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In response to calls from
members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and the DHS Office
of Inspector General over the last several years, FEMA is working to reform the
way the federal government supports states following disasters.
The agency continues to
actively explore the concept of a deductible, specifically leveraging the
Public Assistance Program. Individual Assistance programs, such as direct aid
to households after a disaster, would remain unchanged.
A Public Assistance
deductible concept could incentivize mitigation investments, promote
risk-informed decision-making, and build resilience, including to catastrophic
events.
As communities increase
disaster resiliency, they reduce the cost of future events for both the states
and the federal government. A deliberate effort to reduce risk at all levels of government will enhance
disaster response and post-disaster recovery capabilities nationwide.
FEMA is committed to a
transparent stakeholder engagement effort to explore how the program might move
forward. In 2016, FEMA sought public comments on the basic concept of a
deductible through www.Regulations.gov
under docket ID FEMA-2016-0003.
After considering the 150
comments received, FEMA developed a conceptual model framework that is now
available for public comment. This Supplemental Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, or SANPRM, is available for 90-days on www.Regulations.gov
under docket ID FEMA-2016-0003 at this link: FEMA_FRDOC_0001.
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) Virtual Tabletop
Exercise (VTTX) program will offer six sessions of a hurricane scenario on March
21, 22, 23 and April 11, 12, 13. The VTTX helps communities prepare
for the upcoming hurricane season using historical events and recovery
actions. The application deadlines are February 21 and March 14
respectively. Content is the same each day, and participants would attend
only one session. The VTTX involves key personnel discussing simulated
scenarios in an informal setting and can be used to assess plans, policies,
training, and procedures.
EMI conducts a monthly series of VTTXs using a Video
Teleconference (VTC) platform to reach community-based training audiences
around the country providing a virtual forum for disaster training. The
design of the VTTX is for a group of ten or more representatives from state,
local, tribal, and territorial emergency communities of practice and is
intended to provide an opportunity for responders across the nation to
simultaneously participate in a hazard-specific facilitated discussion.
Participants will need to connect via a site equipped with the appropriate VTC
capability (not Adobe Connect or Face Time-based), but alternate ways to
participate are also available upon request.
The VTTX will occur 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET on each of
the days listed above. To participate, send an email to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov
or call 301-447-7645. Also, send a courtesy copy email to the Integrated
Emergency Management Branch at fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-1381. Additional
information is available at https://training.fema.gov/programs/emivttx.aspx.
SAFER Grant Program Application
Period is Open
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released the
Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2016 provides $345,000,000 for the SAFER Grant Program for
the Department to assist fire departments and volunteer interest organizations
to increase the number of trained, "front line" firefighters
available in their communities.
SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire
departments increase frontline firefighters. SAFER offers grants to support
activities in two categories- Hiring of Firefighters and Recruitment and
Retention of Volunteer Firefighters. The authority for SAFER is derived from
the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, as amended (15 U.S.C.
§2229a et seq.).
The notice of funding opportunity document provides
applicants with the details of the requirements, processing, and evaluation of
an application for financial assistance for both of these activity areas.
The NOFO and technical assistance documents for this program
are available at www.grants.gov,
and at http://www.fema.gov/staffing-adequate-fire-emergency-response-grants.
The application period opened on Monday, January 9, 2017 at 8 a.m. ET and will close on Friday,
February 10, 2017 at 5 p.m, ET.
Grant Program to Prepare Communities for Complex Coordinated
Terrorist Attacks
The grant application period for
the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Program to Prepare Communities for Complex
Coordinated Terrorist Attacks (CCTA Program)
is currently open. The CCTA program provides $35.94 million to state, local,
tribal, and territorial jurisdictions to improve their ability to prepare for,
prevent, and respond to complex coordinated terrorist attacks in collaboration
with the whole community.
The application period will
remain open until February 10, 2017 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET. The FY 2016 CCTA Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is located online at: http://www.fema.gov/grants as well as on http://www.grants.gov
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 97.133.
If you have any questions,
please contact FEMA’s Intergovernmental Affairs Division at (202) 646-3444 or
at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov.
Applications Open for Integrated Emergency Management Courses
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) conducts
Integrated Emergency Management Courses (IEMC's) throughout the year and across
the country. The four-and-a-half day training course is designed specifically
for communities, providing both lecture and exercise-based training focused on
response operations for a disaster or emergency that could happen in their
area.
IEMC's courses simulate realistic crisis situations that
emergency operations center personnel and community leadership/elected
officials may encounter during disasters or other events. Also, the course
enhances the skills of participating officials and provides a forum to evaluate
the effectiveness of their specific emergency policies, plans, and procedures
to protect life and property. The course’s target audience includes:
state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government personnel; their SLTT
elected and appointed officials; supervisory, operations, and emergency support
personnel; nonprofit organizations; the private sector; law enforcement personnel;
firefighters; attorneys; public information officers; planners; and more.
IEMC classes are principally delivered at FEMA’s EMI at the
National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland; however,
delivery may also occur in the community. If your jurisdiction is interested in
applying for the program and obtaining information on the application process
and its timeline, please visit http://training.fema.gov/iemc/. The deadline for applications
is February 15, 2017. Questions should be directed to FEMA-EMI-IEMB@fema.dhs.gov.
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