Hundreds Get Unrequested Quake Funds From FEMA : Aid: Housing checks of up to $3,450 go to people whose homes are livable. Agency says errors come in rush to help.

Hundreds of government checks have been mailed to people living in areas hit hard by the Northridge earthquake--even though some of the recipients say they never asked for the emergency funds.

Most of the checks, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for up to $3,450 apiece, seem to be intended for emergency housing needs, although some people receiving them say their homes are still habitable. Others say that when they called FEMA to ask about the checks, they were told the money could be used for any earthquake-related costs. But the checks also come with a warning that people who cash them are subject to audits and should keep detailed records and receipts.

FEMA officials conceded Wednesday that there were problems in the assistance program but said they stemmed from the effort to get aid to victims as quickly as possible.

Officials said that about 21,000 emergency housing checks totaling about $67 million had been issued to date and only a small percentage--perhaps 2%--went to those who had not asked for them.

The agency used city maps of areas most heavily damaged to identify priorities in the assistance program. But officials urged patience and said all earthquake victims who qualify for aid will get it.

Reports of the unrequested checks are cropping up all over the region, from Simi Valley to Northridge to the Westside, with some people reporting whole blocks of neighbors receiving them.

For many, the government’s unexpected largess has only added to the overall confusion of recovery efforts. They don’t know whether the checks are grants or loans or whether they can be applied to any bona fide earthquake repair, and are unsure where to return them.

For some, the checks also raise the question of whether the government, criticized for its lax response during past disasters, may have overcompensated this time and whether irregularities in the assistance program, if there are any, will be reconciled.

Most of those contacted said the checks arrived after they had called a hot line set up by FEMA to handle the flood of aid applications and inquiries from earthquake victims. Normally, FEMA requires that the homes of applicants for emergency assistance be inspected to determine the extent of damage before checks are released.

But in this case, check recipients say, no one checked to make sure they were eligible and the money turned up out of the blue.

Those who received the unanticipated checks, meanwhile, voiced both concern and indifference.

“It’s just one more thing to deal with, as if you didn’t have enough to do already,” laughed one woman, an employee in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. She said her Westside home needs some structural repairs but was not seriously damaged.

She called the FEMA hot line a few days after the Jan. 17 quake to ask about non-emergency loans she might qualify for. She was asked specifically whether she needed emergency aid and said no.

However, last weekend the woman received a check for $3,450 for emergency housing. She said no one has come to inspect her house to verify that there is any damage.

“I think it’s commendable that the government is responding so quickly but I don’t know if they are allocating money properly, certainly not in my case.”

The woman said she was particularly concerned that some money being hastily dispensed may not be getting to people who truly need it. Her sister, for example, lived in a Sherman Oaks apartment building that was leveled but has been able to get only $500 in emergency aid, so far, she said.

A Northridge resident said he called the hot line shortly after the quake to inquire about a Small Business Administration loan and this week received a $3,450 check for emergency housing.

A notice accompanying the check reads: “This is in response to your application for FEMA disaster housing assistance. Because your application indicates that your home was damaged or destroyed during the earthquake you are being provided FEMA assistance. By cashing the enclosed check you are confirming that the information on your application is true and correct. . . .”

“I called the hot line again and asked what this (check) was for and the guy looked up my control number and said I was entitled to it,” said the man, who added his house had suffered damage--a fallen chimney and a damaged roof--but was still habitable. “There was no screening or any processing of information other than what I had given them over the phone. I’d like to ask them what are the auditing procedures and when do I have to supply them with these receipts.”

Morrie Goodman, FEMA’s director of public affairs, said he was sensitive to such concerns but said his organization was doing its best under the circumstances.

“You know this is an agency where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” Goodman said. “The system is not infallible because it was put into place virtually overnight. There are things to work out and we are working at them furiously. But the bottom line is we are getting aid to people--the vast majority to people who need it desperately.”

Frank Kishton, FEMA’s coordinating officer for the earthquake, added that eventually the homes of all people who receive checks will be inspected and the agency has instituted auditing procedures to ensure against fraud.

Some of those who received unrequested checks were more understanding of the early hitches than others.

“We don’t think we’re eligible and would like to return the check,” said one woman, a Simi Valley resident who received a $3,300 emergency housing check. The woman estimates that her home suffered about $20,000 in damage but it is mostly cosmetic and the house is still being lived in.

“But with all the criticism we’ve heard and read about FEMA and government agencies taking so long to respond, the one thing you have to say is they certainly acted quickly in this case. Maybe they feel it is more important to get the money out there right away for people and to reconcile things later. Actually, it made me feel pretty good about the government.”