the program to assist both tenants and landlords who may need assistance with scanning documents or understanding eligibility requirements. 

Tidal Basin is responsible for overseeing and delivering the following services:

  • Grant management 
  • Case management 
  • Applicant intake and eligibility 
  • Technology solutions 
  • Payment processing 
  • Monitoring and compliance with all federal requirements 
  • Document management  
  • Quality Assurance / Quality Control 
  • Required reporting (state and federal) 
  • Call center management 
  • Marketing and branding services 
  • Stakeholder engagement and coordination 
  • Public outreach 
  • Training 
  • Website development and maintenance 
  • In-person application assistance 

Your knowledge of the complex governmental regulations and equally complex insurance and adjusting issues really helped the county maximize the public assistance that was available after all of these disasters. You delivered what you promised, and we are confident in your ability and the ability of your firm to provide these services fully on a technical and professional level yet be able to translate clearly and concisely the intricate and sometimes subjective FEMA regulations which we could not have done without you.

Salvatore R. Zappulla, Division Director Monroe County Budget and Finance, Monroe County, Florida

The State of Alaska…[has] a significant investment in the disaster recovery process for both state and federally declared events…. The collaboration with Tidal Basin in these efforts has been so successful and seamless that in most instances applicants and FEMA staff don’t even realize we have contractors on board unless we tell them. Our interaction with Tidal Basin staff and managers works and feels like true teammates and the result is a faster, more comprehensive delivery of disaster recovery resources to survivors.

Sam Walton, Program Manager for Disaster Assistance, State of Alaska

Months after the storm passed, the County was still faced with tremendous burdens related to the insurance coverage issues and FEMA and MEMA eligibility issues. Jackson County hired your organization to provide professional services for disaster assistance, remediation, restoration and recovery efforts….Their expertise with governmental regulations, the complex FEMA process and insurance adjustments resulted in our successful claim for over $2 million in additional FEMA Public Assistance funding specifically; in our successful negotiations with our insurance carrier; and in numerous other increases in the values FEMA and MEMA initially designated for County projects. Jackson County will always be mindful of the help we received from you when we needed it most.

Alan K. Sudduth, County Administrator, Board of Supervisors, Jackson County, Mississippi