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FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama, will host the third of five pilot resident training classes and will run by the end of December. The pilot classes are intended to prepare the campus for a more general reopening in early 2021. The pilot classes began in November and each have a reduced number of students.
FEMA spent months developing a plan which establishes the foundation for safe and responsible resident training.
The plan includes the following:
- Mandatory use of face coverings.
- Daily temperature screenings of everyone on campus.
- Housing of students in single dorm rooms with private baths.
- Boxed ‘to-go’ meals for students.
- Seating on buses and in classrooms configured to ensure proper social distancing.
- Enhanced cleaning of all facilities.
Students are also provided a list of the extensive COVID-19 risk mitigation measures and what is expected of them prior to arriving on campus.
The courses chosen for these pilot deliveries consist of a variety of ‘hands-on, competency-building hazardous materials and healthcare offerings. They include the CDP’s Hazardous Materials Operations and Hazardous Materials Technician courses and Barrier Precautions and Controls for Highly Infectious Diseases (HID) course.
FEMA’s National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on National Qualification Systems Position titles and Task Books. This national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 7, 2021.
The position updates reflect stakeholder input on previously published documents from Nov. 2017. National engagement provides an opportunity for interested parties to comment on the draft document, to ensure that it is relevant for all implementing partners.
The National Integration Center will host a series of 60-minute webinars to discuss changes to the NQS IMT positions and answer related questions. All webinars are open to the whole community.
Each stakeholder webinar will cover the same information; choose the session most convenient for you.
Advance registration is required due to space limitations. Registration is on a first come, first served basis. To register, click on your preferred webinar session from the list below:
If you require accommodations to participate in these events, please provide details in the Disability Related Accommodations field on the registration page or contact FEMA. Please make accommodation requests as early as possible. Late requests may not be possible to fulfill.
On Dec 2, the RAND corporation released the report from a 2019 survey requested by FEMA which was designed to estimate the prevalence of workplace harassment and discrimination within the agency. The survey focused on the timeframe of spring 2018 through spring 2019.
The report found 20 percent of FEMA employees experienced a civil rights violation on the basis of sex and 18.4 percent of employees reported they experienced a violation on the basis of race or ethnicity. The report also suggests that during this time period, women had a less positive experience in the workplace, overall, when compared to their male counterparts.
FEMA is fully committed to resolving the issues discovered in the survey in order to ensure our workplace is inclusive and provides a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Our shared responsibility is to create and maintain a workplace where each employee embodies FEMA core values and performs to the best of their abilities with professionalism and respect.
In preparation for the RAND report release, FEMA developed the Culture Improvement Action Plan, also released on December 2, to meet its goal – to be a workplace free of harassment and discrimination. This action plan builds Agency awareness – at a staff, manager and leadership level – for nearly 2 dozen activities that will directly address RAND Survey results and report recommendations. These activities can be categorized into these six broad focus areas of Engagement and Advocacy; Training and Education; Messaging and Communications; Employee Resources; Performance and Accountability; and Monitoring and Assessment.
Over the past 18 months, FEMA instituted a number of new programs and policies to combat harassment and misconduct in the workplace, including an Office of Personnel Responsibility, established in the fall of 2019, to ensure expeditious, fair and objective investigation of allegations of misconduct; mandatory anti-harassment and safe space courses for employees at all staff levels; counseling services for employees; and organizational doctrine with an emphasis on the core values of compassion, fairness, integrity and respect and designed to foster a supportive, healthy and productive environment throughout the organization. Many of these activities remain a focal point in the action plan for the year ahead.
Registration is open for the 28th Annual National Dam Safety Program Technical Seminar, “Risk Informed Decision Making and Benefit Cost Analysis for Dam and Levee Projects.” This seminar will be held virtually on FEMA Adobe Connect from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 16 - 19, 2021. Participants encouraged to apply include all dam and levee safety professionals, including Public and Private Dam owners/operators, Dam Safety Engineers, Land Use planners and emergency management officials.
Visit the Emergency Management Institute website to register for this seminar.
FEMA is proposing revisions to how the agency evaluates requests for a major disaster declaration.
After a disaster, the president may authorize FEMA assistance if the incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capacity of state, tribal or territorial government.
In order to comply with sections 1232 and1239 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, FEMA is proposing to revise the estimated cost of the assistance disaster declaration factor that is used to evaluate a governor’s request for a major disaster under the Public Assistance program.
The proposed revisions would more accurately assess states’ disaster response capabilities and comply with the Disaster Recovery Reform Act requirement for FEMA to review and update its disaster declaration factors. Stakeholders will be able to give comments to these proposals until Feb. 12, 2021.
Since 1986, FEMA evaluated the estimated cost of federal and non-federal public assistance against the statewide population using a per capita dollar amount indicator. The per capita indicator remained at $1 until 1999, when the agency began adjusting the indicator for inflation, along with a $1 million minimum threshold.
The lack of increases to the per capita indicator from 1986 to 1999 undercut the value of this factor as an indicator of state capacity. While FEMA determined in 1999 that every state could handle at least $1 million in damages with their own resources, that figure has also not increased with inflation or rising state budgets and expenditures. The per capita indicator and minimum threshold do not provide an accurate measure of states’ abilities to respond to disasters.
FEMA proposes to adjust these factors so federal disaster assistance is available only when an event is beyond the capabilities of the affected state and local governments.
The new proposal includes:
- Increase the per capita indicator to account for inflation from 1986 to 1999, and to adjust the individual states’ indicators by their total taxable resources. The taxable data is published annually by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is used to estimate the relative fiscal capacity of the states.
- Increase the minimum threshold by accounting for inflation from 1999 to 2019, and annually thereafter.
- Adopt the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual population estimates for the per capita indicator calculation instead of the decennial census population data produced every 10 years, which FEMA uses.
- These changes would allow FEMA ’s recommendations to the president to be better informed and more accurate assessments of whether an incident exceeds state capabilities and reduce disproportionate burdens on states with lower fiscal capacity.
For the last several years, in response to concern from Congress, the Government Accountability Office and elsewhere, FEMA has been assessing how to incentivize more proactive fiscal planning and risk management at the state level and improve effective stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars.
In 2016, FEMA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment followed by a second ANPRM in 2017. Based on more than 3,000 comments received, FEMA decided in 2018 that the deductible concept was not the best approach at that time. The revisions to the cost of assistance factor proposed here are FEMA’s latest attempt to update its regulations on assessment of state capabilities.
These changes would provide a better distribution of responsibilities between the states and the federal government, and would incentivize states to invest more in response, recovery and mitigation resources that will lead to a more resilient and prepared nation.
Comments may be submitted through Regulations.gov under docket ID FEMA-2020-0038.
On Dec. 8, FEMA announced a partnership with Lamar Advertising Company to display emergency alerts.
The alerts are being transmitted over FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) on select Lamar digital billboards throughout the country.
IPAWS alerts are already running on Lamar digital billboards in 17 states and are available to run in all 43 states that Lamar covers. This partnership will give Lamar the ability to broadcast emergency alerts from authorities on available digital billboard space in the affected region.
Alerts will be displayed for 30 minutes at a time. Not all alerts sent through FEMA will appear on a Lamar billboard.
This public and private sector partnership will ensure more people see the real-time, critical information they need to stay safe during emergencies.
“Between the ongoing pandemic and a record number of hurricanes, this has been an unprecedented year for emergency alerts,” said Administrator Pete Gaynor. “By integrating IPAWS across Lamar's national digital billboard network, we have yet another channel to convey potentially life-saving information to the American public.”
This information is provided for informational purposes and is not intended to be an endorsement of any non-federal entity by FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Government.
Last month, members of FEMA's National Advisory Council presented a report to Administrator Gaynor outlining actions the agency can take to address key issues facing FEMA and the field of emergency management.
In November 2019, Administrator Gaynor charged the council with examining three issues: the vision of FEMA and emergency management in 2045, building emergency management capacity at the local level and ensuring equity in FEMA program outcomes.
The council passed 31 recommendations, which can be found in the “November 2020 Report to the Administrator.”
FEMA leadership will review the report in December and the agency will publish its response in April 2021. For more information on the NAC and to review the 2020 report, visit the FEMA website.
The National Advisory Council advises the FEMA Administrator on all aspects of emergency management to ensure input from and coordination with state, local and tribal governments and the private sector on federal plans, programs and strategies for all hazards.
FEMA Seeks Feedback on EOC Documents
FEMA’s National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on two Emergency Operations Center (EOC) toolkit documents. The national engagement period starts on Dec. 1 and will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 5, 2021.
The two EOC toolkit documents, EOC How To Quick Reference Guide and EOC References and Tools, are a collection of guidance and best practices for emergency management, specifically EOC communities.
The National Integration Center is hosting a series of three, 60-minute webinars to discuss the two EOC toolkit documents and answer related questions. All stakeholder webinars are open to the whole community.
Each webinar will cover the same information.
Advance registration is required due to space limitations. Registration is on a first come, first served basis. To register, click on your preferred webinar session from the list below:
If you require accommodations to participate in these events, please provide details in the Disability Related Accommodations field on the registration page or contact FEMA. Please make accommodation requests as early as possible. We will try our best to fill late requests.
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FEMA Seeks Public Comment on Disaster Grant Closeout Procedures
FEMA seeks feedback 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 program. It applies to all potential recoveries of payments made to state, tribal and local government recipients and subrecipients for funding.
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 projects.
Please visit the FEMA website to view the policy revision. 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.
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FEMA Seeks Public Comment on Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101
FEMA seeks feedback on the updated “Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans,” which provides guidance 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.
FEMA updated this guidance recently 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 concludes at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 25.
To review the document and learn more about the webinar sessions, visit the FEMA website.
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