Lack of Cohesion Bedevils Recovery

Lack of Cohesion Bedevils Recovery: "Lack of Cohesion Bedevils Recovery
Red Tape, Lapses in Planning Stall Relief

By Shankar Vedantam and Dean Starkman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 18, 2005; Page A01

Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck, red tape and poor planning have left thousands of evacuees without basic services, according to local and state officials, public policy experts and survivors themselves.

Hundreds of thousands of people from New Orleans and Gulf Coast communities have fled, sometimes to neighboring states and beyond, moving in with friends and family or into shelters, public housing and hotels funded by the Red Cross. With little guidance from federal and state governments -- and no single person or entity in charge of the overall operation -- cities and counties have been left on their own to find survivors homes, schools, jobs and health care. A patchwork of policies has resulted, causing relief agencies to sometimes work at cross-purposes."