This March, FEMA established an interagency partnership with the National Language Service Corps (NLSC). The partnership makes health and emergency information accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency. Administered by the Defense Language and National Security Education Office, this Department of Defense resource comprises over 10,000 multilingual volunteers from across the globe who are proficient in over 500 languages and dialects.
In support of FEMA and the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the NLSC provided on-call phone interpretation services in 17 languages to over 40 of FEMA’s community-based testing sites from March to July.
This partnership allows the NLSC to support FEMA’s language needs. From translation and interpretation to instruction and advising, the NLSC’s experienced linguists provide thousands of volunteer hours each year through on-site and remote work.
NLSC members have a variety of backgrounds and certifications and receive ongoing training to meet the diverse needs of NLSC partners. When activated to support a mission, these linguists become temporary federal employees and receive a small stipend for their work.
FEMA seeks comments on revisions to a recovery policy about disaster grant closeout procedures.
The draft version of “Recovery Policy FP 205-081-2 Stafford Act Section 705, Disaster Grant Closeout Procedures” establishes when FEMA can recover payments made through the Public Assistance (PA) program. It applies to all potential recoveries of payments made to state, tribal and local government recipients and subrecipients for funding.
Section 1216(c) of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 amends the statute of limitations in Stafford Act Section 705 for recovering payments made to state, tribal and local governments. Stafford Act Section 705 does not apply to private nonprofits.
The revised policy states FEMA may not start administrative actions to recover funding after three years from the date the recipient submits certification of completion for a large project or all small projects. The revision also specifies when the three-year period starts for small and large PA projects.
The policy revision can be viewed on the FEMA website.
Comments on the policy are due by Dec. 10. FEMA requests that all comments are submitted to FEMA-Recovery-PA-Policy@fema.dhs.gov using the accompanying comment matrix.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthcare Resilience Working Group released a toolkit to help organizations implement Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) preservation strategies that may prevent or mitigate PPE shortages during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Users can enter their organization’s data into the toolkit to compare how PPE usage and supply duration changes with the following scenarios:
- Without implementation of preservation strategies
- With implementation of an initial set of preservation strategies
- With implementation of initial and additional preservation strategies
The Toolkit can be used as a complement with other tools that calculate PPE burn rates based on historic use. The "PPE Preservation Planning Toolkit" is the only tool designed specifically for planning purposes to provide estimates of the impact of implementation of preservation strategies on PPE burn rate and supply longevity.
See the PPE Preservation Planning Toolkit Fact Sheet for more information and links to the other elements of the Toolkit, the Guide and the Tool.
FEMA is seeking feedback on the updated “Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans.” CPG 101 provides guidelines on developing emergency operations plans and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of community-based, risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a threat or hazard and produce integrated, coordinated and synchronized plans.
This guidance was recently updated to align with new and updated policies and programs, providing additional tools and maintaining the flexibility and scalability of the document while expanding on the role of whole community partners.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to discuss changes to the updated CPG 101 and gather feedback from whole community partners. The sessions will include facilitated discussions with stakeholders to help improve the existing draft. A line numbered version of the CPG 101 is available to allow individuals to provide comments on specific areas within the document.
This national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. on Jan. 25.
To review the document and learn more about the webinar sessions, visit the FEMA website.
FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance program is hosting a webinar to discuss how residential property mitigation projects are funded by grants. FEMA’s three grant programs will have a subject-matter expert explain grant funding eligibility and requirements available from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Flood Mitigation Assistance and Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities.
The webinar is from 1 - 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 20. Visit the FEMA Adobe Connect webpage to register and learn about the speakers. This session will be available on FEMA’s YouTube page later in December.
On Nov. 16, FEMA released the National Risk Index which is an online resource to identify and analyze the risk factors from 18 natural hazards and the impact of these risks on communities. This online mapping application illustrates how communities may be affected by different natural hazards and how specific factors such as social vulnerability, expected annual losses, and community resilience affect those risks.
The tool can be searched by zip code and can help communities, especially those with limited flood mapping and risk assessment capabilities, better prepare for natural hazards by providing standardized risk data for mitigation planning. The National Risk Index is free and easy to use for anyone interested in learning more about mitigation or their natural hazard risks. Reports and data from the site are available to download.
This Phase 1 rollout makes the underlying data available for use by state, local, tribal and territorial partners. FEMA is developing a more comprehensive National Risk Index application for use later in 2021. Visit FEMA’s National Risk Index’s webpage for more information and to learn about your community’s natural hazard risks.
Emergency officials across the country have used FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to send 504 important safety messages on the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency to their residents on their cell phones.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 16, 119 agencies across 30 states and the District of Columbia, as well as three Indian tribes and one U.S. territory, have sent Wireless Emergency Alerts containing information on COVID-19 to cell phones and other wireless devices.
FEMA Releases Draft "Building Private-Public Partnerships Guide" for Public Comment
FEMA is seeking content input from community partners on the “Building Private-Public Partnerships Guide” draft document. The agency will host a series of 60-minute engagement webinars to discuss the Guide and answer stakeholders’ questions. The webinars will be open to the whole community and advance registration is required.
To register, click on the preferred webinar session below.
The purpose of the review is to provide an opportunity for the public to provide substantive content recommendations and refinement of the draft. Submit feedback to NPD-Planning@fema.dhs.gov by Dec. 10.
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FEMA Hosts IPAWS Webinar for Tribal Nations
FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) office and representatives of Navajo Nation Emergency Management will hold a one-hour webinar Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. ET. The webinar will provide an overview of IPAWS, as well as discuss how tribal nations can become one of the more than 1,500 authorities nationwide that use the system.
Members of tribal emergency management as well as other people interested in connecting with IPAWS can access the webinar on the event page.
No pre-registration is required. Participants may dial the toll-free number (US/Canada) 1 (650) 479-3207, access code: 127 963 1458, and password: Heritage.
For more information on how tribal governments can sign up for IPAWS, view the FEMA fact sheet.
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FEMA Hosting Preparedness Workshop Webinar Series
FEMA will host a series of webinars to educate and promote critical activities that make up the preparedness cycle. The webinars will be about the Integrated Preparedness Plan and Integrated Preparedness Planning Workshop. The plan and workshop model were developed to support the coordination, planning and scheduling of activities across the preparedness cycle, a component of the revised 2020 Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program doctrine.
The model has been piloted and refined. Dates for these webinars are:
- 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 18.
- 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 20.
- 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 24.
- 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 30.
Visit the HSEEP Webinar webpage to register.
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FEMA Hosts Civil Rights Stakeholder Summit Series
FEMA is hosting a series of Civil Rights Stakeholder Summits throughout November and December.
Motivated by FEMA’s core values of compassion, fairness, integrity and respect, the goal of each summit is to strengthen the foundation for an inclusive, whole-community based approach to emergency management.
FEMA understands that disasters impact individuals and communities differently. To foster a more inclusive, prepared and resilient nation, FEMA seeks to strengthen the agency’s communication with members of underserved and historically marginalized communities, such as those with low income, differing ethnic groups and limited English proficiency.
The Nov. 19 summit is the second of three summits, designed for FEMA to engage with individuals, community organizations, local jurisdictions and others who understand their communities best.
Because presenters and panelists will respond to your questions during the summits, please email questions to FEMA-CivilRightsOffice@fema.dhs.gov no later than the Friday prior to the event.
Perspectives and feedback from the public are critical to ensure FEMA effectively prepares and serves all communities before, during and after disasters.
Register below in advance for all three summits and join the discussion.
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FEMA Offers Comment Period on Community Emergency Response Team Positions
FEMA's National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on National Qualification System job title/position qualifications and position task books. This national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 26.
The release includes three positions for Community Emergency Response Teams, including a section chief, team leader and volunteer.
To provide comments on the drafts, complete the feedback form on the webpage listed above and submit the form to FEMA National Integration Center no later than 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 26.
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