On January 29, FEMA, in partnership with
organizations that collectively represent the emergency management profession
in America, launched PrepTalks – a new approach to sharing research and
innovation in the emergency management arena.
PrepTalks
are 15-to-20-minute presentations by subject-matter experts and
national/international thought leaders, designed to spread new ideas, spark
conversation, and promote innovative leadership for the issues confronting
emergency managers now and over the next 20 years.
Eight
PrepTalk speakers delivered presentations at the first PrepTalk Symposium, held
at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Topics included the
importance of social capital in disaster mitigation and recovery, land use and
environmental planning for community resilience, and a global perspective on
how current decisions are shaping future disaster risk. More information on the
speakers is available at www.fema.gov/preptalks.
In
the coming months, the PrepTalk partners will release videos online of each
presentation with related guidance, reading materials, and discussion questions
for emergency management partners.
PrepTalks
are a partnership between FEMA, the International Association of Emergency
Managers, the National Emergency Management Association, the National Homeland
Security Consortium, and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland
Security and Defense.
FEMA Acting Deputy Administrator Dr. Daniel Kaniewski speaking at the PrepTalks event. Photo by Nick Sleptzoff.
FEMA’s National Integration Center is seeking feedback on 109 draft National Incident Management System (NIMS) Job
Titles/Position Qualifications and Resource Typing Definitions. NIMS is a key component of U.S. incident management
efforts and enables organizations from across the country to work together
during incidents of all kinds and sizes.
FEMA stakeholders had input in the
development of the NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualifications and Resource Typing
Definitions. They define minimum
qualifications and capabilities for personnel and their equipment within their
assigned teams to manage all threats and hazards, regardless of the incident’s
cause or size.
This National Engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. EST on February 27, 2018. National Engagement provides an opportunity for
interested parties to comment on the job titles/position qualifications and
resource typing definitions.
To review the NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualifications
and Resource Typing Definitions, go to: https://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system/national-engagement.
To provide comments on the draft,
complete the feedback form and submit it to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA
is releasing the Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide, (Guide) which will
update and supersede the existing tribal multi-hazard mitigation planning
guidance issued in 2010. The updated policy document will guide how agency
officials (mitigation planners) interpret regulatory requirements in their
review and approval of tribal mitigation plans.
The
Guide will become effective on December 5, 2018. The webinar
presentation on the new guide includes the basic requirements for standard and
enhanced mitigation plans and the updated plan review tool. The Tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan Review
Guide is available online.
Webinar information
Date: February 12, 2018
Time: 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time
Access instructions:
Audio conference line:
800-320-4330 PIN: 905506#
Adobe weblink: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/r51hovh1mun/
Test your Adobe Connect connection prior
to the meeting at https://fema.connectsolutions.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm.
The Emergency
Management Institute (EMI) will conduct a course to assist tribal colleges and
universities with establishing or enhancing their emergency management
curricula. This course addresses issues unique to Tribal Colleges and Universities
and begins the process of identifying and overcoming institutional roadblocks
of emergency management related offerings.
The target audience
includes department chairs in disciplines such as sociology, geography, public
administration, and psychology from minority and minority-serving institutions
of higher education. A goal of the training is to achieve a more diverse
population of emergency management professionals who reflect the communities in
which they live and work. Enrollment is limited to the first 20
applicants.
For more information,
contact Lillian Virgil at Lillian.virgil@fema.dhs.gov.
Dates: March 19-20, 2018
Location: EMI, National Emergency Training Center (NETC), Emmitsburg,
Maryland
Registration
deadline: Monday, February 6
To apply: Complete a FEMA Form 119-25-1, General Admissions
Application, with student signature and signature of supervisor or sponsoring
agency official. Mail, scan, or fax the application to:
NETC, Admissions Office Room
I-216 South Seton Avenue
Emmitsburg, MD 21727-8998
Phone: (301) 447-1035 Fax: (301) 447-1658
Email: netadmissions@fema.dhs.gov
FEMA’s Map Service Center (MSC) and related services
have a few updates and changes planned for early February. The agency
continues to improve how information related to flood maps is available.
On February 3rd, changes to the MSC Address Search tool and enhancements
to the National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) Viewer will be implemented. These
updates will help streamline access to different tools and help reduce the
complexity for map users by reducing the number of steps necessary to get
information.
Some
of the specific new features that this update will offer include:
- When typing in a specific
address, users will immediately see an interactive flood map for the location.
- On the main page,
users will have the option of printing out a map for their location based on
the dynamic NFHL-based map or downloading the traditional Flood Insurance Rate
Map (FIRM) Panel.
- Users will be able to access a new Preliminary
Map Comparison Tool that allows them to see interactive preliminary maps for
their area of interest and makes it easy to compare the new maps to the current
maps on the screen and in a printable report format.
The new per capita indicator for calendar year 2018 is
$143 per capita for all major disasters declared January 1, 2018 through
December 31, 2018, where there is a recommended adjustment of the federal cost
share from 75 percent to 90 percent.
Following a major disaster declaration, a state, tribe,
or territory may request an adjustment of their federal cost share from the
standard 75 percent up to 90 percent for permanent work and emergency work.
When evaluating these requests, FEMA will use $143 per capita of the state,
tribal, or territorial population as the qualifying indicator for the
recommendation.
This adjustment is based on an increase of 2.1 percent in
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the 12-month period that
ended December 2017. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor released the information on January 12, 2018.
For more information about the Consumer Price Index,
please visit https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/consumer-price-index-2017-in-review.htm.
FEMA is hosting
a webinar on Monday, February 12, 2018, that will feature a discussion about best practices, lessons learned, and challenges for people with
disabilities and others with access and functional needs during the response
and recovery phases of a disaster. More specifically, it will feature Core
Advisory Groups (CAGs), which consist of individuals with disabilities and others
with access and functional needs, FEMA personnel, local emergency managers, and
other concerned stakeholders who work together to bring about change in how
emergency services are provided.
Sharing Inclusive
Practices and Approaches to Prepare Communities for Disasters: Core Advisory
Group Webinar
Date: Monday, February 12, 2018
Time: 12– 1 p.m. ET
How to Join the Webinar:
- Please register
for the event using the Adobe Connect registration web link.
- Be sure to test your Adobe Connect connection prior to the meeting.
- This webinar will
offer captioning.
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is
accepting applications from February 1 – May 15, 2018, for the National Emergency
Management Advanced Academy and the National Emergency Management
Executive Academy.
The Advanced Academy addresses
program management and oversight, effective communication, integrated
collaboration, and strategic thinking skills. The target audience is mid-level
managers who have a minimum of three years of experience in an emergency
management position to include government, non-profit, voluntary
organization, and private sector leaders. The program consists of four resident
courses conducted at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg,
Maryland; each course is five days in length. Classes begin in October,
November, or December 2018 and are ideally taken sequentially through September
2019.
The Executive Academy curriculum
enhances strategic leadership and critical thinking for emergency management
senior executives from all levels of government, non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector. Ideally, candidates will have
experience as senior executives of major emergency management
organizations, have served on major commissions and task forces, or be
responsible for decisions that have a significant effect on homeland security
and emergency management policies. The objectives of the Executive
Academy are to engage, challenge and enhance the talents of emergency
management executives through critical thinking, visionary strategic planning,
and negotiation and conflict resolution when applied to complex real-world
problems. The Executive Academy consists of four resident sessions, distance
learning, and literature reviews.
For more information and to apply for the Advanced Academy, go to https://training.fema.gov/empp/applytoadvancedacademy.aspx or contact fema-empp-advanced-academy@fema.dhs.gov. For the Executive Academy, go
to https://training.fema.gov/empp/applytoexecutiveacademy.aspx or contact fema-empp-executive-academy@fema.dhs.gov.
Notice of Funding Opportunity for Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program
FEMA announced that the annual funding opportunity for the Fiscal Year 2017
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) is now open, and the application
period will close on Friday, February 2, 2018 at 5 p.m. (Eastern). The Fiscal Year 2017 AFG program will
award $310.5 million to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters
against fire-related deaths and hazards.
Applicant
tools, including the AFG Notice of Funding Opportunity, for this program will
be available at www.grants.gov
and at www.fema.gov/welcome-assistance-firefighters-grant-program.
Further, the “Get Ready Guide”
may also be useful for potential applicants and is provided to answer questions
and to help prepare grant applications.
For
fire departments/applicants requiring assistance please visit www.fema.gov/grants,
or contact the AFG Help Desk at firegrants@fema.gov or 1-866-274-0960.
FEMA and Interagency Partners Release Draft National Mitigation Investment Strategy for Public Comment
For
our nation to become more resilient, we must develop a more effective and
efficient way to invest in mitigation. The
U.S. Department of Homeland Security tasked the Mitigation
Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) to develop a National
Mitigation Investment Strategy (Investment Strategy). As of January
11, the public is encouraged to review the draft Investment Strategy and
provide comment. The draft Investment Strategy makes a series of recommendations, organized by six
desired outcomes which, if met, could result in a nation better equipped for,
and less vulnerable to, natural hazards. The draft Investment Strategy
provides a national approach to investments in mitigation activities and risk
management across federal, state, local, and territorial and tribal government
and the private and non-profit sectors.
The draft Investment Strategy is now available on the National Mitigation Framework
website at www.fema.gov/national-mitigation-framework. Comments on the
draft Investment Strategy will be accepted until March 11, 2018 either through
email to fema-nmis@fema.dhs.gov or through the
IdeaScale site at https://fema.ideascale.com/a/ideas/recent/campaign-filter/byids/campaigns/60968.
To learn more about FEMA’s commitment to the
National Mitigation Investment Strategy and building a true culture of
preparedness across all communities, read Investing in
Mitigation to Build a More Resilient Nation at www.fema.gov/blog.
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