As a funeral director, you are committed to helping families honor their loved ones in meaningful ways while keeping their family and friends safe. If federal, state, or local policies limit the size of public gatherings, there are alternatives you can offer: Families of people who died from COVID-related causes will soon be able to claim funeral expenses under the $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed earlier this month. However, as funeral homes were overwhelmed by the number of COVID-related deaths, there were other costs associated with preparing and storing the body. NFDA offers a webcasting license that covers copyrighted music in the ASCAP, BMI and SESAC catalogues. It includes services streamed via funeral webcasting software, as well as other live streaming platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Zoom, Vimeo and Skype. The person requesting funeral assistance may be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen, or qualified alien who incurred the funeral expenses. Note: The NFDA does not support these companies. This list is simply provided for the convenience of funeral professionals. To provide the best service to culturally diverse groups, you need to be familiar with their expectations as consumers and the variety of funeral customs and practices they honour. The NFDA has compiled information on some of the most common religious traditions in the United States. For more information, consult spiritual members of a specific group or other resources in your ward who are associated with different groups. „At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters,“ FEMA Acting Administrator Bob Fenton said in a statement.
„The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense suffering to so many. While we cannot change what happened, we reiterate our commitment to help with funerals and funeral costs that many families did not expect. Currently, CDC guidelines state, „There is currently no known risk of being in the same room as the body of a person who died of COVID-19 at a funeral or visitation service.“ However, the CDC also notes, „People should consider not touching the body of someone who died of COVID-19.“ FEMA officials advised families seeking help to gather all funeral expense documents. such as receipts and funeral contract, which include the name of the applicant, the name of the deceased, the amount of the funeral expenses and the date of the funeral expenses. Ultimately, funeral directors must determine how best to balance the vital advice they receive from federal, state and local health officials with the needs of their families. The CDC makes recommendations on how to ensure public safety at public gatherings. FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. The NFDA offers model law forms that allow funeral homes to webcast funeral services and register funeral services. So far, more than 24,400 people in New Jersey have died from COVID-related cases. And the cost of that funeral, which can average between $8,934 and $9,239 in the state — not counting a casket or funeral — left many people with bills they had to pay heavily. We understand that these are confusing and frightening times, especially for those dealing with the recent loss of a loved one. We want you to know that we are here for you and that we do everything we can to accommodate our families in accordance with the guidelines of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association and the laws of the State of New Jersey.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Information and laws change every day, so we will do our best to answer all your questions at the time of your correspondence. Please continue to follow local and state laws on social distancing to stay safe and healthy. Our family wishes you peace in these difficult times. In these challenging times, where federal, state, and local policies and/or mandates limit the size of visitation and funerals, webcasting or livestreaming a funeral can be a great way for those who cannot physically attend a service to attend the event. Facebook and YouTube have litigated with music companies that prevent them from playing copyrighted music through their systems. Blocking and muting is done by algorithms. Although a member has a webcasting license to stream music over the internet at their funeral, Facebook and YouTube mute it.
If the user continues to stream the copyrighted music through their systems, they will eventually prevent the user from using the system. Regardless, bills currently before the New Jersey legislature would provide an additional $20 million to cover funeral expenses for the families of those who died from the coronavirus. Under the state program, applicants would have to be a New Jersey resident requesting a death due to COVID-19. Federal assistance is capped at a maximum financial amount of $9,000 per funeral, with a maximum of $35,500 per request for multiple funerals of other family members after January 20, 2020. The agency said it would also require proof of funds from other sources specifically used to use funeral expenses, noting that FEMA support cannot duplicate funeral benefits or funeral insurance, financial assistance from volunteer agencies or other sources. If you do not currently have an NFDA funeral webcast license, click here for more information and to watch a „live stream during the pandemic,“ a recording of an NFDA discussion hosted on Facebook about the live funeral. There is no limit to indoor and outdoor gatherings, including funerals and memorial services. As the country has begun to reopen and we are moving toward a new normal, the CDC has issued updated guidelines for public gatherings titled „Considerations for Events and Gatherings.“ These updated guidelines emphasize that „event planners and managers, in collaboration with national and local health authorities, can determine if and how to implement these considerations and make adjustments to meet the unique needs and circumstances of the local community. Since the spread of the COVID-19 virus varies from community to community, these considerations are intended to complement, not replace, state, local, territorial, or tribal laws, rules, and regulations that assemblies must comply with.
Organizers should continue to consider, based on current conditions, whether they should postpone, cancel or significantly reduce the number of participants in rallies. The NFDA worked on this issue a few weeks ago and failed to get Facebook to make a change. They stated that previous settlement agreements prevented them from doing so. The NFDA recommends that members use their own websites or other streaming tools such as Zoom, Vimeo, or other commercial services that don`t have these copyright issues to broadcast funerals. The NFDA has been made aware of the issue of funeral directors „muting“ when they broadcast funerals on Facebook. We reached out to a BMI representative who explains that Facebook made deals with song producers a few years ago to resolve copyright infringements. These agreements require Facebook to mute the streaming via the Facebook platform if the streaming contains music from the songwriters. He added that BMI, ASCAP and SESAC are not parties to these agreements and do not have the possibility to amend them. In addition, Facebook cannot unilaterally change them.