The Biden administration next week will launch a funeral assistance program that will provide up to $9,000 to cover the burial costs of each American who died of covid-19 — the largest program ...

A majority of business for Professional Funeral Services Inc. comes from providing embalmment, transportation and other support services, rather than the retail side of hosting wakes and funerals. If ...

The program costs $11,000 and has two tracks — funeral directing, and funeral directing and embalming — and takes about 2 1/2 years. Students who go year-round can shave off a year.

Many people have yet to take advantage of the program. For example, in Missouri, about 48% of eligible families have applied for the money. The percentage is even lower in Kansas at 39%.

The FEMA program has received applications related to just one-third of the people statewide who have died of the virus, according to its own data.