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Get FEMA Public Assistance Projects

fema_get_public_assistance
Read-only

Retrieve Public Assistance (PA) funded project records for a disaster or state — shows where federal recovery money was obligated. Returns applicant, damage category, project size and status, federal share obligated, and total obligated amounts. Either disaster_number or state must be provided. Use disaster_number (from fema_search_disasters) to scope to a single declaration, or state to browse all PA projects for a state. PA projects are created only when the PA program is declared (pa_declared: true on the disaster). A page holds at most 100,000 characters of projects; when projects remain past it, next_offset is the offset to continue from.

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
limitNoMaximum number of projects to return (1–10000, default 100). A page also stops at 100,000 characters of projects (roughly 220 projects); when either bound leaves matching projects out, next_offset names the offset to continue from.
stateNoTwo-letter state code to browse all PA projects for a state.
countyNoFilter by county name (e.g., Harris, dekalb). Case-insensitive substring match: harris also matches Harrison.
offsetNoPagination offset (default 0). Pass the previous page’s next_offset to continue.
disaster_numberNoFEMA disaster number to scope results to a single declaration. Numbers above 32767 match no declaration.

Output Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
errorNoPresent when the call failed. Absent on success.
noticeNoZero-match guidance for supplied filters and declared programs, or paging guidance: the continuation offset and whether limit or the response budget ended the page, or the last valid offset for a nonzero total.
projectsNoPublic assistance funded project records from offset onward, bounded by limit and by 100,000 characters of projects.
totalCountNoTotal matching projects before pagination — exceeds returned_count when results were capped at the limit.
next_offsetNoOffset of the next page: offset plus returned_count. Present only while matching projects remain past this page; pass it as offset to continue.
total_countNoTotal matching projects before pagination.
returned_countNoNumber of projects in this response.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed3 schema fields changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description
      Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `not_found`: The disaster number is above 32767, the highest number OpenFEMA holds, so no declaration exists. `no_results`: No PA project records found for the given filters. `request_too_long`: The county value makes the request URL longer than the roughly 8,900 characters OpenFEMA accepts. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `not_found`: The disaster number is above 32767, the highest number OpenFEMA holds, so no declaration exists. `request_too_long`: The county value makes the request URL longer than the roughly 8,900 characters OpenFEMA accepts. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples
      Previous value: -[
      -  "invalid_state",
      -  "missing_filter",
      -  "not_found",
      -  "no_results",
      -  "request_too_long"
      -]New value: +[
      +  "invalid_state",
      +  "missing_filter",
      +  "not_found",
      +  "request_too_long"
      +]
    • changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description
      Previous value: -"Paging guidance: the offset to continue from and whether limit or the response budget ended the page, or, when offset is at or past the end, the total and the last valid offset."New value: +"Zero-match guidance for supplied filters and declared programs, or paging guidance: the continuation offset and whether limit or the response budget ended the page, or the last valid offset for a nonzero total."
  2. Changed13 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / county / description
      Previous value: -"Filter by county name substring."New value: +"Filter by county name (e.g., Harris, dekalb). Case-insensitive substring match: harris also matches Harrison."
    • changedInput schema / properties / limit / description
      Previous value: -"Maximum number of projects to return (1–1000, default 100)."New value: +"Maximum number of projects to return (1–10000, default 100). A page also stops at 100,000 characters of projects (roughly 220 projects); when either bound leaves matching projects out, next_offset names the offset to continue from."
    • changedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum
      Previous value: -1000New value: +10000
    • changedInput schema / properties / offset / description
      Previous value: -"Pagination offset (default 0)."New value: +"Pagination offset (default 0). Pass the previous page’s next_offset to continue."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description
      Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `not_found`: The disaster number is above 32767, the highest number OpenFEMA holds, so no declaration exists. `no_results`: No PA project records found for the given filters. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `not_found`: The disaster number is above 32767, the highest number OpenFEMA holds, so no declaration exists. `no_results`: No PA project records found for the given filters. `request_too_long`: The county value makes the request URL longer than the roughly 8,900 characters OpenFEMA accepts. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples
      Previous value: -[
      -  "invalid_state",
      -  "missing_filter",
      -  "not_found",
      -  "no_results"
      -]New value: +[
      +  "invalid_state",
      +  "missing_filter",
      +  "not_found",
      +  "no_results",
      +  "request_too_long"
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / properties / next_offset
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "Offset of the next page: offset plus returned_count. Present only while matching projects remain past this page; pass it as offset to continue.",
      +  "type": "number"
      +}
    • changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description
      Previous value: -"Paging guidance when offset is at or past the end of the matching projects — names the total and the last valid offset."New value: +"Paging guidance: the offset to continue from and whether limit or the response budget ended the page, or, when offset is at or past the end, the total and the last valid offset."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / description
      Previous value: -"Public assistance funded project records."New value: +"Public assistance funded project records from offset onward, bounded by limit and by 100,000 characters of projects."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / items / properties / project_amount / description
      Previous value: -"Total estimated project cost in USD. Absent when not yet determined."New value: +"Estimated total eligible cost of the project in USD from FEMA's damage survey, without administrative costs. Absent when not yet determined."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / items / properties / project_size / description
      Previous value: -"Project size classification: \"small\" (≤$1M) or \"large\" (>$1M). Absent when unclassified."New value: +"Large or Small, set by comparing the eligible amount from the damage survey with the large-project threshold FEMA sets for each fiscal year. Absent when unclassified."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / items / properties / project_status / description
      Previous value: -"Current project status (e.g., Obligated, Closed, In Progress). Absent when not set."New value: +"Eligibility status of the project: Eligible (nearly all projects), Pending Eligibility Review, Ineligible, or Withdrawn. Absent when not set."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / items / properties / total_obligated / description
      Previous value: -"Total obligated amount across all funding sources in USD; 0 when nothing is obligated."New value: +"Federal share of the eligible project amount plus State (recipient) and applicant (subrecipient) administrative costs, in USD; equals federal_share_obligated when no administrative costs are recorded. Holds no non-federal share. 0 when nothing is obligated."
  3. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / items / properties / federal_share_obligated / description
      Previous value: -"Federal dollars obligated for this project in USD. Absent before obligation."New value: +"Federal dollars obligated for this project in USD; 0 when nothing is obligated."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / projects / items / properties / total_obligated / description
      Previous value: -"Total obligated amount across all funding sources in USD. Absent before obligation."New value: +"Total obligated amount across all funding sources in USD; 0 when nothing is obligated."
  4. Changed4 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / disaster_number / description
      Previous value: -"FEMA disaster number to scope results to a single declaration."New value: +"FEMA disaster number to scope results to a single declaration. Numbers above 32767 match no declaration."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description
      Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `no_results`: No PA project records found for the given filters. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `not_found`: The disaster number is above 32767, the highest number OpenFEMA holds, so no declaration exists. `no_results`: No PA project records found for the given filters. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples
      Previous value: -[
      -  "invalid_state",
      -  "missing_filter",
      -  "no_results"
      -]New value: +[
      +  "invalid_state",
      +  "missing_filter",
      +  "not_found",
      +  "no_results"
      +]
    • changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description
      Previous value: -"Guidance when no results were found."New value: +"Paging guidance when offset is at or past the end of the matching projects — names the total and the last valid offset."
  5. Changed6 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / $schema
      Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
    • addedInput schema / additionalProperties
      Added value: +false
    • changedOutput schema / $schema
      Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"
    • addedOutput schema / anyOf
      Added value: +[
      +  {
      +    "not": {
      +      "required": [
      +        "error"
      +      ]
      +    },
      +    "required": [
      +      "projects",
      +      "total_count",
      +      "returned_count"
      +    ]
      +  },
      +  {
      +    "required": [
      +      "error"
      +    ]
      +  }
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / properties / error
      Added value: +{
      +  "additionalProperties": {},
      +  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
      +  "properties": {
      +    "code": {
      +      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
      +      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
      +      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
      +      "type": "integer"
      +    },
      +    "data": {
      +      "additionalProperties": {},
      +      "properties": {
      +        "reason": {
      +          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_state`: The state parameter is not a valid 2-letter US state/territory code. `missing_filter`: Neither disaster_number nor state was provided. `no_results`: No PA project records found for the given filters. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
      +          "examples": [
      +            "invalid_state",
      +            "missing_filter",
      +            "no_results"
      +          ],
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "recovery": {
      +          "additionalProperties": {},
      +          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
      +          "properties": {
      +            "hint": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            }
      +          },
      +          "required": [
      +            "hint"
      +          ],
      +          "type": "object"
      +        },
      +        "retryable": {
      +          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
      +          "type": "boolean"
      +        }
      +      },
      +      "type": "object"
      +    },
      +    "message": {
      +      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    }
      +  },
      +  "required": [
      +    "code",
      +    "message"
      +  ],
      +  "type": "object"
      +}
    • removedOutput schema / required
      Removed value: -[
      -  "projects",
      -  "total_count",
      -  "returned_count"
      -]
  6. Changed1 schema field changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / totalCount
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "Total matching projects before pagination — exceeds returned_count when results were capped at the limit.",
      +  "type": "number"
      +}
  7. First observed

TDQS

A4.5/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover the read-only/open-world profile, and the description adds substantial context beyond them: the 100,000-character page cap, the existence of next_offset for continuation, and the pa_declared prerequisite. It does not discuss rate limits or auth requirements, but for a read-only public dataset tool that is a minor gap.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Five sentences, all front-loaded with purpose first and constraints second; each sentence carries information (scoping rule, source tool, prerequisite, pagination). The return-field enumeration is the one paragraph that could be trimmed given an output schema exists.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With an output schema present, the description need not enumerate return fields, yet it does — mildly redundant. What matters is covered: mutually-inclusive-but-required scoping, the disaster-number source, the pa_declared prerequisite, and pagination continuation via next_offset.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3, but the description adds genuinely useful semantics: it explains that disaster_number comes from fema_search_disasters and that state is for browsing, plus the interaction between limit and the character-based page cap. It slightly over-describes the return fields, which is redundant but not harmful.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource ('Retrieve Public Assistance (PA) funded project records') and the scoping dimension (disaster or state). The framing around 'where federal recovery money was obligated' clearly distinguishes it from siblings like fema_get_housing_assistance and fema_search_nfip.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly states the selection rule: 'Either disaster_number or state must be provided,' then names when to use each and points to fema_search_disasters as the source of the disaster number. It also surfaces a real prerequisite — PA projects only exist when pa_declared is true on the disaster — which prevents wasted calls.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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